The evolution of cognitive radio technology in Europe: Regulatory and standardization aspects

Cognitive radio (CR) is considered a promising technology that could provide important benefits in the telecommunication domain. In Europe, the number of research projects, standardization activities and public consultations by the European Commission and regulatory authorities testify to the growing interest in CR. The introduction of CR in the telecommunication market may require new regulations or changes to the way spectrum is licensed and the conditions under which it can be used. The concepts of CR can be applied to various operational scenarios, which are described in this paper. This paper identifies the main challenges for the deployment of CR technology in Europe, provides an overview of the activities by European regulatory and standardization bodies to address the identified challenges and describes a roadmap with potential actions to support the adoption of CR technology.