| Summary: Motivated by a steadily increasing demand for efficient spectrum utilization, it becomes crucial to revise the existing radio spectrum management techniques. The emerging Licensed Shared Access (LSA) regulatory framework and Cognitive Radio (CR) technology enable flexible spectrum sharing in HetNet which allows for controlled sharing of spectrum between a Primary User (PU) and a Secondary User (SU). In this thesis, an advanced user satisfaction-aware spectrum management strategy for dynamic spectrum management in CR Networks (CRNs) is proposed. The proposed frameworks are based on the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) decision policy that combines both pricing and rejection rules via Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods which decide how a SU can get a service when PU is inactive. On the other hand, one of the issues to be solved is the need to move SUs from the rented spectrum band whenever the PU needs it. The potential solution for this problem is represented by spectrum handoff, which aims to help SUs to find suitable network resources to resume the unfinished transmissions somewhere else. Inspired by this, we propose a decision making model in order to efficiently implement the handoff procedure and treat SUs to maximize total service time, spectrum utilization and the Quality of Experience (QoE) by increasing the users’ satisfaction. As an input for our simulation model, we have used the set of measurements performed in real 3GPP LTE-A indoor cellular system. Simulation results illustrate that the selecting appropriate policy leads to charge SUs fairly and decrease the number of eliminated SUs while improving spectrum utilization and increasing network revenue efficiency in both off-peak and peak hours.
Keywords: Spectrum management, Licensed Shared Access, Cognitive Radio Networks, Pricing Policy, Spectrum handoff, Overbooking, Multi Criteria Decision Making methods. |
