A channel hopping based MAC without hidden terminal problem for cognitive networks

In this paper we present a MAC protocol for distributed cognitive networks. Secondly users decide which data channel to sense according to current channel usage condition and the possible data transmission opportunities of all the data channels, and then access if the data channel is sensed idle, as a way to improve their data throughput by flexibly adjusting the sensing sequence. In addition, the hidden terminal problem and the channel reservation problem under the scenario of different channel availability to different Secondly users is solved by a three-way handshake on a control channel. Paralleled data transmissions by multi-communication pairs are enabled in our protocol. We then develop an analytical model to analyze the saturation throughput of the protocol, and then present the numerical results to demonstrate the throughput performance under different parameters of this protocol by simulation.