UNLICENSED SPECTRUM HARVESTING WITH COLLABORATIVE SPECTRUM SENSING IN NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS

A computing node includes interface circuitry and processing circuitry. To implement a spectrum harvesting entity in a wireless network configured for crowdsource-based unlicensed spectrum harvesting, the processing circuitry is configured to select a set of crowdsourcing nodes from a plurality of crowdsourcing nodes available in the wireless network. A plurality of spectrum occupancy reports (SORs) is received from the set of crowdsourcing. Each of the plurality of SORs indicates a channel occupancy status of a communication channel in the unlicensed spectrum sensed by a corresponding crowdsourcing node of the set and geolocation associated with the corresponding crowdsourcing node. A spectrum occupancy map of the unlicensed spectrum is generated based on the channel occupancy status and the geolocation provided in the plurality of SORs by each crowdsourcing node of the set of crowdsourcing nodes.