This paper presents a mathematical analysis of the throughput rate of a code division multiple access (CDMA) protocol in an asynchronous (i.e., unslotted) environment. A simple lower bound is also given. The analytic results are verified by simulation.

The paper compares the slotted and the unslotted systems with respect to throughput rate. The observation is made that as the traffic load increases, the penalty in maximum throughput for operating in an unslotted manner decreases. The authors conclude that for a system with a capacity of 35 or above, the penalty is small enough that the cost of synchronization outweighs it.

The paper addresses a practical problem. It is well written and easy to read, though some background in queueing theory is useful. The concepts and assumptions are clearly specified. The derivations are simple and well explained, and the results are neat and concise. However, the bounds are very bad at high traffic density--precisely when tight bounds are desirable. A comparison between TDMA (time division multiple access), CSMA (carrier sensed multiple access) and CDMA would be interesting but is not included in this paper.