Cross-layer Design in Cognitive Radio Standards

The growing demand for wireless applications and services on the one hand, and limited available radio spectrum on the other hand have made cognitive radio (CR) a promising solution for future mobile networks. It has attracted considerable attention by academia and industry since its introduction in 1999 and several relevant standards have been developed within the last decade. Cognitive radio is based on four main functions, spanning across more than one layer of OSI model. Therefore, solutions based on cognitive radio technology require cross layer (CL) designs for optimum performance. This article briefly reviews the basics of cognitive radio technology as an introduction and highlights the need for cross layer design in systems deploying CR technology. Then some of the published standards with CL characteristics are outlined in a later section, and in the final section some research examples of cross layer design ideas based on the existing CR standards conclude this article.