| The FCC, in its endeavor to promote efficient and flexible use of the spectrum, initiated rulemaking proceedings that would allow unlicensed cognitive radio devices to access licensed spectrum in the TV broadcast bands. TV broadcasters have opposed this initiative suggesting that unlicensed devices would interfere with the operation of TV receivers and wireless microphone systems. While the FCC believes that cognitive radios can be deployed without causing harmful interference to TV receivers, so far the FCC has been unable to answer the question of interference to wireless microphone systems. This thesis aims to provide an interference analysis that can be used by the FCC, cognitive radio vendors and microphone manufacturers to determine the extent of interference caused by cognitive radios and the means to reduce or mitigate this interference. In this endeavor, the thesis carries out interference modeling and analysis of cognitive radio devices as well as networks and provides recommendations for device and network characteristics that can enable the cognitive radios to co-exist with wireless microphones. |
