Accepted Manuscript

Regular paper

Impact of Secondary User Mobility on Spectrum Handoff under generalized

residual time distributions in Cognitive Radio Networks

Shanidul Hoque, Wasim Arif

PII: S1434-8411(17)32168-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeue.2018.01.031
Reference: AEUE 52220

To appear in: International Journal of Electronics and Communi-

cations

Received Date: 8 September 2017

Accepted Date: 27 January 2018

Please cite this article as: S. Hoque, W. Arif, Impact of Secondary User Mobility on Spectrum Handoff under
generalized residual time distributions in Cognitive Radio Networks, International Journal of Electronics and
Communications (2018), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeue.2018.01.031

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Paper Title:
Impact of Secondary User Mobility on Spectrum Handoff under
generalized residual time distributions in Cognitive Radio Networks.

Authors Names and Affiliations:

Author 1 (Corresponding Author)
Shanidul Hoque, M. Tech
Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology
Silchar, Cachar- 788010, Assam, India, e-mail: shanidulhoque257@gmail.com

Author 2
Wasim Arif, PhD
Assistant Professor,
Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology
Silchar, Cachar- 788010, Assam, India, e-mail: arif.ece.nits@gmail.com
Impact of Secondary User Mobility on Spectrum Handoff under
generalized residual time distributions in Cognitive Radio Networks

Shanidul Hoque*, Wasim Arif

Electronics and Communication Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar,

Cachar- 788010, Assam, India, e-mail: * shanidulhoque257@gmail.com

Abstract:
Cognitive Radio is an emerging technology to accommodate the growing demand for
wireless technology via dynamic spectrum access to enhance spectrum efficiency. Spectrum
handoff is an important component of Cognitive Radio technology for practical
implementation of radio frequency access strategy and better utilization of spectrum in both
primary and secondary networks. The probability of spectrum handoff and expected number
of spectrum handoffs are key parameters in performance analysis and design of the cognitive
radio network. This work presents an analytical model to evaluate the impact of secondary
users’ mobility on intra-cell spectrum handoff considering primary users’ activity model in a
cognitive radio network. A standard form of intra-cell spectrum handoff probability and
expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs are derived for complete call duration of a
non-stationary secondary user. The probability and expected number of intra-cell spectrum
handoffs of a post inter-cell handoff call are also derived for generalized residual time
distributions of call holding time and spectrum holes. A detailed analysis of these
performance measuring metrics is presented under the impact of departure rate and cell
crossing rate of secondary users. The accuracy of the derived analytical result is validated by
Monte-Carlo simulation of the model.

Keywords- Cognitive Radio, Residual Time, Secondary User Mobility, Spectrum Handoff,
Spectrum Mobility.

1. Introduction
The tremendous growth in wireless technologies and wireless markets has increased the
demands of extra spectrum bands [1-2]. But these demands have remained unfulfilled due to
the fixed spectrum allocation policy used by government agencies. In [3], FCC has shown
that most of the allocated spectrum is underutilized due to the fixed allocation of spectrum
bands. To overcome this problem, the concept of cognitive radio (CR) technology is
introduced [4] which can favorably improve spectrum efficiency through dynamic spectrum
access (DSA) [5]. CR requires four major functions [2, 6]: spectrum sensing, spectrum
decision, spectrum sharing and spectrum mobility to dynamically access unutilized available
spectrum bands.
CR networks contain two types of users with different priorities [7]: high priority
primary user (PU or licensed user) and low priority secondary user (SU or cognitive user
(CU)). In the absence of PUs, the SUs can use that licensed spectrum for transmission of
information. When a high priority PU arrives at its licensed band that is being used by SU,
the PU has the authorization to interrupt the communication of lower priority SU [6].
Therefore, spectrum mobility issues arise when the service of SU is interrupted by high-
priority PU. Under this situation, SU needs to vacate that licensed band immediately and
transfer the call to another spectrum hole (spectrum handoff) even though the signal strength
is acceptable [8]. When an SU moves away from its originated base station and crosses the
cell boundary, SU needs to perform a conventional handoff to maintain the acceptable signal
strength. So, spectrum handoff in CRN can be initiated due to the mobility of spectrum holes
(interrupted by PUs) and mobility of users (conventional handoff mechanism).
This work focuses on the spectrum mobility (or called spectrum handoff) issue along
with the secondary user mobility, which has got less attention in the literature than other
spectrum issues of CR networks. Most of the researchers have proposed Markov chain model
to analyze the performances in terms of spectrum handoff in CR networks. In [9-11], authors
proposed Markov-model to analyze the performance parameters: blocking probability, forced
termination probability and throughput of the cognitive radio system. In [12], authors
proposed fuzzy-based spectrum handoff algorithm to improve the performance of CRNs.
Wang et al. [13] investigated the effect of spectrum handoff on the link maintenance
probability of an SU due to the arrival of PU. In [14-16], authors proposed different spectrum
handoff configurations (pro-active, reactive etc) based on queuing model, channel selection,
and statistics of observed channel utilization. In [17], the authors presented the impact of
nodes mobility situations on the system BER performance for both conventional-relaying and
best-relay-selection-relaying with imperfect channel-state-information. Salhab [18] analyzed
the performance of multiuser CR networks with multiple PUs and imperfect channel
estimation. A time-based anti-jamming technique with mobility of SUs is proposed in [19] to
improve the QoS for mobile CR networks. Cacciapuoti et al. [20] investigated the impact of
PU mobility on spectrum sensing in CR networks. In [21], Gahane et al. investigated the
impact of the SU mobility on the performance of the improved energy detector in terms of
probability of false alarm, probability of missed detection, and receiver operating
characteristics curves.
In [22], Yan Zhang explored the spectrum handoff procedure to characterize the short
term and long term spectrum handoff performance in CRNs for both opportunistic and
negotiated situations. In [23], Liu and his co-authors discussed the concepts of spectrum
mobility to analysis the performance of the network. In [24], the authors calculated spectrum
handoff probability for both exponential residual time distribution of spectrum holes and call
duration distribution of a mobile SU in CR networks. In [25], authors discussed the impact of
spectrum mobility on spectrum handoff probability for a stationary SU under general residual
time distribution of spectrum holes. In [26], authors presented the impact of call duration
distribution on spectrum handoff of a stationary SU.
In existing literature, the mobility of SUs is not considered in the comprehensive analysis
of spectrum handoff performances in the domain of CR networks. The effects of different
traffic parameters distribution such as call holding time distributions of non-stationary SUs,
residual time distributions of spectrum holes on spectrum handoff performance metrics are
also not reported in existing literature. So, our primary motivation of this paper is to
investigate the impact of SUs’ mobility on spectrum handoff probability and expected
number of spectrum handoffs considering both PU and SU activity models. The main
contributions of this paper are accentuated as follows:
 First, we derive a standard form of probability of intra-cell spectrum handoff of a
newly arrived non-stationary SU in source cell of a CR network. Thereafter, we
model the expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs of the non-stationary SU
to characterize the network performances.
 Next, we model the probability of intra-cell spectrum handoff of a post inter-cell
handoff call of a non-stationary SU in destination cell. To investigate the behavior of
the non-stationary SUs, we subsequently develop the expected number of intra-cell
spectrum handoffs in destination cell under the generalized distributions of SUs’ call
holding time and residual time of spectrum holes.
 The traffic parameters generalization is another motivation in this paper. We present
the impact of call holding time distributions of SUs and residual time distributions of
spectrum holes on the intra-cell spectrum handoff performance of a non-stationary SU
in both source and destination cells of the CR network. We consider exponential,
Erlang-m, Erlang-i, j and lognormal distributions for call holding time of SUs and
 residual time of spectrum holes as these are the most celebrated tele-traffic parameter
distributions in the performance evaluation of wireless network [25-30].
 We perform Monte-Carlo simulation of the proposed spectrum handoff model of a
non-stationary SU to validate the analytical model.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 describes the proposed analytical
model of spectrum handoff mechanism of non-stationary SUs. The results obtained from the
analytical model presented in Section 2 are discussed in Section 3. Section 4 concludes the
paper.

2. System Model and Analysis

Fig. 1 illustrates spectrum handoff mechanism of non-stationary SUs in a CR network
considering hexagonal cell geometry. To analyze the intra-cell spectrum handoff of a newly
arrived call and post inter-cell handoff call of a non-stationary SU, we assume that the SU
completes its transmission within two identical cells: source cell (Cell A) and destination cell
(Cell B) as shown in Fig.1. Intra-cell spectrum handoff is invoked when the service of SUs
are interrupted due to the arrival of higher priority PUs. The SUs perform intra-cell spectrum
handoff within the same cell without changing the base station (as indicated by the blue
arrow in Fig. 1). As the SU moves towards the cell boundary and intends to cross cell, inter-
cell spectrum handoff (red dotted line in Fig. 1) is required to be prompted to maintain
seamless connectivity and ensuring QoS of the secondary network. The co-existence of both
higher priority PUs and SUs (SU, SU1, SU2…..) with spectrum profile in each is shown in
Fig. 1. The gray box indicates the spectrum holes that can be used by SUs in the absence of
PUs. The yellow and orange boxes indicate the spectrum which is presently used by PUs and
SUs, respectively.
Fig. 1. Handoff mechanism in cognitive radio networks

The total call holding or service time (Tc) and the motion of SUs are independent which
ignores the possibility of longer communication time. In proactive spectrum decision
schemes, the list of spectrum holes (as H0, H1, H2….) is managed to provide unbroken
services to SU during its service time. Let t0, t1, t2… are residual time of spectrum holes H0,
H1, H2….respectively, which are independent and identically distributed with parameter λ; tk
is the residual time of kth spectrum hole, Hk. If the SU experiences (k+1) number of spectrum
holes before crossing the cell boundary, there will be k intra-cell spectrum handoff in Cell A
during its service time. When the SU intends to cross the cell boundary, the master controller
handed over the ongoing service from the source cell (Cell A) to Cell B (inter-cell handoff)
anticipating allocation of available spectrum in the new cell ensuring unbroken service.
Assume Ts is the cell residence time of an SU in a particular cell, which denotes the
amount of time an SU stays in a cell during its transmission, depending on the cell size,
speed, and direction of the SU. The probability density function of the random variable Ts is
assumed to be a negative exponential distribution function [31-32] with the average value
given by
V
s  0.718 where V is the mean velocity of SUs and R is the cell radius.
R
(1)
In this paper, we use random sum approach to analyse the performance of intra-cell
spectrum handoff of a new call and post inter-cell handoff call for non-stationary SUs in CR
network. In [28-29], authors used residue theorem to calculate the call performances which is
applicable to the models where the Laplace Transformations of distribution functions have
rational forms only. However, another approach based on random sum is proposed in [30] to
calculate call completion probability which is applicable to the models with both rational and
irrational forms of Laplace Transformations of distribution functions. In next section, we
derive the intra-cell spectrum handoff in source cell (Cell A) and intra-cell spectrum handoff
of an inter-cell handoff call of an SU in destination cell (Cell B) using random sum approach
under generalized distributions of SUs call holding time and residual time of spectrum holes.

2.1. Intra-cell spectrum handoff for general residual time distributions of spectrum
holes under SU mobility
In this section, we derive standard form of intra-cell spectrum handoff probability in Cell A
and intra-cell spectrum handoff probability of post inter-cell handoff call of SU in Cell B
under the general distribution of spectrum holes residence time. To study the impact of
general residual time distributions of spectrum holes on intra-cell spectrum handoff, we fix
the distributions of SUs call holding time (Tc) and Ts which are exponentially distributed with
parameters μ and μs, respectively. Let fc(x), fr(x) and fs(x) are the probability density functions
(PDF) of Tc, ti (i=0, 1, 2…) and Ts, respectively, and their Laplace transforms are denoted by
fc*(s), fr*(s) and fs*(s), respectively. The PDFs and cumulative distribution functions (CDF) of
Tc and Ts are given by (2) and (3), respectively [32-33].

  e   x for x  0 1  e   x for x  0
fc ( x )   and Fc ( x)   (2)
0 otherwise 0 otherwise

  s e  s x for x  0 1  e  s x for x  0
fs ( x)   F
and s ( x )   (3)
0 otherwise 0 otherwise

where 1/µ and 1/µs are scale parameters of fc(x) and fs(x), respectively.
First, we derive the standard form of probability of intra-cell spectrum handoff and
expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs for non-stationary SU in the source cell
(Cell A). The intra-cell spectrum handoff probability of a newly arrived SU is the probability
that the SU experiences at least one spectrum handoff during its service time due to the
appearance of PUs in Cell A. When an SU completes its ongoing communication in Cell A
within a spectrum holes without any interruption, there will be no intra-cell spectrum handoff
and the probability of zero or no intra-cell spectrum handoff in Cell A can be obtained as
 x  z
p0 _ intra  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr (Tc  t0 )    f s ( x)  f c ( y )dydx   f r ( z )  f c ( y )dydz
0 0 0 0
 

 
   f s ( x) Fc ( x)dx   f r ( z ) Fc ( z )dz   1  f s* () 1  f r* () 
0 0

(4)
If the SU experiences k number of interruptions due to the arrival of PUs during its service
call duration, the SU needs (k+1) number of spectrum holes to continue its service in Cell A.
The probability of kth intra-cell spectrum handoff is denoted by Pk_intra which is an
indispensable parameter for the computation of the expected number of intra-cell spectrum
handoffs in Cell A. The term Pk_intra can be calculated as (5).
Pk _ int ra   Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  c  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  tk 


  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  c  t0  Pr  c  t1 
k 1
  Pr  c  t1 
k 1
Pr  c  tk   (5)

  Pr (Tc  Ts ) 1  Pr  c  t0 Pr  c  t1  1  Pr c  tk  

k 1

The third and fourth terms of equation (5) are obtained as (6) and (7), respectively.

Pr  c  t1   1  Pr(Tc  t1 )   1    f c (a) f r (b) dadb 1  1  f r* (  )   f r* (  )   (6)

ab

and Pr  c  tk   1    fc ( p) f r (q) dpdq  f r* (  ) (7)

pq

Replacing (6) and (7) into (5), the parameter Pk_intra of an SU in Cell A can be calculated as

    1  f  1  f 1  f  f 
k 1 k
Pk _ int ra   1  f s* (  ) f r* (  ) f r* (  ) r ( )
*
s ( )
*
r ()
*
r ()
*

(8)
Let H indicates the random variable for the number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs. The
expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoff (E[H]intra) is defined as the average number
of intra-cell spectrum handoffs performed in Cell A during active service of the non-
stationary SU before crossing the cell boundary. It characterizes the long-term behavior in
terms of channel availability or handoff traffic in a cell of the CR network. The parameter
E[H]intra under general residual time distributions of spectrum holes can be calculated as

E  H int ra   kPk _ int ra  H  k 
k 0

   f     f (  )
2
  1  f s* (  ) 1  f r* (  ) *
r (  )  2 1  f s* (  ) 1  f r* (  ) r
*

  (  ) f (  )  ....  to 
3
  3 1  f s* (  ) 1  f r* r
*

f    f (  )  3 p  f (  )  ....  to
2 3
  p0 _ int ra *
r (  )  2 p0 _ int ra r
*
0 _ int ra r
*

E  H int ra
 
2
  1  2 f r* (  )  3 f r* (  )  ....  to   (9)
p0 _ int ra  f r* ( ) 
E  H int ra E  H int ra
 
2
Now   1  f r* (  )  f r* ( )  ....
 to  
p0 _ int ra   f r* ( )  p0 _ int ra

(10)
After simplifying (10), we get the final expression for the expected number of intra-cell
spectrum handoff in Cell A as (11).
E  H int ra 
p0 _ int ra f r* (  )


f r* (  ) 1  f s* (  ) 
 
(11)
1   1  f r* (  )
2
f r* ( )

In consecutive step, we derive the standard form of intra-cell spectrum handoff for non-
stationary SU in destination cell (Cell B). In this case, the call duration of non-stationary SU
should be greater than Ts. If Tc >Ts and the SU ends its service within the first allocated
spectrum holes in Cell B, there will be no intra-cell spectrum handoff of the post inter-cell
handoff call of an SU. The probability of zero or no intra-cell spectrum handoff in Cell B of
post inter-cell handoff call of an SU can be derived by (12).

p0 _ int ra /int er  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr (Tc  t0 )  f s* (  ) 1  f r* (  )   (12)

When an SU needs (k+1) number of spectrum holes to complete its service, there will be k
times successful intra-cell spectrum handoffs in Cell B. The probability of kth intra-cell
spectrum handoff of post inter-cell handoff call (Pk_ntra/inter) of an SU is an important
parameter which describes whether the ongoing service of the SU completes in the current
cell or not. The term Pk_ntra/inter with generalized residual time distribution of spectrum holes
can be obtained as (13).
Pk _ int ra /int er   Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  c  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  tk 

  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  c  t0  Pr  c  t1  1  Pr   tk  

k 1
c (13)

f s* (  ) f r* (  )  f r* (  ) 1  f (  ) f s* (  ) 1  f r* (  ) f r* (  )

k 1 * k
r

Let E[H]intra/inter denotes the expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoff of a post
inter-cell handoff call in Cell B for the non-stationary SU during complete service. This
performance metric characterizes the inter-handoff call arrival rate, handoff traffics, and
service quality in the destination cell. The performance metric E[H]intra/inter in Cell B can be
derived as

f s* (  ) f r* (  )
E  H int ra / int er   kPk _ int ra / int er  H  r   (14)
k 0 1  f *
r ( 
)

The intra-cell spectrum handoff performance metrics: Pk_intra, E[H]intra, Pk_ntra/inter, and
E[H]intra/inter can be calculated from (8), (11), (13) and (14) by replacing the Laplace
transform of exponential, Erlang-2, Erlang-3, 23 and lognormal residual time distributions of
spectrum holes as given in Appendix A.
2.2. Intra-cell spectrum handoff for general call holding time distributions of non-
stationary SU
We next derive the probability of intra-cell spectrum handoff and expected number of intra-
cell spectrum handoffs in Cell A and Cell B under the general call holding time distributions
of a non-stationary SU. To study the impact of general call holding time distributions of the
SU on spectrum handoff, the distributions of ti and Ts are considered as exponentially
distributed with parameters λ and μs, respectively. The PDF and CDF of residual time of
spectrum holes with parameter λ are given by (15).

 e   x for x  0 1  e   x for x  0
fr ( x)   and Fr ( x)   (15)
0 otherwise 0 otherwise

Where 1/λ is a scale parameter.

The expected number of spectrum handoff plays an essential role in the evaluation of the
network performance as it characterizes the traffic in the network. To derive expected number
of spectrum handoff, first, we need to derive probability mass function for spectrum handoff.
The probability that a non-stationary SU completes its ongoing service within one spectrum
or no intra-cell spectrum handoff of an SU in Cell A can be calculated as
 
p0 _ int ra  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr (Tc  t0 ) f c* ( s ) 1   fc (a ) fr (b)dadb   f c* ( s ) f c* ( ) 
 b a 
(16)
Pk_intra is an essential parameter for predictive handoff design in a CR network. To derive
Pk_intra for general call holding time distribution, we need to compute the terms in equation
(5). The terms Pr(Tc>t1) and Pr(Tc>tk) for general call holding time distribution can be
derived by (17) and (18), respectively.

Pr  c  t1     f c ( x)Fr  x  dx 1  f c* ( ) (17)
0


And Pr  c  tk     fc ( p ) fr ( q ) dpdq   fc ( p) Fr  p  dp 1  fc ( )
*
(18)
q p 0

Now, the probability (Pk_intra) that the service of the non-stationary SU is interrupted by k PUs
before it crosses the Cell A boundary under general call holding time distributions can be
obtained from (5) as
    1  1  f 
k 1
Pk _ int ra   f c* ( s ) 1  fc* ( ) 1  fc* ( ) c ( )
*

(19)
1  
k
  fc* ( s ) fc* ( ) fc* ( )

The expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs (E[H]intra) of an SU in Cell A during

one complete service time can be calculated by (20).

E  H int ra   kPk _ int ra  H  k  

 f c* ( s ) 1  f c* (  )  (20)
k 0 f c* (  )
Depending on whether a non-stationary SU call is a newly arrived call or a post inter-cell
handoff call, we define Pintra or Pintra/inter where Pintra/inter is the probability of intra-cell
spectrum handoff of the non-stationary SU after performing an inter-cell spectrum handoff to
Cell B. The probability of zero intra-cell spectrum handoff (p0_intra/inter) of post inter-cell
handoff call of a non-stationary SU in Cell B is calculated as (21).


p0 _ int ra /int er  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr (Tc  t0 ) 1  f c* ( s ) fc* ( )  (21)

The probability of k intra-cell spectrum handoffs due to PU activity model in Cell B of a post
inter-cell handoff call for a non-stationary SU under general call holding time distribution can
be obtained as (22).
Pk _ int ra /int er   Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  c  t0  t1  t2 .....tk 1  tk 

  Pr (Tc  Ts ) Pr  c  t0  Pr  c  t1  1  Pr    tk  

k 1
c (22)

   1  f c* ( s ) f c* ( ) 1  f c* ( )
k

The term pk_intra/inter is an essential parameter for the derivation of the expected number of
intra-cell spectrum handoffs (E[H]intra/inter) of an inter-cell handoff call of a non-stationary SU
in Cell B. E[H]intra/inter is an indispensable parameter for network design as it permits us to
monitor a non-stationary SU service by characterizing both the PU and SU traffics in a CR
network. Now, E[H]intra/inter under general call holding time distributions of the non-
stationary SU can be derived as

E  H int ra / int er   kPk _ int ra / int er H  k 
1   f *
c (  
s ) 1  f c* (  )
(23)
k 0 f c* ( )
We can calculate Pk_intra, E[H]intra, Pk_intra/inter, and E[H]intra/inter under generalized call holding
time distributions of a non-stationary SU from (19), (20), (22), and (23), respectively, by
replacing the Laplace transform of respective distribution functions from Appendix A.

3. Results and Discussion

The analytical results obtained from the proposed model along with the simulation results are
presented in this section. Section 3.1 presents the analytical and Monte-Carlo simulation
results to validate the proposed model. For simulating the proposed model, first we initialize
the values of parameter μ, λ, and μs; thereafter, we generate random variables for Tc, ti, and Ts
according to their distributions with parameter μ, λ, and μs, respectively. Next, we check for
the conditions of intra-cell spectrum handoff and calculate the probability of intra-cell
spectrum handoff of a new call in Cell A and post inter-cell handoff call in Cell B by Monte-
Carlo iteration process. This simulation is performed in MATLAB® by executing 100000
Monte-Carlo iterations to achieve the desired results. The impact of departure rate of SUs (µ),
spectrum holes (λ), and cell crossing rate of SUs (μs) on intra-cell spectrum handoff for the
general distribution of non-stationary SU call duration and residual time of spectrum holes
are presented in section 3.2.

3.1. Validation of proposed model

The analytical and Monte-Carlo simulation results of intra-cell spectrum handoff probability
of a non-stationary SU in source cell under the impact of λ and µ are shown in Fig. 2(a) and
Fig. 2(b), respectively. The impact of λ and µ on the results of the probability of intra-cell
spectrum handoff of post inter-cell handoff call in Cell B are depicted in Fig. 3(a) and Fig.
3(b), respectively. For the impact of λ, the typical set of values: µ=120 users/h, λ= [40: 320]
spectrum holes/h are taken for evaluation of performance measuring parameter. We take the
value of λ= 180 spectrum holes/h and µ is ranging from 30 to 360 users/h for the impact of µ.
The analysis of intra-cell spectrum handoff may be viewed in two broad categories: (i) when
Tc>Ts; Pk_intra (in Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 2(b)) and (ii) when Tc<Ts ; Pk_intra/inter (in Fig. 3(a) and
3(b)). From Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 3(a), it is observed that with increasing value of λ, the
probability of no intra-cell spectrum handoff (P0) decreases, but the probabilities of first (P1),
second (P2) and third (P3) intra-cell spectrum handoff increase. However, Fig. 2(b) and Fig.
3(b) show that P0 increases and P1, P2, P3 decrease with increasing value of µ. The similarity
of the Monte-Carlo simulation and analytical results validates the proposed model. There is a
slight deviation between the modeled and simulation results, which is due to system resource
constraints to the random number generation and time of calculation.
 0 0
10 10
Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra)

Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra)

-1 -1
10 10

-2 P 0 (Theoretical) -2
10 10 P 0 (Theoretical)
P 0 (Simulation)
P 0 (Simulation)
P 1 (Theoretical)
P 1 (Theoretical)
P 1 (Simulation)
P 1 (Simulation)
-3 P 2 (Theoretical) -3
10 10 P 2 (Theoretical)
P 2 (Simulation)
P 2 (Simulation)
P 3 (Theoretical)
P 3 (Theoretical)
P 3 (Simulation)
-4 P 3 (Simulation)
10 -4
10
40 100 150 200 250 320 30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h) Departure rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 2. Intra-cell spectrum handoff probability in Cell A under the impact of (a) λ and (b) µ
0
10
Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra/inter)

-1
10

P 0 (Theoretical)
P 0 (Simulation)
P 1 (Theoretical)
-2
10 P 1 (Simulation)
P 2 (Theoretical)
P 2 (Simulation)
P 3 (Theoretical)
P 3 (Simulation)
-3
10
40 100 150 200 250 320
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h)
0
10
Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra/inter)

-1
10

P 0 (Theoretical)
P 0 (Simulation)

-2 P 1 (Theoretical)
10 P 1 (Simulation)
P 2 (Theoretical)
P 2 (Simulation)
P 3 (Theoretical)
P 3 (Simulation)
-3
10
30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 3. Intra-cell spectrum handoff probability of post inter-cell handoff call in Cell B under
the impact of (a) λ and (b) µ
3.2.Intra-cell spectrum handoff in Cell A and Cell B for general distributions of SU’s
call duration and residual time of spectrum holes
The effect of SUs mobility (µs), departure rate of SUs (µ), and spectrum holes (λ) on
spectrum handoff for exponential distribution of non-stationary SU call duration and general
distribution of residual time of spectrum holes is presented in section 3.2.1. Section 3.2.2
presents the impact of µ, λ, and µs on spectrum handoff for the general distribution of non-
stationary SU’s call duration and exponential distribution of residual time of spectrum holes.
Here, we consider a practical scenario with the average call duration of an SU, Tc =1 min and
average Ts=30 s.

3.2.1. Impact of λ, µ, and µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff for general distributions of

residual time of spectrum holes
Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b) depict E[H]intra and E[H]intra/inter, respectively for exponential, Erlang-
2, Erlang-3,23 and lognormal residual time distributions of spectrum holes under the impact
of λ. Increasing value of λ implies lower holding time of spectrum holes which causes SUs to
experience more numbers of spectrum holes during its ongoing communication. Hence, the
expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs, E[H]intra and E[H]intra/inter increase with
increasing value of λ as shown in Fig.4(a) and Fig. 4(b), respectively.
2.5
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra)

fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Exponential

fr(x): Erlang-2
2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
fr(x): Lognormal
1.5

0.5

0
40 100 150 200 250 320
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

4.5
fr(x): Exponential f (x): Exponential
4 c
fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
3 fr(x): Lognormal

0
40 100 150 200 250 320
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Impact of λ on expected number of spectrum handoffs: (a) E[H]intra and (b)
E[H]intra/inter under diverse residual time distributions of spectrum holes.
 The effect of µ on E[H]intra and E[H]intra/inter for different residual time distributions of
spectrum holes are shown in Fig.5(a) and Fig. 5(b), respectively. Increasing value of µ
implies less call holding time of an SU; so, the SU needs less number of spectrum holes to
complete its ongoing communication. Hence, E[H]intra and E[H]intra/inter decrease with
increasing value of µ as shown in Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b), respectively.

1.5
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra)

fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential

fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
1 fr(x): Lognormal

0.5

0
30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of secondary users (users/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

6
fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential
5 fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
4 fr(x): Lognormal

0
30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of Secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 5. Impact of μ on expected number of spectrum handoffs: (a) E[H]intra and (b)
E[H]intra/inter under diverse residual time distributions of spectrum holes.

To analyze the effect of SUs mobility on intra-cell spectrum handoff probability, we

have taken µ=60 users/h (average Tc=1 min), λ= 180 spectrum holes/h and varying cell
crossing rate of SUs, μs= 0 to 360 users/h. As μs increases, the mobility of SUs also increases
(by equation (1)) and hence, a higher number of SUs cross the source cell boundary to the
neighbor or destination cells. Hence, the probability of intra-cell spectrum handoff and
expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs in Cell A decrease with increasing value of
μs as shown in Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 6(b), respectively. Increasing values of μs imply that higher
number of SUs arrive in Cell B, and hence the probability and expected number of intra-cell
spectrum handoff of post inter-cell handoff call increase as shown in Fig. 7(a) and Fig. 7(b),
respectively.
Intra-cell Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra)

0.8
fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential
0.7 fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
0.6 fr(x): Lognormal

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
4
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra)

fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential

fr(x): Erlang-2
3 fr(x): Erlang-3,23
fr(x): Lognormal

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 6. Impact of µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff of a new call: (a) Pintra and (b) E[H]intra
under diverse residual time distributions of spectrum holes.
 Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra/inter) 0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3
fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential
0.2 fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
0.1
fr(x): Lognormal
0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

3.5

fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential

1
fr(x): Erlang-2
fr(x): Erlang-3,23
fr(x): Lognormal
0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 7. Impact of µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff of a inter-cell handoff call: (a) Pintra/inter
and (b) E[H]intra/inter under diverse residual time distributions of spectrum holes.

For both spectrum handoff scenarios, it is observed that the residual time distribution of
spectrum holes with Erlang-3,23 distribution model provides better results for intra-cell
spectrum handoff probability and a lesser number of spectrum handoffs as compared to
exponential, Erlang-2 and lognormal distribution models.
3.2.2. Impact of λ, µ, and µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff for general distributions of SU’s
call duration
In this section, we present results for intra-cell spectrum handoff under SUs’ mobility for the
case when call holding time of SU is generally distributed (exponential, Erlang-2, Erlang-3,
23 & lognormal), and residual time of spectrum holes is exponentially distributed. Fig. 8(a)
and Fig. 8(b) depict the expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs of a new call in Cell
A and post inter-cell handoff call in Cell B, respectively with varying λ for diverse
distributions of SUs call duration. The E[H]intra and E[H]intra/inter during one complete service
duration of an
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra) 10
fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential
fc(x): Erlang-2
8
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
fc(x): Lognormal
6

0
40 100 150 200 250 320
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

18
fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential
15 fc(x): Erlang-2
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
12 fc(x): Lognormal

0
40 100 150 200 250 320
Departure rate of spectrum holes (holes/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 8. Impact of λ on expected number of spectrum handoffs: (a) E[H]intra and (b)
E[H]intra/inter under diverse SUs call holding time distributions.
SU are shown in Fig. 9(a) and Fig. 9(b), respectively with varying μ. In this presented
scenario, the expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs increases with increasing value
of λ and decreases with increasing value of μ as discussed in the previous section (3.2.1).
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra) 7
fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Exponential
6 fc(x): Erlang-2
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
5
fc(x): Lognormal
4

0
30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of secondary users (users/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

25
fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Exponential
fc(x): Erlang-2
20
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
fc(x): Lognormal
15

10

0
30 100 150 200 250 300 360
Departure rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 9. Impact of μ on expected number of spectrum handoffs: (a) E[H]intra and (b)
E[H]intra/inter under diverse SUs call holding time distributions.
Intra-cell Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra) 0.9
fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Exponential
0.8 fc(x): Erlang-2

0.7 fc(x): Erlang-3,23

fc(x): Lognormal
0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
9
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra)

fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Exponential

8
fc(x): Erlang-2
7 fc(x): Erlang-3,23

6 fc(x): Lognormal

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)

(a) (b)
Fig. 10. Impact of µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff of a new call: (a) Pintra and (b) E[H]intra
under diverse SUs call holding time distributions.

The effect of SUs’ mobility on intra-cell spectrum handoffs of a new call in Cell A and post
inter-cell handoff call in Cell B are shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, respectively. Higher the
value of µs, greater is the number of SUs crossing the cell boundary. Hence, the probability
and number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs per service time decrease with increasing value of
µs as shown in Fig. 10(a) and Fig. 10(b), respectively.
As µs increases, the number of SUs arriving in the Cell B also increases. Hence, the
probability and expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs of post inter-cell handoff
call of an SU in Cell B increase with increasing values of µs as shown in Fig. 11(a) and Fig.
11(b) respectively. In both the cases, it is observed that the lognormal distribution model of
SU’s call duration offers a lesser number of intra-cell spectrum handoff in call A and as well
as for post inter-cell handoff call in Cell B as compared to exponential and Erlangian
distribution models.
 Spectrum handoff probability (Pintra/inter) 0.8

0.6

0.4

fc(x): Exponential
0.2 fc(x): Erlang-2
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
fr(x): Exponential fc(x): Lognormal
0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
Expected number of handoffs (E[H]intra/inter)

fc(x): Exponential fr(x): Exponential

8 fc(x): Erlang-2
fc(x): Erlang-3,23
fc(x): Lognormal
6

0
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
Cell crossing rate of secondary users (users/h)
(a) (b)
Fig. 11. Impact of µs on intra-cell spectrum handoff of an inter-cell handoff call: (a) Pintra/inter
and (b) E[H]intra/inter under diverse SUs call holding time distributions.

4. Conclusion
Spectrum handoff is an essential process in cognitive radio technology to provide resilient
and seamless communications for improving the performance of a CR network. In this paper,
we have thoroughly investigated the impact of SUs’ mobility on the probability of intra-cell
spectrum handoff and expected number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs along with the PUs’
and SUs’ activity models. We have established standard forms of expected number of intra-
cell spectrum handoffs in source cell (E[H]intra) and destination cell (E[H]intra/inter) under
generalized residual time distributions of SUs call holding time and spectrum holes. From the
analysis, it is observed that the E[H]intra/inter increases with increasing mobility or cell
crossing rate (μs) of SUs. Results show that the mixed Erlang distribution model of residual
time of spectrum holes and lognormal distribution model of SUs call holding time offer a
fewer number of intra-cell spectrum handoffs as compared to other distribution models
mentioned here. The methods and analysis are expected to be of prime assistance in the
performance evaluation and design of CR networks.
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Appendix A
We consider exponential, Erlang-m, Erlang-i, j and lognormal distributions for call holding time of SUs and
residual time of spectrum holes as these are the most celebrated tele-traffic parameter distributions in the
performance evaluation of wireless network [25-30].
The probability density functions (PDF, f(x)) and Laplace Transforms (f *(s)) of Exponential, Erlang-m,
Erlang-i, j and lognormal distributions with mean 1/β are listed below [33].

1. Exponential Distribution
 e  x for x  0
Probability Density Function (PDF), f ( x )  
0 otherwise

* 
Laplace Transform of f(x) is given by f ( s) 
s

2. Erlang-m Distribution

  m m .x m 1 .e m x m
 for x  0  m 
PDF, f ( x )   ( m  1 )! and *
f ( s)   
  s  m 
0 otherwise
3. Erlang-i, j Distribution
  i 1 j 1
.ei x +1  p  j   . .e j  x , x  0
i x j x
 p i  .
PDF, f ( x )   (i  1)! ( j  1)!
0
 otherwise

i j
 i   j 
  (1  p) 
*
and f ( s)  p  
 s  i   s  j 
4. Lognormal Distribution
 2
  2 

  ln( x )  ln( 1 )  2 
 

PDF,    
f(x)  1 .e 2 2 for x  0

x 2 2
0 otherwise


   1  2   2  1  2  
 W 2  s 2 exp  ln( )    +2W  s exp  ln( )   
  2   
    2    
exp   
 2 2 
 
And f * ( s)   
  1  2 
1  W  s 2 exp  ln( )  
   2  
 

where m, i, and j are shape parameters; p and (1-p) are the probabilities of traffic shared by Erlang-i
and Erlang-j respectively in Erlang-i, j distribution; σ is scale parameter of the lognormal distribution.