Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Cognitive Radio Networks: Addressing the Challenges of Rapid Spectrum Utilization

The rapid increase in wireless communication demand has posed significant challenges to energy efficiency within cognitive radio networks. These networks, designed to enhance spectrum utilization by dynamically accessing underutilized frequency bands, face the critical concern of balancing effective spectrum use with energy consumption. This paper explores innovative strategies for enhancing energy efficiency in cognitive radio networks amid the complexities introduced by rapid spectrum utilization. We examine the impact of advanced resource allocation methods, including cooperative spectrum sensing and task distribution among multiple users, which facilitate optimal spectrum sharing while minimizing energy usage. The integration of energy harvesting techniques is discussed as a means to supplement the power requirements of cognitive radio devices, promoting sustainability in network operations. The performance parameters are analysed for 1 to 5000 number of users and bandwidth of total bandwidth of 100 MHz. Simulation results reveal that with an increasing number of users, throughput rises significantly from 1.2 Mbps for one user to 4,500 Mbps for 5,000 users, while energy efficiency peaks at 2.3 bps/J for 1,000 users before declining to 1.5 bps/J at maximum capacity. Spectrum utilization increases steadily from 0.00012–0.45%, and latency escalates from 0.05 ms to 3.00 ms with the user count. Packet delivery ratio (PDR) decreases from 97–80%, and quality of service (QoS) initially improves to 0.92 before slightly declining to 0.85 under peak conditions. These results demonstrate that the proposed frameworks not only reduce energy consumption but also enhance data throughput and overall system performance in cognitive radio networks.