Simulation of Moderate Time-Scale Dynamic Spectrum Access with Distributed Spectrum Sensors

Simulation approaches and results are provided for Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) with low-capability distributed spectrum monitoring equipment. There are two major issues that arise when using this approach: how to most efficiently distribute the sensors, and how to best utilize sensor information? Results show that it is better to co-locate distributed sensors with supported radios rather than disperse them throughout the environment. However, dispersed sensors are still capable of providing significant performance gains over the no-sensor case. It can also be seen that distributed, local control with distributed sensors can provide similar and sometimes better communication reliability gains than those seen with expensive central control approaches. As expected, optimal performance is achieved when a central controller fuses distributed sensor information with other frequency management databases. Finally, simulations show that using distributed sensors minimizes the effect database errors and time delays have on central controller performance.