Modeling, Forecasting and Resource Allocation in Cognitive Radio Networks

With the explosive growth of wireless systems and services, bandwidth has become a treasured commodity. Traditionally, licensed frequency bands were exclusively reserved for use by the primary license holders (primary users), whereas, unlicensed frequency bands allow spectrum sharing. Recent spectrum measurements indicate that many licensed bands remain relatively unused for most of the time. Therefore, allowing secondary users (users without a license to operate in the band) to operate with minimal or no interference to primary users is one way of sharing spectrum to increase efficiency. Recently, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened up licensed bands for opportunistic use by secondary users.