Characterization of CDMA2000 cellular data network traffic

This paper describes the analysis of low-level measurements from a CDMA2000 1x cellular data network. The network traces record detailed information about wireless Internet packet data call activity on the network, including mobile station identity, call initiation, burst behaviour, supplementary channel usage, soft handoffs, and call termination. The analysis in this paper focuses on one continuous week-long trace data set, representative of cellular data network activity. The results from the analysis illustrate the burstiness of the packet call arrival process and the diurnal patterns of cellular data users. The results also characterize the activity per cell site, activity per user, data burst activity, user mobility, and the density of cellular network coverage. Several observations reinforce known results about heavytailed properties in wired Internet traffic, while others show interesting differences in wireless versus wireline traffic