Cognitive Radio Network setup without a Common Control Channel

The concept of cognitive radio networks has introduced a new way of sharing the open spectrum flexibly and efficiently. However, there are several issues that hinder the deployment of such dynamic networks. The common control channel problem is one of such issue. Cognitive radio networks are designed by assuming the availability of a dedicated control channel. In this paper, we identify and discuss the network setup problem as a part of the common control channel problem. Probabilistic and deterministic ways to start the initial communication and setup a cognitive radio network without the need of having a common control channel in both centralized and multi-hop scenarios are suggested. Extensive MATLAB simulations validate the effectiveness of the algorithms.