Abstract

Public safety users require radio spectrum for their communication systems. In this study, sensors are proposed as a backup spectrum information source in a rapidly deployed public safety long term evolution (LTE) communication network with licensed shared access (LSA) system. While the LSA system has been well developed, the drawback measures have not been thoroughly investigated from the application point of view. Herein, a collaborative sensing method is suggested for detecting an incumbent spectrum user and for establishing a protection zone around it. Furthermore, methods are developed for combining information from sensors and from an LSA system in a rapidly deployable public safety LTE network. The information from the sensors can be used for verifying incumbent protection and also for finding available spectrum in critical scenarios. The proposed methods give wider spectrum knowledge than just by using repository information or local sensor information.