Analysis of Dynamic Spectrum Access with Heterogeneous Networks: Benefits of Channel Packing Scheme

Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) has the potential to vastly improve spectrum utilizations among heterogeneous networks. We present a continuous-time Markov chain (CT-MC) model to analyze the performance of three co-located cognitive systems with various priority classes and bandwidth requirements. The maximum spectrum utilization and minimum blocking probability are derived in a one-channel band scenario. A channel packing scheme (CPS) is then proposed in a multiple-channel band scenario. This scheme packs users of smaller bandwidth requirements in clusters, in order to alleviate the unnecessary blockage to users of larger bandwidth requirements. Numerical results show that the system can benefit from CPS in terms of blocking probability, spectrum utilization and overall failure probability.