Spectrum Occupancy Measurements below 1 GHz in the City of San Luis Potosi, Mexico

The cognitive radio technology is a promising solution to solve the scarcity problem of electromagnetic spectrum caused by the increase in the demand of wireless communications. Throughout the world, several measurement campaigns have been conducted to determine the real occupancy of the spectrum. In several countries, including Mexico, these measurements have not been realized yet. In this paper, we present results of the spectral power and duty cycle of the first measurement campaign conducted in the city of San Luis Potosi and in Mexico. The frequencies of interest considered in this study lies within the range of 30 MHz to 910 MHz. In order to improve the system sensitivity, the measurements were made with a directional antenna considering the four cardinal points. The study measures the power spectrum for 7.5 hours on a weekday. The results clearly show the critical underutilization of the spectrum in our country since it show an average duty cycle of 12.5% in the above mentioned frequency range.