Exploiting Multi-Channel Diversity in Spectrum-Agile Networks

—Recently, spectrum-agile (SA) networks have been recognized as a viable solution to the spectrum-scarcity problem in wireless communications. In SA networks, secondary (unlicensed) users are allowed to opportunistically utilize idle licensed spectrum bands, thus improving spectrum utilization efficiency and accommodating more users and applications. We take a twostep approach to the problem of maximizing the throughput of an SA network. The first step is to determine a subset of “candidate” channels that a secondary device will consider for its channel-switching. The candidate channels are selected based on their estimated utilization. We then propose channel-aware switching to determine when and where to switch to, among the candidate channels. Wireless channels are assumed to experience independent Rayleigh fading, and modeled with a finite-state Markov channel (FSMC) model. Our evaluation results show that the proposed channel-aware switching scheme significantly outperfo...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Alexander W. Min, Kang G. Shin
• Keywords: Candidate Channels, Communications, INFOCOM 2008, Sa Network, Spectrum Utilization Efficiency