Spectrum Occupancy Measurements in the Sub-6 GHz Band for Smart Spectrum Applications

Spectrum measurements are a key part in the development of future spectrum management techniques for the forthcoming Smart Spectrum approach, which looks for the realization of a more sustainable usage of the spectrum for the future wireless world. This paper presents the results of a spectrum measurement campaign evaluating the complete sub 6 GHz band in three different points in the City of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. A robust spectrum measurements platform is implemented and the spectrum occupancy is analyzed in the frequency and time domains. Results show that the spectrum utilization in terms of the average duty cycle of the entire sub-6 G Hz is of 4.73 %. Additionally, in this work, a heavy and intense spectrum usage scenario is considered for comparison purposes.