A
system and method is provided for adjusting transmission power of different portions of a data packet. The
system and method is especially useful when utilizing the IEEE 802.11
standard protocol due to the varying transmission data rates of a packet. A IEEE 802.11 packet includes a
preamble portion, a header portion and a data portion. The
preamble portion has a
data rate of 1 Mbps, the header has a
data rate of 1 or 2 Mbps and the data portion has a
data rate of 1, 2, 5.5 or 11 Mbps. At a given fixed
power level, a transmission at a higher data rate has a lower transmission range than a transmission at a lower data rate. Therefore, the present invention provides for a
system and method that adjusts the
power level of different portions of a data packet, so that the entire data packet has a more uniform range. This eliminates the need for components in the system receiving a
preamble portion of a transmission at higher ranges to remain idle during transmission of an entire frame. The system and method can be applied to both access points and mobile units in a cellular
communications system.