Widely regarded as one of the most promising emerging technologies for driving the future development of wireless communications, cognitive radio has the potential to mitigate the problem of increasing radio spectrum scarcity through dynamic spectrum allocation. Drawing on fundamental elements of information theory, network theory, propagation, optimisation and signal processing, a team of leading experts present a systematic treatment of the core physical and networking principles of cognitive radio and explore key design considerations for the development of new cognitive radio systems. Containing all the underlying principles you need to develop practical applications in cognitive radio, this book is an essential reference for students, researchers and practitioners alike in the field of wireless communications and signal processing.