Dynamic spectrum access in IEEE 802.22- based cognitive wireless networks: a game theoretic model for competitive spectrum bidding and pricing

The emerging IEEE 802.22-based wireless regional area network technology will use the same radio spectrum currently allocated for TV service. This standard will use the concept of cognitive radio based on dynamic spectrum access to provide wireless access services in a large coverage area. A brief overview of the current state of the IEEE 802.22 standard is provided with a particular emphasis on the spectrum management (i.e., spectrum sensing and dynamic spectrum access) in this standard. Key research issues related to spectrum trading among TV broadcasters, WRAN service providers, and IEEE 802.22-based cognitive radio users are identified. To this end, a hierarchical spectrum trading model is presented to analyze the interaction among WRAN service providers, TV broadcasters, and WRAN users. In this model a double auction is established among multiple TV broadcasters and WRAN service providers who sell and buy the radio spectrum (i.e., TV bands), respectively. Again, multiple WRAN service providers compete with each other by adjusting the service price charged to WRAN users. We propose a joint spectrum bidding and service pricing model for WRAN service providers to maximize their profits. A non-cooperative game is formulated to obtain the solution in terms of the number of TV bands and the service price of a service provider. Numerical results are presented on the performance of this joint spectrum bidding and pricing model.