Sensing Opportunities in UMTS spectrum

The UMTS radio frequency spectrum is a highly expensive commodity. While the UMTS standards make very efficient use of the allocated bands there is however opportunity for further advancements. This paper focuses on opportunistic use of the UMTS spectrum as a means of ensuring that the maximum possible use of this valuable resource is made. In particular we focus on the local detection of UMTS TDD signals through the use of a cyclostationary feature detector. Simulation results for the use of this detector in the presence of multipath propagation and shadowing effects are presented.