Application of Probability: Identification of Mobile Radio Channels

It is common practice in the operation of mobile radio systems to identify each channel once during every half hour unless it is in constant use during that period. This practice is prompted by Part 21.213 of the Federal Communications Commission rules. When an operator or dispatcher is involved in handling calls, there is no difficulty in administering this practice. A proposed method for this identification in automatic systems with no operators introduces the possibility of not identifying all channels during the specified time interval. A probability analysis was performed for independently loaded channels and for multiple access channels; this analysis allows one to evaluate the probability of successfully identifying all the mobile radio channels.