AbstractVarious mobile satellite communication systems are being developed for providing integrated voice/data services over a shared satellite transponder which is power‐limited in nature. A common strategy is to use slotted ALOHA request channels to request channel assignments for voice/data calls from a network management station. To maximize efficiency in a system with a power‐limited satellite transponder, it is proposed that the bursty nature of voice sources be exploited by the NMS to ‘over‐assign’ channels. This may cause problems of inefficiency, potential instability as well as a degradation in the quality of service offered to the customers. Augmenting this with the introduction of simple state‐dependent control procedures provides systems which exhibit more desirable operational features. This approach is proposed and examined in