Hypergaph-based model for coexistence management of heterogeneous wireless networks

raditional graph theory is typically used to model interference relations among networks to realise channel assignment that enables improvement in spectrum utilisation through spatial re-use of the channels. Studies have shown that spectrum utilisation could be further improved through co-sharing among networks that are capable of spectral coexistence as long as the channel load is not excessive. The co-sharing networks use their inherent media access control (MAC) techniques to coordinate access to a shared channel. However, the concept of an edge in a traditional graph, which is a two-element subset, is not sufficient to model subsets of potential co-sharing networks because such subsets may have cardinality of greater than 2. Instead, this paper proposes use of hypergraph theory to model the co-sharing strategy in an environment that comprises heterogeneous radio systems. The model could be applied in centralised coexistence management frameworks such as IEEE 802.19.1-based systems. Results demonstrate that spectrum sharing using the hypergraph model achieves higher average spectrum utilisation by up to 17.5% when there are 3 available channels, and requires up to 7 fewer channels to achieve, on average, 100% operational networks than spatial re-use alone.