HARQ Feedback in Spectrum Sharing Networks

Abstract: This letter studies the throughput and the outage probability of spectrum sharing networks utilizing hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. We focus on the repetition time diversity and the incremental redundancy HARQ protocols where the results are obtained for both continuous and bursting communication models. The channel data transmission efficiency is investigated in the presence of both secondary user peak transmission power and primary user received interference power constraints. Finally, we evaluate the effect of secondary-primary channel state information imperfection on the performance of the secondary channel. Simulation results show that, while the throughput is not necessarily increased by HARQ, substantial outage probability reduction is achieved in all conditions.