Markoff chains as an aid in the study of Markoff processes

Abstract Many of the stochastic processes met with in the theory of telephone traffic (and related phenomena) are so complicated that there is a limit to what it is practicabie to find out, theoretically, about the properties that are important to applications. In such cases, the direct, artificial experiment is often resorted to for guidance. The costs of rigging up machinery or employing personnel for carrying through such experiments will usually be considerable. If Markoff ebains can be used instead of Markoff processes in the experiment, it will be possible to employ standard, or slightly re-designed, types of punchcard equipment, or the big electronic calculating machines, whereby the experimenting costs are reduced considerably. In a paper, publisbed in Teleteknik, no. 4 (1952), p. 176, I have described such a procedure as employed in a special case. In the following, a closer examination of the scope of this method shall be made.