A Decentralized Approach for Self-Coexistence Among Heterogeneous Networks in TVWS

This paper focuses on coexistence and self-coexistence challenges between secondary heterogeneous wireless networks/users sharing TV Whitespace spectrum. The coexistence problems arise from having several primary and secondary networks of different technologies cohabiting the same licensed spectrum simultaneously. The self-coexistence problems arise from many secondary systems /users coexisting at the same place while using identical or different technologies. In particular, fair distribution of available spectrum becomes a serious issue. In this paper, we use a game theoretic approach to model the self-coexistence problem as a competitive game between secondary networks. We show that our game belongs to the class of congestion-averse games which are known to possess pure Nash equilibria. This leads us to a decentralized approach for spectrum sharing among systems with different PHY/MAC characteristics. We show that our proposal outperforms other centralized algorithms in terms of user fairness and per-user theoretical data rates.