Radio Resource Allocation and Dynamic Spectrum Access

Introduction

We are currently witnessing an increase in telecommunications norms and standards given the recent advances in this domain. The increasing number of normalized standards paves the way for an increase in the range of offers and services available for each consumer. Moreover, the majority of available radio frequencies have already been allocated.

A study conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) showed that certain bands of frequencies are partially occupied in specific locations at specific times. This explains the emergence of cognitive radio (CR).

The idea of CR is to share the spectrum between a primary user and a secondary user. The main objective in terms of managing the spectrum consists of obtaining a maximum rate of utilization of the radio spectrum.

If this is to work, the secondary user must be able to detect white spaces, transmission, detect the return of the primary user and thus stop transmitting and find another white space. The IEEE 802.22 standard, which is based on this concept, is currently being developed.

CR is a wireless form of communication in which an emitter/receptor is able to intelligently detect the communication channels that are being used and those that are not, moving toward the free channels. This ensures optimum utilization of available radio frequencies in the spectrum, as well as minimization of the interference with other users.

The principle of CR requires alternative handling of the spectrum: a secondary user can ...