• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.112-122
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• 2016

Cognitive radio (CR) is considered an attractive technology to deal with the spectrum scarcity problem. Multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) can improve network capacity because data are transmitted by multiple RANs (radio access networks) concurrently. Thus, multi-RAT embedded in a cognitive radio network (CRN) is a promising paradigm for developing spectrum efficiency and network capacity in future wireless networks. In this study, we consider a new CRN model in which the primary user networks consist of heterogeneous primary users (PUs). Specifically, we focus on the energy-efficient resource allocation (EERA) problem for CR users with a special location coverage overlapping region in which heterogeneous PUs operate simultaneously via multi-RAT. We propose a two-tier crossover genetic algorithm-based search scheme to obtain an optimal solution in terms of the power and bandwidth. In addition, we introduce a radio environment map to manage the resource allocation and network synchronization. The simulation results show the proposed algorithm is stable and has faster convergence. Our proposal can significantly increase the energy efficiency.