Spectrum sharing in competing wireless systems: A simulation study using WLAN and WMAN

Worldwide, spectrum regulators are reducing the amount of radio spectrum they directly license. Consequently mechanisms are required to permit co-existence of non-cooperative technology. The purpose of this paper is to bring our experiences of this problem to the wireless area, by presenting a simulation system constructed to investigate the effects of imposing various spectrum sharing schemes upon wireless networks operating in the same spectrum band. In particular, wireless metropolitan and local area networks are considered operating in the 5 GHz band using two common sharing schemes—simple frequency hopping and move if interfered, both of which are compared against a spectrum commons approach (free for all). The system’s design and operation is explained, as are the sharing schemes that have been incorporated. Results indicate that significant performance improvements can be obtained compared to a free-for-all approach and that differences occur depending on whether a planned or random frequency allocation is initially used