Scaling network information services to support HetNets and dynamic spectrum access

Wireless network information services allow end systems to discover heterogeneous networks and spectrum available for secondary use at or near their current location, helping them to cope with increasing traffic and finite spectrum resources. We propose a unified architecture that allows end systems to find nearby base stations that are using either licensed, shared or unlicensed spectrum across multiple network operators. Our study evaluates the performance and scalability of spatial databases storing base station coverage area geometries. The measurement results indicate that the current spatial databases perform well even when the number of coverage areas is very large. A single logical spatial database would likely be able to satisfy the query load for a large national cellular network. We also observe that coarse geographic divisions can significantly improve query performance.