Spectrum occupancy statistics in the context of cognitive radio

Cognitive radio (CR), a disruptive technology, has come out as a promising solution to the problem of spectrum scarcity and which will facilitate the flexible spectrum use in future. In this paradigm, the spectrum utilization is improved by opportunistic spectrum use by unlicensed users without interfering the licensed user. Spectrum occupancy measurement highlights the sections of the spectrum bands which are inefficiently utilized and thus offer potential for CR. In this context, several measurement campaigns have been conducted mostly in USA and Europe. This paper reports the spectrum occupancy measurements conducted in the frequency band from 700 MHz to 2700 MHz in an outdoor environment in the suburban of Mumbai, India. The measurement results of two weekdays campaign shows considerably low occupation with great potential for dynamic usage of spectrum. Further we discuss CR potentials based on the measurement results. However, there is a need of long term and detail study of the identified bands for CR.