Range-bound pricing of channels in multichannel multiuser cognitive radio networks

Appropriate pricing of channel bandwidths that are allotted to secondary users is an important and challenging task in cognitive radio networks. It is usually carried out through the auctions held by the spectrum licensees themselves or by the designated third parties that collect the vacant channel information from the licensed users. In most of the standard auction methods, range of bidding prices can be very wide, with no restriction on maximum and minimum bidding values. This situation can create instability in channel pricing that can lead to underutilization of vacant bandwidths. An auction scheme, in which predefined maximum and minimum bid values can be used, is proposed in this work. It also proposes to offer reduction in allocation prices, based on the prevailing demand and supply of vacant channels, at various times. Simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme offers better performance in comparison with other existing auction methods, in supporting the Quality of Service (QoS) of cognitive radio users, and in stabilizing the pricing of channels.