  The next generation Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), with the aid of
two-way Smart Metering Network (SMN), is expected to support many advanced
functions. In this work, we focus on the application of remote periodic energy
consumption reporting, which is a fundamental and significant component of
Demand Response and Load Management. In order to support this periodic
application with satisfactory communication performance, a well-suited Media
Access Control (MAC) protocol needs to be designed. Because the number of Smart
Meters (communication nodes) involved in SMN are much larger than that in
today's local area networks, the traditional taking-turns MAC protocol, such as
Point Coordination Function (PCF) in WiFi is unlikely to perform well. In order
to solve this problem, we propose a modified PCF scheme with the combination of
Cognitive Radio technology, in which the Smart Meters may use the free channels
(white space) to report energy consumption data to the Local Collector when the
Primary Users are not occupying the channels. We also conduct comprehensive
throughput analysis on the proposed scheme. The numerical results and
simulation results through NS-3 show that the PCF scheme with Cognitive Radio
significantly outperform the traditional one in a densely populated network
like SMN.
