Spectrum Occupancy Measurement in the VHF Band- Results and Evaluation in the Context of Cognitive Radio

Abstract

In this paper the results of spectrum occupancy survey in the context of Cognitive Radio was presented. In Cognitive Radio, secondary unlicensed users are allowed to opportunistically use the primary licensed users’ bands with the understanding that there will be no interference i.e Secondary Users (SU) quits at the arrival of Primary Users (PU). A 24-hour measurement survey was carried out at the centre of Minna metropolis in Niger State, Nigeria covering a frequency range of VHF (30-300MHz). Aaronia HF 6065 V4 spectrum analyzer was used for data collection. Results show that the band allocated for Aeronautical Navigation has the highest spectral occupancy of 39.83% followed by the FM band with occupancy of 12.90% while the frequency band meant for Aeronautical Mobile and Space Operation has occupancy of 4.73% and TV Broadcasting 0.09%. The average occupancy of the VHF band is 14.39%.