Access to the radio spectrum is presently regulated via license, where the rights to use specific spectral bands are granted exclusively to an individual operator, or completely unlicensed, where certain spectral bands are declared open for free use by any operator or individual following specific …
Access to the radio spectrum is presently regulated via license, where the rights to use specific spectral bands are granted exclusively to an individual operator, or completely 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. The aim of this conference is to bring together the state of the art research contributions that address the various aspects of cognitive wireless systems and technologies, including a broad range of communications, networking and implementation issues.