Abstract: In a distributed communication system such as a personal handyphone system, when a new call must be connected through a cell station, the controller associated with the cell station checks to see if the cell station is fully loaded. If so, the controller issues a zone report request to portable telephones currently having calls connected through that cell station, and the telephones check to see if they can reconnect to a different cell station. The phones then issue a zone report to the controller indicating whether or not they are reconnectable, and one or more of the phones are directed to reconnect based on information contained in the zone reports. Consequently, a space on the target cell station is freed so that the new call can be connected. This technique is useful for incoming calls from a wireline network, outgoing calls from a portable telephone, and handoffs of a roaming portable telephone, and can also be used in an overall cell station loading management scheme.