Performance study of dedicated in-band Control Channels for Cognitive Radio Networks

Abstract

Cognitive Radio (CR) technology offers a promising solution to the spectrum scarcity problem via Dynamic Spectrum Allocation (DSA). Due to the nature of Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs), where two networks are active simultaneously, a significant amount of control messaging is required in order to coordinate channel access, schedule sensing, and establish release connections. Efficient Control Plane messaging can be achieved by the selection of an appropriate Control Channel (CC). This paper gives a comparative study of potential techniques for providing reliable channels dedicated to the coordination and information distribution in License-Exempt (LE) bands. This involves determining the potential and limitations of each technique.