Spectrum agile radio: radio resource measurements for opportunistic spectrum usage

Abstract

Radio spectrum allocation is undergoing radical rethinking. Regulators, government agencies, industry, and the research community have recently established many initiatives for new spectrum policies and seek approaches to more efficiently manage the radio spectrum. In this paper, we examine new approaches, namely, spectrum agile radios, for opportunistic spectrum usage. Spectrum agile radios use parts of the radio spectrum that were originally licensed to other radio services. A spectrum agile radio device seeks opportunities, i.e. unused radio resources. Devices communicate using the identified opportunities, without interfering with the operation of licensed radio devices. The identification of spectrum opportunities is coordinated by policies, which are defined by, and under the control of, the radio regulator. Our approach is motivated by the publications of the next generation communications, XG, research project of the USA-based Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA. We focus on IEEE 802.11k for radio resource measurements as an approach to facilitate the development of spectrum agile radios.