In this paper, we propose a spectrum allocation framework that jointly considers the Quality-of-Service (QoS) provisioning for heterogeneous secondary Real-Time (RT) and Non-Real Time (NRT) users, the spectrum sensing, spectrum access decision, channel allocation, and call admission control in distributed cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs). Giving priority to the RT users with QoS requirements in terms of the dropping and blocking probabilities, a number of the identified available channels are allocated to the optimum number of the RT users that can be admitted into the network, while the remaining identified available channels are allocated adaptively to the optimum number of the NRT users considering the spectrum sensing and utilization indispensability. Extensive analytical and simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed QoS-based spectrum resource allocation framework.
