A Detection Algorithm for the Identification of the Free Spectral Resources in DVB-T Bands

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for detection of OFDM signals based on their second order statistics. We therefore introduce a cost function and evaluate the impact of a multi-paths channel on its values. We then propose a detection test based on asymptotic results, and evaluate the impact of the number of cycle frequencies taken into account in the cost function on the performance of the detection algorithm. The performance of the proposed algorithm is then evaluated thanks to some numerical simulations: It is shown that the proposed algorithm is able to detect DVB-T signals with a SNR of -12 dB whereas the algorithm proposed by the 802.22 WG only detects these signals (in the same context) with a SNR of -8 dB.