TESSO: An analytical tool for characterizing aggregate interference and enabling spatial spectrum sharing

Abstract

Radio propagation models play a crucial role in realizing effective spectrum sharing. Unlike propagation models that do not use the exact details of terrain, terrain-based propagation models are effective in identifying spatial spectrum sharing opportunities for the secondary users (SUs) around an incumbent user (IU). Unfortunately, terrain-based propagation models, such as the Irregular Terrain Model (ITM) in point-to-point (PTP) mode, are computationally expensive, and they require precise geo-locations of the SUs. Such requirements render them challenging, if not impractical, to implement in real-time applications, such as geolocation database (GDB)-driven spectrum sharing. To address this problem, we propose a pragmatic approach called Tool for Enabling Spatial Spectrum Sharing Opportunities (TESSO). TESSO characterizes the aggregate interference caused by the SUs and identifies spatial spectrum sharing opportunities effectively. It is computationally efficient, and does not require precise geo-locations of the SUs. Our results show that TESSO provides the same level of interference protection guarantee to the IU as that offered by the terrain-based models. TESSO can be implemented in GDB-driven spectrum sharing ecosystems for effectively exploiting spatial spectrum sharing opportunities.