Performance based channel allocation in IEEE 802.22 networks

The main challenge in resource allocation in cognitive radio based IEEE 802.22 networks is the absence of predefined control channels. Moreover, the fleeting nature of the available spectrum also hinders the communication as the radios must relinquish the acquired channels once the primary users of those channels return. In this paper, we propose a performance metrics based data channel allocation scheme for IEEE 802.22 networks where the base station allocates interference free channels to the consumer premise equipments using a spectrum map. The base station creates the spectrum map by using the raw spectrum usage data that are shared by a small subset of consumer premise equipments. The usage data are fused at the base station using a modified version of Shepard´s interpolation technique. We construct a continuous and differentiable spatial distribution of spectrum usage that the base station consults to estimate the spectrum occupancy vector at any arbitrary location in its cell. Such spectrum usage is then utilized to proactively evaluate some key network and radio performance metrics which in turn help allocating the best candidate channel to a given consumer premise equipment ensuring highest achievable performance.