A survey on decentralized random access MAC protocols for cognitive radio networks

The scarcity of spectrum radio and the immense growth of mobile applications that demand real-time data communications have raised several challenges in the level of medium access control (MAC) design which impose the necessity for a real review and enhancement of MAC protocols. The MAC layer has gained new capabilities with cognitive radio (CR) and opportunistic spectrum access. It is one of the challenging problems in cognitive radio systems. In this paper, we present a survey of some decentralized MAC protocols for CR networks with analysis and comparative assessment of CR-MAC protocols using some Key Performance Indicators.