Beamformed transmission in high efficiency wireless LAN

1. A method of facilitating beamformed transmissions in a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

transmitting signaling information indicating whether beamforming is applied to data units of a downlink frame over one or more subcarriers, wherein the signaling information is transmitted over each of a plurality of subchannels;

transmitting the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers allocated respectively to a set of stations, wherein the data units are beamformed or not on the one or more subcarriers according to the signaling information, and

applying the beamforming identically to all of the one or more subcarriers, wherein the signaling information in each of the plurality of subchannels commonly indicates whether the beamforming is applied to the one or more subcarriers.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the downlink frame is a high-efficiency (HE) Physical layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU).

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the signaling information is included in a HE-SIG-A field of the HE PPDU.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the signaling information is included in a HE-SIG-B field of the HE PPDU.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information includes a single bit to indicate whether the beamforming is applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers, and

wherein when the single bit has a first value, the beamforming is applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers, and when the single bit has a second value, the beamforming is not applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information is transmitted in a signal field of the downlink frame that is transmitted after a high-efficiency (HE) SIG-A field of the downlink frame.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information is transmitted in a signal field of the downlink frame that is transmitted prior to a long training field of the downlink frame.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signaling information is transmitted in a signal field of the downlink frame that is transmitted prior to a short training field of the downlink frame.

9. A method of facilitating beamformed transmissions in a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

receiving signaling information in a downlink frame that indicates whether beamforming is applied to one or more subcarriers allocated respectively to a set of stations, wherein the signaling information is received over each of a plurality of subchannels; and

transmitting an uplink frame to an access point in response to the downlink frame, wherein data units of the uplink frame are individually beamformed or not on the one or more subcarriers according to the signaling information,

wherein the beamforming is applied identically to all of the one or more subcarriers, wherein the signaling information in each of the plurality of subchannels commonly indicates whether the beamforming is applied to the one or more subcarriers.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

transmitting a beamforming feedback report to the access point prior to receiving the downlink frame,

wherein whether the beamforming is applied to the one or more subcarriers is determined by the access point based on beamforming feedback reports simultaneously received from the set of stations.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the beamforming feedback report is elicited by trigger information provided from the access point to the set of stations.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the trigger information is included in a Non-Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) frame or a Beamforming Report Poll frame.

13. A station for facilitating multi-user communication in a wireless network, the station comprising:

one or more memories; and

one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to cause:

transmitting signaling information indicating whether beamforming is applied to data units of a downlink frame over one or more subcarriers, wherein the signaling information is transmitted over each of a plurality of subchannels;

transmitting the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers allocated respectively to a set of stations, wherein the data units are beamformed or not on the one or more subcarriers according to the signaling information; and

applying the beamforming identically to all of the one or more subcarriers, wherein the signaling information in each of the plurality of subchannels commonly indicates whether the beamforming is applied to the one or more subcarriers.

14. The station of claim 13 , wherein the signaling information includes a single bit to indicate whether the beamforming is applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers, and

wherein when the single bit has a first value, the beamforming is applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers, and when the single bit has a second value, the beamforming is not applied to the data units of the downlink frame over the one or more subcarriers.

15. The station of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause transmitting the signaling information in a signal field of the downlink frame that is transmitted after a high-efficiency (HE) SIG-A field of the downlink frame.

16. The station of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause:

transmitting the signaling information in a signal field of the downlink frame that is transmitted prior to a long training field of the downlink frame or prior to a short training field of the downlink frame.