This letter examines the dynamic characteristics of the randomized slotted
ALOHA (RSA) protocol that is commonly employed in contention-based reservat
ion multiaccess schemes. The average drift (or expected packet flow) is der
ived from a Markov chain for a finite number of single-buffer users and is
used to determine the stability of the protocol, Results show that unlike m
any random access schemes (RSA) possesses exactly one equilibrium point eve
n when the channel load estimate is inaccurate. However, any under-estimati
on in the channel load increases the equilibrium backlog (and reduces the a
verage throughput) at a rate faster than when the channel load is overestim
ated. The protocol can achieve stable, nonzero throughput without the need
for channel feedback information.