Experimental validation of a distributed algorithm for dynamic spectrum access in local area networks

Next generation wireless networks aim at a significant improvement of the spectral efficiency in order to meet the dramatic increase in data service demand. In local area scenarios user-deployed base stations are expected to take place, thus making the centralized planning of frequency resources among the cells, a non-viable solution. Cognitive Radio (CR) and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) are the research paradigms which are expected to provide the network nodes the capabilities for an autonomous and efficient selection of the spectrum resources. In this paper we present the first experimental activities with the Autonomous Component Carrier Selection (ACCS) algorithm, a distributed solution for interference management among small neighboring cells. A preliminary evaluation of the algorithm performance is provided considering its live execution on a software defined radio network testbed. The obtained experimental results confirm the performance trends obtained from prior simulation studies. The analysis in dynamic environment conditions also allowed identifying the utilization of static thresholds in the decision making process, as a critical aspect for the optimization of network capacity.