Capacity of dual-mode North American cellular system

It is of great importance for cellular operators to estimate the radio frequency (RF) capacity improvement in migrating from the current analog cellular system to the dual-mode system, which uses the time-division multiple access (TDMA) technology. The authors attempt to provide an estimate for the RF capacity improvement qualitatively. They simulate all-analog and all-digital cellular systems that produce the same level of cochannel interference at the same level of area coverage, and experience the same propagation characteristics. The capacity of both systems is obtained in favorable and unfavorable interference environments in Erlangs. In the unfavorable interference environment, a new concept is used in the interference analysis, which enables simulation of the interference that causes certain user activity. The authors quantify the benefit of mobile power control in the reverse channel