SAPHYRE

In current wireless communications, radio spectrum and infrastructure are typically used such that interference is avoided by exclusive allocation of frequency bands and employment of base stations. SAPHYRE will demonstrate how equal-priority resource sharing in wireless networks improves spectral efficiency, enhances coverage, increases user satisfaction, leads to increased revenue for operators, and decreases capital and operating expenditures. SAPHYRE aims at developing new approaches to make better use of the spectrum resources that are available for mobile communication services. Development will be focussed on new principles and enabling technology for resource sharing in wireless networks, specifically for sharing of spectrum and infrastructure.

The main topics emphasised in the SAPHYRE project are: Self-organising infrastructure sharing, new adaptive spectrum sharing models, efficient autonomous co-ordination, and high spectral efficiency.The common background is that different users can all gain from a collective approach, if they voluntarily share the spectrum between them. But also operators will earn increased revenue by spectrum and infrastructure sharing due to a higher quality of the services they can offer. Furthermore, the SAPHYRE project will show how the different options for making more efficient use of spectrum resources will fit within the regulatory frameworks as they currently exist and recommendations will be made assisting ongoing regulation processes, which changes in the regulatory framework would be required or beneficial in order to provide optimal opportunities for the identified innovations. Within the SAPHYRE project, our institute will contribute to the following research topics: fundamental limits, signal processing and coding, cross-layer designs for resource sharing and demonstrator testbed.