Cognitive radio activities in Malaysia: Spectrum utilization and open issues

Cognitive Radio (CR) is the next-generation wireless communication system that enables unlicensed users (or Secondary Users, SUs) to operate in white spaces, which are the underutilized licensed channels owned by the licensed users (or Primary Users, PUs), in order to address spectrum scarcity. Practical deployment of CR involves interactions among PUs, SUs, government (or the national spectrum policy makers) and international standardization bodies (e.g. IEEE); so it is necessary to investigate CR at the national level for the advancement of the national ICT infrastructure. This article presents CR in the local context particularly in Malaysia to spark new research interests in CR.