Packet Reservation Multiple Access in a Metropolitan Microcellular Radio Environment

The author examines the performance of a packet reservation multiple access (PRMA) protocol in a metropolitan microcellular radio environment using computer simulations. Call characteristics, mobility, and channel conditions have an impact on PRMA performance which is measured in terms of the average packet dropping rate per call. In order to maintain a reasonable level of service quality for calls in progress, teletraffic loading can be controlled by introducing a call setup queue and limiting the number of active subscribers. Call mobility is found to have a minor impact on PRMA performance. PRMA is also fairly robust against adverse channel conditions with a drop in performance of about 15% when the channel packet loss rate is less than 0.01. Performance comparisons to other protocols are also carried out. >