Opportunistic WiMAX-GSM coexistence

In future multi-media applications dynamic access to spectral resources will play an important role. However, regulation of spectrum will only change very slowly and spectrum rights holders might not be willing to share their resources without gaining something out of it. Therefore the authors analyse the suitability of WiMAX as an overlay system on GSM where available resources will be auctioned among several competitors. The authors design a cross-layer approach to facilitate dynamic resource allocation. It is demonstrated that, with minor changes of the original WiMAX frame and a small signalling overhead which is currently unused, GSM resources can be allocated efficiently without decreasing system performance. Thus, this adapted WiMAX system used in opportunistic coexistence to GSM offers a suitable alternative to broadband service access.