AbstractA distributed time‐slot assignment protocol is developed for a mobile multi‐hop broadcast packet radio network, using time division multiple access channel access and virtual circuit switching. The protocol eliminates the single point failure mode of centralized network management and the delays of centralized processing. It is applicable to the user‐to‐user communications functions of such systems as the U. S. Army's enhanced position location and reporting system (EPLRS). The important functions of the distributed protocol, including time‐slot assignment, virtual circuit set‐up, and network synthesis, are identified, and implementing algorithms are presented and verified. The performance analysis of the protocol is divided into two parts. In this paper, Part 1 of the performance analysis, the capacity of a network using this protocol is studied and a tool is developed to design the network capacity by trading off among the network area, the transmission range, and the number of packet radio units. Since these results are not in closed form, numerical results provide insight into these parameters. In Part 2 the network set‐up time and network data rate are analysed and a hierarchical architecture for the distributed protocol is proposed