Abstract
Cognitive radio makes it possible for an unlicensed user to access a spectrum opportunistically on the basis of non‐interfering to licensed users. This paper addresses the problem of resource allocation for multiaccess channel (MAC) of OFDMA‐based cognitive radio networks. The objective is to maximize the system utility, which is used as an approach to balance the efficiency and fairness of wireless resource allocation. First, a theoretical framework is provided, where necessary and sufficient conditions for utility‐based optimal subcarrier assignment and power allocation are presented under certain constraints. Second, based on the theoretical framework, effective algorithms are devised for more practical conditions, including ellipsoid method for Lagrangian multipliers iteration and Frank–Wolfe method for marginal utilities iteration. Third, it is shown that the proposed scheme does not have to track the instantaneous channel state via an outage‐probability‐based solution. In the end, numerical results have confirmed that the utility‐based resource allocation can achieve the optimal system performance and guarantee fairness. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.