SpecNet: Spectrum Sensing Sans Frontières

While the under-utilization of licensed spectrum based on measurement studies conducted in a few developed countries has spurred lots of interest in opportunistic spectrum access, there exists no infrastructure today for measuring real-time spectrum occupancy across vast geographical regions. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of SpecNet, a first-of-its-kind platform that allows spectrum analyzers around the world to be networked and efficiently used in a coordinated manner for spectrum measurement as well as implementation and evaluation of distributed sensing applications. We demonstrate the value of SpecNet through three applications: 1) remote spectrum measurement, 2) primary transmitter coverage estimation and 3) SpectrumCop, which quickly identifies and localizes transmitters in a frequency range and geographic region of interest.