The White Space Opportunity in Southern Africa: Measurements with Meraka Cognitive Radio Platform

Masonta, Moshe T.; Johnson, David L.; Mzyece, Mjumo

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-29093-0_6

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The transition information in the PU channel access is then used for improving spectrum selection in centralized CRNs. In [92], an intelligent SDR platform with CR capabilities [93] is used for the development of context-aware transmission adaptation and channel selection in OFDM-based CRNs using outdoor links (as opposed to indoor or in-lab links). This work also includes the implementation of spectrum decision functions for longrange rural connectivity provisioning.…”

Section: A Spectrum Selection Implementationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectrum Decision in Cognitive Radio Networks: A Survey

Masonta¹,

Mzyece²,

Ntlatlapa

2013

IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials

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281

149

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Spectrum decision is the ability of a cognitive radio (CR) to select the best available spectrum band to satisfy secondary users' (SUs') quality of service (QoS) requirements, without causing harmful interference to licensed or primary users (PUs). Each CR performs spectrum sensing to identify the available spectrum bands and the spectrum decision process selects from these available bands for opportunistic use. Spectrum decision constitutes an important topic which has not been adequately explored in CR research. Spectrum decision involves spectrum characterization, spectrum selection and CR reconfiguration functions. After the available spectrum has been identified, the first step is to characterize it based not only on the current radio environment conditions, but also on the PU activities. The second step involves spectrum selection, whereby the most appropriate spectrum band is selected to satisfy SUs' QoS requirements. Finally, the CR should be able to reconfigure its transmission parameters to allow communication on the selected band. Key to spectrum characterization is PU activity modelling, which is commonly based on historical data to provide the means for predicting future traffic patterns in a given spectrum band. This paper provides an up-to-date survey of spectrum decision in CR networks (CRNs) and addresses issues of spectrum characterization (including PU activity modelling), spectrum selection and CR reconfiguration. For each of these issues, we highlight key open research challenges. We also review practical implementations of spectrum decision in several CR platforms.

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Section: A Spectrum Selection Implementationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectrum Decision in Cognitive Radio Networks: A Survey

Masonta¹,

Mzyece²,

Ntlatlapa

2013

IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutorials

Self Cite

281

149

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“…TVWS are vacant channels (or guard bands) between used radio bands that were allocated to avoid interference between adjacent used channels. Several measurement studies carried out on spectrum occupancy have reported that most of the allocated spectrum is currently heavily underutilized [1], [2,[3], [4]. Furthermore, analyzing the recent deployments of TVWS networks in developing countries, we can draw the following conclusions:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Architecting a Low Cost Television White Space Network For Developing Regions

Zennaro

Pietrosémoli

Sathiaseelan

2014

Proceedings of the Fifth ACM Symposium on Computing for Development

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There has been a number of Television White Space (TVWS) deployments in developing regions, using equipment designed for the western market. In this paper we assess a solution that addresses three of the limiting factors of existing solutions: high cost, database dependence and high power consumption. We argue that as there is enough TVWS spectrum availability especially in rural areas in developing regions, we do not need to use any geolocation databases nor do we need a tight transmit spectrum mask. We propose a low cost and an energy efficient TVWS network device that uses an embedded linux board equipped with a miniPCI card operating in the TVWS frequencies, for which we test the RF performance and power consumption for comparison to those of a commercial TVWS equipment.

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“…Section VI concludes the paper with recommended future work. Despite the high availability of TVWS [6] in the SADC rural areas, the majority of people in rural and some township areas are still lacking access to broadband communications. A key question is then asked: How can the regulators in the SADC region make use of the TVWS spectrum to provide affordable broadband access to rural and township communities?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The current SADC regulations on DSO are mainly focused on ensuring that the migration process runs smoothly, deciding on common DTT standard (which is Digital Video Broadcast -Terrestrial (DVB-T2), with MPEG-4 compression), and that all member states' analogue TV is switched-off by June 2015 [5]. With the high availability of TVWS (see our earlier measurements on TV spectrum before DSO in [6]), it is very important for the SADC region to consider opening up the TVWS for BWA, especially for the rural communities where internet penetration is very low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framework for TV white space spectrum access in Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Masonta¹,

Kliks

Mzyece

2013

2013 IEEE 24th International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC Workshops)

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The global migration of television (TV) from analogue to digital broadcast will see a large amount of TV spectrum available (called TV white space -TVWS) for other services such as mobile and broadband wireless access (BWA). Leading spectrum regulation authorities, such as the Federal Communications Authority (FCC) and the Office of Communication (Ofcom) are already defined rules and policies for licence-exempt access of the TVWS for BWA, especially for rural areas. Key to these rules and policies are the transmission and operating parameters to ensure protection of TV incumbents from harmful interference that might be caused by the white space devices (WSD). In this paper we propose a framework for TVWS access and key transmission parameters for licence-exempt operation of WSD for providing rural BWA within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). These parameters are determined based on extensive studies and consultations completed by the FCC and Ofcom, but are optimized for the SADC rural environment. We believe that this paper will serve as an important guideline document for the SADC regulators to decide suitable technology and policies when opening TVWS for BWA, especially for the rural communities.

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The White Space Opportunity in Southern Africa: Measurements with Meraka Cognitive Radio Platform

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

Spectrum Decision in Cognitive Radio Networks: A Survey

Spectrum Decision in Cognitive Radio Networks: A Survey

Architecting a Low Cost Television White Space Network For Developing Regions

Framework for TV white space spectrum access in Southern African Development Community (SADC)

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