Enhanced broadcast services (EBCS) downlink broadcasts
This disclosure provides methods, devices and systems for reliable delivery of enhanced broadcast services (EBCS) downlink (DL) packets to wireless stations (STAs) that support EBCS (also referred to as “EBCS STAs”) and maintaining interoperability with STAs that do not support EBCS. A wireless communication device may broadcast one or more EBCS DL packets carrying data associated with an EBCS service. In some aspects, the wireless communication device may subsequently transmit a trigger frame soliciting information indicating which, if any, of the EBCS DL packets were missed by EBCS STAs in the vicinity. In some other aspects, each EBCS DL packet may carry signaling indicating that the broadcast data is intended only for EBCS STAs. Still further, in some aspects, the wireless communication device may broadcast an EBCS traffic advertisement indicating a timing of the one or more EBCS DL packets.
1. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, comprising:
transmitting a frame including a bitmap that includes one or more bits representative of a first content identifier associated with a first broadcast service and a second content identifier associated with a second broadcast service, wherein inclusion of the one or more bits in the bitmap indicates that the wireless communication device provides the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service during a time period, wherein the frame indicates a first timing for one or more first packets associated with the first broadcast service during the time period and a second timing for one or more second packets associated with the second broadcast service during the time period;
transmitting, during the time period and in accordance with the first timing, a first set of packets carrying data associated with the first broadcast service, each of the first set of packets including a first unique receiver address associated with the first broadcast service; and
transmitting, during the time period and in accordance with the second timing, a second set of packets carrying data associated with the second broadcast service, each of the second set of packets including a second unique receiver address associated with the second broadcast service.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first broadcast service is associated with a first range of sequence numbers and each packet in the first set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers, and wherein the second broadcast service is associated with a second range of sequence numbers and each packet in the second set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the second range of sequence numbers, the method further comprising:
transmitting a second frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), the frame carrying broadcast soliciting information indicating the first range of sequence numbers;
receiving the PPDU responsive to the second frame, the PPDU carrying broadcast solicited information indicating whether one or more sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers are associated with one or more respective packets, of the first set of packets, that were missed; and
selectively retransmitting one or more of the first set of packets based on the broadcast solicited information carried in the received PPDU.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in one or more fields of the second frame, each of the one or more fields having an association identifier (AID) subfield set to a special AID value and carrying a portion of the broadcast soliciting information that indicates a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second frame further carries uplink (UL) bandwidth information indicating a bandwidth associated with the PPDU, the broadcast soliciting information further indicating a mapping of the first range of sequence numbers to one or more portions of the bandwidth so that each of the one or more portions maps to a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective tone.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective resource unit (RU) or multiple RU (MRU).
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the broadcast solicited information includes one or more values modulated on the one or more portions of the bandwidth, respectively, a respective value of the one or more values modulated on a respective portion of the bandwidth indicating whether the respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the respective portion includes a sequence number associated with a respective packet, of the first set of packets, that was missed.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a first respective value modulated on a first portion of the one or more portions of the bandwidth indicates that a first respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the first portion of the bandwidth includes a first respective sequence number associated with a first respective packet, of the first set of packets, that was missed, the selectively retransmitting of the one or more of the first set of packets comprising:
retransmitting packets identified by each sequence number in the first respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the first portion of the bandwidth.
9. A wireless communication device comprising:
at least one modem;
at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modem; and
at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to:
transmit a frame including a bitmap that includes one or more bits representative of a first content identifier associated with a first broadcast service and a second content identifier associated with a second broadcast service, wherein inclusion of the one or more bits in the bitmap indicates the wireless communication device provides the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service during a time period, wherein the frame indicates a first timing for one or more first packets associated with the first broadcast service during the time period and a second timing for one or more second packets associated with the second broadcast service during the time period;
transmit, during the time period and in accordance with the first timing, a first set of packets carrying data associated with the first broadcast service, each of the first set of packets including a first unique receiver address associated with the first broadcast service; and
transmit, during the time period and in accordance with the second timing, a second set of packets carrying data associated with the second broadcast service, each of the second set of packets including a second unique receiver address associated with the second broadcast service.
10. The wireless communication device of claim 9 , wherein the first broadcast service is associated with a first range of sequence numbers and each packet in the first set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers, and wherein the second broadcast service is associated with a second range of sequence numbers and each packet in the second set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the second range of sequence numbers, wherein the code, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, in conjunction with the at least one modem, is further configured to:
transmit a second frame soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), the second frame carrying broadcast soliciting information indicating the first range of sequence numbers;
receive the PPDU responsive to the second frame, the PPDU carrying broadcast solicited information indicating whether one or more sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers are associated with one or more respective packets, of the first set of packets, that were missed; and
selectively retransmit one or more of the first set of packets based on the broadcast solicited information carried in the received PPDU.
11. The wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in one or more fields of the second frame, each of the one or more fields having an association identifier (AID) subfield set to a special AID value and carrying a portion of the broadcast soliciting information that indicates a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
12. The wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the second frame further carries uplink (UL) bandwidth information indicating a bandwidth associated with the PPDU, the broadcast soliciting information further indicating a mapping of the first range of sequence numbers to one or more portions of the bandwidth so that each of the one or more portions maps to a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
13. The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective tone.
14. The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective resource unit (RU) or multiple RU (MRU).
15. A method for wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, comprising:
receiving, from an access point (AP), a frame including a bitmap that includes one or more bits representative of a first content identifier associated with a first broadcast service and a second content identifier associated with a second broadcast service, wherein inclusion of the one or more bits in the bitmap indicates the wireless communication device provides the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service during a time period, wherein the frame indicates a first timing for one or more first packets associated with the first broadcast service during the time period and a second timing for one or more second packets associated with the second broadcast service during the time period;
receiving, from the AP and during the time period and in accordance with the first timing, a first set of packets carrying data associated with the first broadcast service, each of the first set of packets including a first unique receiver address associated with the first broadcast service; and
receiving, from the AP and during the time period and in accordance with the second timing, a second set of packets carrying data associated with the second broadcast service, each of the second set of packets including a second unique receiver address associated with the second broadcast service.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first broadcast service is associated with a first range of sequence numbers and each packet in the first set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers, and wherein the second broadcast service is associated with a second range of sequence numbers and each packet in the second set of packets is identified by a respective sequence number in the second range of sequence numbers, the method further comprising:
receiving a second frame from the AP soliciting a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU), the second frame carrying broadcast soliciting information indicating the first range of sequence numbers; and
transmitting, responsive to the second frame, the PPDU carrying broadcast solicited information indicating whether one or more sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers was missed.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in one or more fields of the second frame, each of the one or more fields having an association identifier (AID) subfield set to a special AID value and carrying a portion of the broadcast soliciting information that indicates a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second frame further carries uplink (UL) bandwidth information indicating a bandwidth associated with the PPDU, the broadcast soliciting information further indicating a mapping of the first range of sequence numbers to one or more portions of the bandwidth so that each of the one or more portions maps to a respective subset of sequence numbers in the first range of sequence numbers.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective tone.
20. The method of claim 18 , wherein each of the one or more portions of the bandwidth comprises a respective resource unit (RU) or multiple RU (MRU).
21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the broadcast solicited information includes one or more values modulated on the one or more portions of the bandwidth, respectively, a respective value of the one or more values modulated on a respective portion of the bandwidth indicating whether the respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the respective portion includes a sequence number that was missed.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein a first respective value modulated on a first portion of the one or more portions of the bandwidth indicates that a first respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the first portion of the bandwidth includes a first respective sequence number associated with a first respective packet, of the first set of packets, that was missed, the method further comprising:
receiving one or more additional packets associated with the first broadcast service responsive to the PPDU, each of the one or more additional packets being identified by the respective sequence number in the first respective subset of sequence numbers that maps to the first portion of the bandwidth.
23. A wireless communication device comprising:
at least one modem;
at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modem; and
at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to:
receive, from an access point (AP), a frame including a bitmap that includes one or more bits representative of a first content identifier associated with a first broadcast service and a second content identifier associated with a second broadcast service, wherein inclusion of the one or more bits in the bitmap indicates the wireless communication device provides the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service during a time period, wherein the frame indicates a first timing for one or more first packets associated with the first broadcast service during the time period and a second timing for one or more second packets associated with the second broadcast service during the time period;
receive, from the AP and during the time period and in accordance with the first timing, a first set of packets carrying data associated with the first broadcast service, each of the first set of packets including a first unique receiver address associated with the first broadcast service; and
receive, from the AP and during the time period and in accordance with the second timing, a second set of packets carrying data associated with the second broadcast service, each of the second set of packets including a second unique receiver address associated with the second broadcast service.
24. The method of claim 2 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in a field of the second frame, the broadcast soliciting information indicating a starting sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers and a number of sequence numbers associated with the first range of sequence numbers.
25. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first content identifier is different from the second content identifier, the first unique receiver address is different from the second unique receiver address, the first range of sequence numbers is different from the second range of sequence numbers, or a combination thereof.
26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the frame is a broadcast services information frame advertising one or more broadcast services including the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service, wherein the broadcast services information frame indicates the first unique receiver address is associated with the first broadcast service, and wherein the broadcast services information frame indicates the second unique receiver address is associated with the second broadcast service.
27. The wireless communication device of claim 10 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in a field of the second frame, the broadcast soliciting information indicating a starting sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers and a number of sequence numbers associated with the first range of sequence numbers.
28. The method of claim 16 , wherein the broadcast soliciting information is carried in a field of the second frame, the broadcast soliciting information indicating a starting sequence number in the first range of sequence numbers and a number of sequence numbers associated with the first range of sequence numbers.
29. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first content identifier is different from the second content identifier, the first unique receiver address is different from the second unique receiver address, the first range of sequence numbers is different from the second range of sequence numbers, or a combination thereof.
30. The method of claim 15 , wherein the frame is a broadcast services information frame advertising one or more broadcast services including the first broadcast service and the second broadcast service, wherein the broadcast services information frame indicates the first unique receiver address is associated with the first broadcast service, and wherein the broadcast services information frame indicates the second unique receiver address is associated with the second broadcast service.