Analysis of Channel Access Delay in CR-MAC Protocol for Ad Hoc Cognitive Radio Wireless Sensor Networks without a Common Control Channel

Ad hoc cognitive radio wireless sensor networks allow secondary wireless sensor nodes to recognize spectrum opportunities and transmit data. Most existing protocols proposed for ad hoc cognitive radio wireless sensor networks require a dedicated common control channel. Allocating one channel just for control packet exchange is a waste of resources for channel-constrained networks. There are very few protocols that do not rely on a common control channel and that exchange channel-negotiation control packets during a pre-allocated time on the data channels. This, however, can require a substantial amount of time to access the channel when an incumbent is present on the channel, where the nodes are intended to negotiate for the data channel. This study examined channel access delay on cognitive radio wireless sensor networks that have no dedicated common control channel.