Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 28, 2026

Offered load

In the mathematical theory of probability, offered load is a concept in queuing theory. The offered load is a measure of traffic in a queue. The offered load is given by Little's law: the arrival rate into the queue multiplied by the mean holding time, equals the average amount of time spent by items in the queue. Offered load is expressed in Erlang units or call-seconds per hour, a dimensionless measure.

Last revised
May 28, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
109 w
Citations
1
Source

In the mathematical theory of probability, offered load is a concept in queuing theory. The offered load is a measure of traffic in a queue. The offered load is given by Little's law: the arrival rate into the queue (symbolized with λ) multiplied by the mean holding time (symbolized by τ), equals the average amount of time spent by items in the queue. Offered load is expressed in Erlang units or call-seconds per hour,1 a dimensionless measure.

References

References

  1. Freeman, Roger L. (2005). Fundamentals of Telecommunications. John Wiley. p. 57. ISBN 0471710458.