Spectrum Sensing for Cognitive Radio in Filter- Bank Multi-Carrier Communications Systems: The Candidate Estimate

The big demand originated by the deployment of smart grids, where millions of sensors need to be deployed using wireless transport to the corresponding concentrator implies a dramatic change on the paradigmatic scenario of wireless communications. The new scenario is defined by very low bandwidth messages from a device but an enormous number of devices. This new scenario represents also an opportunity for cognitive radio techniques where the key step is the spectrum sensing method. This paper reconfigures the estimate recently reported CASE for the case of locating spectrum holes in Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC) communications systems scenarios. It is shown that, by tuning CASE to the minimum size of the spectrum hole able to admit secondary transmissions, the resulting performance is better than traditional methods in terms of resolution and robustness. Key-words— Candidate Spectral Estimation Cognitive radio, OFDM/Filter-bank Communications, Spectrum sensing.