Analysis of the FM radio spectrum for Internet of Things opportunistic access via Cognitive Radio

The emerging employment of low-power short-range Internet of Things (IoT) devices, coupled with the rapid growth of wireless devices in general, is creating a problem by placing an overwhelming demand on the radio spectrum. This overwhelming demand is causing a shortage of radio spectrum. To combat this shortage, IoT devices need to be able to identify vacant radio spectrum that can be used in an opportunistic manner through Cognitive Radio (CR). This paper presents a methodology to determine utilization of FM radio spectrum, which would support efficient IoT device communication via CR. The methodology is showcased by analyzing the FM radio spectrum in an urban area and determining its capacity to support IoT device communication. The results show that the spectrum in the urban area is 76% underutilized. Therefore, the FM radio spectrum appears to be an excellent candidate to support low-power short-range IoT devices through CR.