Method and apparatus for distributing traffic in a wireless packet data network. A capacity flag which is sent on each RF data channel within a cell in a wireless packet data network is toggled between an asserted and an unasserted state according to the period of a timer. Transceiver terminals will only register for a channel while that channel's capacity flag is unasserted; therefore, transceiver terminals register with the various RF channels in a cell in a distributed fashion over time. The invention can be implemented by a computer program product or logic, or a combination of the two installed at the base station for a cell within a wireless data network such as a CDPD network.