A Multi-Tier Wireless Spectrum Sharing System Leveraging Secure Spectrum Auctions

Abstract: Secure spectrum auctions can revolutionize the spectrum utilization of cellular networks and satisfy the ever increasing demand for resources. In this paper, a multi-tier dynamic spectrum sharing system is studied for efficient sharing of spectrum with commercial wireless system providers (WSPs), with an emphasis on federal spectrum sharing. The proposed spectrum sharing system optimizes usage of spectrum resources, manages intra-WSP and inter-WSP interference and provides essential level of security, privacy, and obfuscation to enable the most efficient and reliable usage of the shared spectrum. It features an intermediate spectrum auctioneer responsible for allocating resources to commercial WSPs by running secure spectrum auctions. The proposed secure spectrum auction, MTSSA, leverages Paillier cryptosystem to avoid possible fraud and bid-rigging. Numerical simulations are provided to compare the performance of MTSSA, in the considered spectrum sharing system, with other spectrum auction mechanisms for realistic cellular systems.