CROWNCOM

Access to radio spectrum is presently regulated either as licensed, where the rights to use specific spectral bands are granted in exclusivity to an individual operator, or as unlicensed, where certain spectral bands are declared open for free use by any operator or individual following specific rules. While these paradigms have allowed the wireless communications sector to blossom in the past, there is much talk recently about the so-called “cognitive radio” paradigm, wherein spectrum may be efficiently shared in a more flexible fashion by a number of operators/users/systems. Cognitive radio can be thus viewed as an enabling technology that will benefit several types of players, by introducing new communications and networking models for the whole wireless world, creating better business opportunities for the incumbent operators and new technical dimensions for smaller operators, and helping shape an overall more efficient approach regarding spectrum requirements and usage in next generation wireless networks.