The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for using power of a pilot channel to control an output power from a transmitter, such as a base station transmitting spread spectrum signals. In one embodiment, a method for controlling an output power from a transmitter associated with a communication node (e.g., Node B) in a wireless network, such as a digital cellular network is provided. The method comprises extracting an indication of a pilot channel power from a portion of an output signal of the transmitter and controlling a control loop having one or more control devices in the transmitter based on the indication of a pilot channel power such that the pilot channel power stays substantially constant over a period of time. In this manner, using a closed power loop controller, a transmitter may overcome the problem of measuring the power of a non-constant spread spectrum signal and a traffic independent measure may control a cell size. Compared to a gain control loop, a relatively more precise control of the cell size may be provided using a significantly less measurement components.