Channel occupancy time distribution in a cellular radio system

The distribution of the channel occupancy time in a cellular radio system is studied, namely, the distribution of the time spent by customers on one frequency channel within a given cell. Two approaches are used. The first one relies on a computer simulation allowing a general model for mobiles behavior. The second is analytical, and assume a simplified system where mobiles keep constant directions. The results of both methods are compared with a fitted exponential distribution, and excellent agreements are found for most practical situations. In addition, a simple expression giving the average number of handoffs for a random customer is obtained. The results derived in this paper provide useful and simple tools to analyze cellular systems.