System and method for setting cyclic prefix length

1. A method for communicating in a wireless communications system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a station, scheduling information for an uplink transmission scheduled for the station, wherein the scheduling information comprises a usage indicator indicating at least one of a plurality of multiple access techniques, and wherein the usage indicator is received via a downlink transmission in accordance with a first length of a first cyclic prefix,

setting, by the station, a second length of a second cyclic prefix for the uplink transmission in accordance with the usage indicator, wherein the second length is longer than the first length; and

transmitting, by the station, the uplink transmission with the second cyclic prefix,

wherein the plurality of multiple access techniques comprises orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO),

wherein setting the second length of the second cyclic prefix comprises:

setting the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a value,

wherein the value corresponds to a first value if the usage indicator indicates that at least one of the plurality of multiple access techniques is to be used; or

wherein the value corresponds to a second value if the usage indicator indicates that none of the plurality of multiple access techniques are to be used.

2. A method for communicating in a wireless communications system, the method comprising:

receiving, by a station, scheduling information for an uplink transmission scheduled for the station, wherein the scheduling information is received via a downlink transmission in accordance with a first length of a first cyclic prefix;

setting a second length of a second cyclic prefix to a first value in response to determining that the scheduling information includes information intended for more stations than just the station; or setting a second length of a second cyclic prefix to a second value in response to determining that the scheduling information includes information intended for only the station, wherein the second length is longer than the first length; and

transmitting, by the station, the uplink transmission with the second cyclic prefix,

wherein the plurality of multiple access techniques comprises orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO),

wherein setting the second length of the second cyclic prefix comprises:

setting the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a value,

wherein the value corresponds to a first value if the usage indicator indicates that at least one of the plurality of multiple access techniques is to be used; or

wherein the value corresponds to a second value if the usage indicator indicates that none of the plurality of multiple access techniques are to be used.

3. A station comprising:

a receiver configured to receive scheduling information for an uplink transmission scheduled for the station, wherein the scheduling information comprises a usage indicator indicating at least one of a plurality of multiple access techniques, and wherein the usage indicator is received via a downlink transmission in accordance with a first length of a first cyclic prefix;

a processor operatively coupled to the receiver, the processor configured to set a second length of a second cyclic prefix for the uplink transmission in accordance with the usage indicator, wherein the second length is longer than the first length; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor, the transmitter configured to transmit the uplink transmission with the second cyclic prefix,

wherein the plurality of multiple access techniques comprises orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO),

wherein the processor is configured to set the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a first value if the usage indicator indicates that at least one of the plurality of multiple access techniques is to be used, or the processor is configured to set the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a second value if the usage indicator indicates that none of the plurality of multiple access techniques are to be used, and wherein the first value is different from the second value.

4. A station comprising:

a receiver configured to receive scheduling information for an uplink transmission scheduled for the station, wherein the scheduling information is received via a downlink transmission in accordance with a first length of a first cyclic prefix;

a processor operatively coupled to the receiver,

wherein the processor is configured to set a second length of a second cyclic prefix to a first value in response to determining that the scheduling information includes information intended for more stations than just the station, or the processor is configured to set a second length of a second cyclic prefix to a second value in response to determining that the scheduling information includes information intended for only the station, wherein the second length is longer than the first length; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor, the transmitter configured to transmit the uplink transmission with the second cyclic prefix,

wherein the plurality of multiple access techniques comprises orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO),

wherein the processor is configured to set the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a first value if the usage indicator indicates that at least one of the plurality of multiple access techniques is to be used, or the processor is configured to set the second length of the second cyclic prefix to a second value if the usage indicator indicates that none of the plurality of multiple access techniques are to be used, and wherein the first value is different from the second value.