Analysis of a new thruway communication system with discrete minimal zones

A mobile communication system for high-speed thruways is currently under consideration in Japan. The system consists of fixed stations installed at regular intervals (2-5 km) along the thruway which are connected to a host computer. Subscribing customers can communicate with the system as they drive through each station´s communication zone of minimal type (40-100 m). The authors develop and analyze a stochastic model for this new communication system. The model closely follows the sequence of operations which actually take place according to a communication protocol for handling collisions, and requires no exponential assumptions for the underlying service times. The tradeoff between the total number of stations installed and the probability of successful completion of a task within z km after the initial submission is investigated. Some numerical results are also given for illustrating the tradeoff, with validation via SIMAN simulation