Adaptive transmission selection

A method for use in a controlling station of one or more cells in a cellular telecommunications system, the method comprising equipping the controlling station with an antenna arrangement with a first number of antennas, each of which is adapted to cover one of a number of adjacent cells, with each antenna having a a beamwidth such that the main beam extends by a certain amount into two cells which are immediately adjacent on each side of the cell which the antenna is adapted to cover;

• transmitting on a control channel on a first number of antennas which cover non-adjacent cells;
• measuring the output power which is transmitted on the traffic channels on each of said first number of antennas;
• checking if the measured total traffic channel output power on any of said first number of antenna is above a first predefined threshold (T1), and if that is the case, activating transmission on the control channel on a second number of antennas;
• measuring the traffic channel output power on each of the antennas in the antenna arrangement;
• and
• deactivating the control channel transmissions on an antenna of a cell if the measured traffic channel output power on that antenna is below a second predefined threshold and the traffic channel on the antennas of both adjacent cells is active.