The present invention proposes a method for traffic load control in a telecommunication network consisting of at least one radio terminal (MS) and at least one radio transceiver device (BS), each radio transceiver device (BS) defining a cell of said network being controlled by a network control device (RNC); comprising the steps of: setting a first reference load value for the load of a respective cell; monitoring the load of said respective cell, and in response to the load exceeding the first reference load value, manipulating the power control to decrease the transmission power levels in the cell. The present invention thus proposes a fast load control method in that during a situation in which a certain reference load value is exceeded, the load is controlled per base station sector by affecting, e.g. transmit power commands. In addition, such load reductions can be supplemented by re-negotiating bit rates, for example. With the proposed method a necessary load margin can be reduced which advantageously increases the system capacity.