A system and method are provided for monitoring traffic in a network comprising a plurality of links, wherein each of the plurality of links comprises a plurality of neighboring pairs of slots. The system and method may include identifying a first usage status and a second usage status, calculating a utilization entropy value based at least on the difference between the first and second usage status, iteratively calculating a set of utilization entropy values for a portion of the network, and calculating an overall utilization entropy value for the portion of the network under analysis based at least on a statistical analysis of the set of utilization entropy values.