Simulation and FPGA implementation of television white space sensing using energy detection for cognitive radio

Cognitive radio (CR) is a promising technology that allows unlicensed users to access licensed spectrum bands. In the Philippines, the Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ICTO) plans to deploy a “Super Wi-Fi” that could provide broadband access especially in rural areas by harnessing the TVWS in the country. However, the switchover to digital television, as mandated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which will take place on January 1, 2016, will result in new regulatory rules. This digital switchover will eventually free up more TV bands and offer a large scale opportunistic use of CRs in the TVWS. This study considers the most recent regulatory rules for TVWS opportunistic usage. This paper focused on spectrum sensing, a key part in cognitive radio, by employing an energy detector technique to assess the channel vacancy of the incumbent band. The sensing mechanism is then implemented in a field programmable gate array (FPGA).