A cooperative approach for dynamic spectrum access in radar bands

The considerable amount of spectrum reserved for but underutilized by radar systems has motivated several regulatory bodies to make Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) in radar bands a reality. Taking into account the incumbents´ very long ranges, one of the main issues of DSA in these bands is the aggregate interference, derived from multiple secondary users (SUs) operating in the same channel. In this paper, we assess the impact of this phenomenon when spectrum sharing is performed in a totally opportunistic manner, for instance, when Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) developed by the IEEE 802.11h standard is employed, and when there is a cooperation mechanism between radar systems and SUs. We considered the operating characteristics of a real C band meteorological radar system with acceptable levels of interference standardized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).