Encoding information in beacon signals

1. A method of transmitting a set of broadcast information bits using a predetermined set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol, the method comprising:

generating from a plurality of broadcast information bits a first subset of broadcast information bits and a second subset of broadcast information bits;

partitioning a predetermined set of bandwidth of degrees of freedom into at least two subsets, each subset including a plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom;

choosing a subset from the at least two subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits;

selecting at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information bits; and

transmitting a beacon signal in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beacon signal is transmitted at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than the average transmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 dB.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein partitioning the at least two subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom is performed in a predetermined manner and independently of the set of broadcast information bits.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the bandwidth degrees of freedom in any of the at least two subsets are contiguous.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the at least two subsets are disjoint with each other.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second subsets of broadcast information bits are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one subset of the at least two subsets of broadcast information bits includes control information to be received by a wireless device for peer-to-peer communications in which a wireless device communicates directly with another wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the control information includes at least one of a frequency band location information, whether peer-to-peer communication is allowed in the frequency band, a control parameter that controls a maximum transmission power to be used by the wireless device for peer-to-peer communications or combinations thereof.

9. A wireless communications apparatus that transmits a set of broadcast information bits, comprising:

a memory that retains instructions related to generating a first subset of broadcast information bits and a second subset of broadcast information bits, partitioning a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol, deciding which subset to use as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits, choosing one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in the subset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information and sending the chosen one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in a beacon signal; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions retained in the memory.

10. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9 , the memory further retains instructions for transmitting the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission power used to transmit other beacon signals, X being at least 10 dB.

11. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the memory further retains instructions for partitioning the two or more subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom in a predetermined manner and independently of the set of broadcast information bits.

12. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the two or more subsets are disjoint with each other.

13. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first and second subsets of broadcast information bits are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits.

14. A wireless communications apparatus that enables independent coding of at least two subsets of information in a beacon signal, comprising:

means for creating a first subset of broadcast information bits and a second subset of broadcast information bits from a plurality of broadcast information bits;

means for dividing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom into at least two subsets wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;

means for choosing one subset from the at least two subsets as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits;

means for independently selecting at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information; and

means for selectively transmitting information in the at least one bandwidth degree of freedom.

15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising means for transmitting the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom.

16. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 14 , the means for selectively transmitting sends the first and the at least a second subset of information at a high-energy.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions for:

producing a first and a second subset of broadcast information bits;

dividing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more subsets from a plurality of broadcast information bits, wherein a degree of freedom is a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;

selecting a subset from the two or more subsets as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits;

selecting at least one the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom in the selected subset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information bits; and

transmitting a beacon signal in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17 , the machine-executable instructions further comprise transmitting the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than the average transmission power used in non-selected degrees of freedom.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17 , where dividing the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom is performed in a predetermined manner and independently of the set of broadcast information bits.

20. In a wireless communication system, an apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to:

create a first and a second subset of broadcast information bits from a plurality of broadcast information bits;

divide a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom into at least two subsets in a predetermined manner and independently of the set of broadcast information bits;

choose a subset from the at least two subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;

select at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information bits; and

transmit a beacon signal in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 db.

21. A method for receiving a set of broadcast information bits, comprising:

receiving a beacon symbol in at least one bandwidth degree of freedom, wherein:

a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;

and the beacon symbol is received in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom at a power higher than other bandwidth degrees of freedom;

determining which bandwidth degree of freedom was selected from the plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom included in a subset; and

ascertaining which subset was selected from at least two subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom to determine at least a portion of the set of broadcast information.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the beacon symbol is received at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission power used in a non-selected degree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 dB.

23. The method of claim 21 , the beacon symbol is received at substantially a same time as other signals.

24. The method of claim 21 , wherein determining which bandwidth degree of freedom was selected is performed independently of ascertaining which subset was selected.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the bandwidth degrees of freedom in any of the at least two subsets are contiguous.

26. The method of claim 24 , wherein the at least two subsets are disjoint with each other.

27. The method of claim 21 , wherein at least two subsets of the set of broadcast information are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits.

28. The method of claim 21 , wherein at least one subset of at least two subsets of the set of broadcast information includes control information to be received from a base station for peer-to-peer communications in which a first wireless device communicates directly with a second wireless device.

29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the control information includes at least one of a frequency band location information, whether peer-to-peer communication is allowed in the frequency band, a control parameter that controls a maximum transmission power to be used by the first wireless device for peer-to-peer communications or combinations thereof.

30. A wireless communications apparatus that selectively decodes information received in a beacon signal including a set of broadcast information bits, the apparatus comprising:

a memory that retains instructions related to receiving a chosen one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in a beacon signal, determining which bandwidth degrees of freedom was received from a subset, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol, deciding which subset was selected from two or more subsets and reconstructing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom from the two or more subsets; and identifying the beacon signal as being received at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom higher than an average transmission power of other received beacon signals; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions retained in the memory.

31. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 30 , the memory further retains instructions for identifying the beacon signal as being received at the power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than the average transmission power of other received beacon signals, X being at least 10 dB.

32. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the two or more subsets are disjoint with each other.

33. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 32 , wherein two or more subsets of broadcast information bits are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits.

34. A wireless communications apparatus that enables independent decoding of at least two subsets of broadcast information bits received in a beacon signal, comprising:

means for selectively receiving information in at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol and the beacon signal is received at a power in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is higher than an average transmission power received for one or more non-selected degrees of freedom;

means for independently determining which one of a plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosen subset was received;

means for deciding which subset from at least two subsets included the at least one of a plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom;

means for combining the at least two subsets into a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom; and

means for decoding a plurality of broadcast information bits from the first subset of broadcast information bits and the second subset of broadcast information bits.

35. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 34 , further comprising means for receiving the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than the average transmission power received for each non-selected degree of freedom in the plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom.

36. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 34 , the means for selectively receiving accepts the information at a high-energy.

37. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions for:

receiving a beacon signal in at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol, and the beacon signal is received at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is higher than an average transmission power received for non-selected degrees of freedom;

determining which bandwidth degree of freedom in a subset that includes a plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom was received; and

ascertaining which subset of broadcast information bits were chosen from at least two subsets for the beacon signal.

38. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 37 , the machine-executable instructions further comprise receiving the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than the average transmission power received for the non-selected degrees of freedom.

39. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 37 , where determining which bandwidth degree of freedom was received is independent of ascertaining which broadcast information bits were chosen.

40. In a wireless communication system, an apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to:

receive a beacon signal in at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 dB, and wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;

determine at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosen subset that the beacon signal was received in; and

ascertain which subset of bandwidth degrees of freedom from at least two subsets a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom was divided.