Method and device for transmitting data

1. A method for communicating in a wireless local area network (LAN), the method comprising:

receiving, at a station, a beacon frame, the beacon frame comprising at least one basic service set identifier (BSSID) and a first color value, wherein

each BSSID identifying a basic service set (BSS) managed by an access point (AP) to which the station is associated, and

the first color value represented by a value number of bits, the value number less than 48;

receiving, at the station, a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) over a transmission bandwidth, the PPDU comprising a First Signal field and a Second Signal field, wherein

the First Signal field comprising bandwidth information and a second color value, the bandwidth information indicating the transmission bandwidth, and

the Second Signal field comprising user-specific information comprising allocation for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission;

wherein

the First Signal field is phase-rotated and transmitted over at least one first subcarrier group, each first subcarrier group having bandwidth of 20 MHz within the transmission bandwidth, and

the Second Signal is phase rotated and transmitted over a plurality of second subcarrier groups, each second subcarrier group having bandwidth that is less than 20 MHz within the transmission bandwidth; and

comparing, at the station, the first color value and the second color value to determine whether the PPDU was transmitted by the AP.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the PPDU is a multi-user physical layer protocol data unit (MU-PPDU).

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the beacon frame comprises a plurality of BSSIDs, each BSSID identifying a BSS, each BSS associated with the first color value.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of adjusting a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) sensitivity level.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of adjusting the CCA sensitivity level comprises:

determining a first CCA sensitivity level for a primary 20 MHz channel; and

determining a second CCA sensitivity level for a 40 MHz channel by increasing the first CCA sensitivity level by 3 dB.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first CCA sensitivity level has a minimum value of −82 dBm.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, when the first color value is different from the second color value, whether a channel is to be accessed.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, when the first color value equals the second color value, that the PPDU was received from the AP.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, when the first color value is different from the second color value, that the PPDU was received from an AP to which the station is not associated.

10. A device configured for communicating in a wireless local area network (LAN), the device comprising:

a radio frequency module configured to transmit and receive radio signals;

a processor operatively coupled with the radio frequency module; and

memory disposed to said processor, said memory including instructions, when executed by said processor cause the processor to:

process a beacon frame, the beacon frame comprising at least one basic service set identifier (BSSID) and a first color value, wherein

each BSSID identifying a basic service set (BSS) managed by an access point (AP) to which the station is associated, and

the first color value represented by a value number of bits, the value number less than 48;

process a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) over a transmission bandwidth, the PPDU comprising a First Signal field and a Second Signal field, wherein

the First Signal field comprising bandwidth information and a second color value, the bandwidth information indicating the transmission bandwidth, and

the Second Signal field comprising user-specific information comprising allocation for orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission;

wherein

the First Signal field is phase-rotated and transmitted over at least one first subcarrier group, each first subcarrier group having bandwidth of 20 MHz within the transmission bandwidth, and

the Second Signal is phase rotated and transmitted over a plurality of second subcarrier groups, each second subcarrier group having bandwidth that is less than 20 MHz within the transmission bandwidth; and

compare the first color value and the second color value to determine whether the PPDU was transmitted by the AP.

11. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the PPDU is a multi-user physical layer protocol data unit (MU-PPDU).

12. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the beacon frame comprises a plurality of BSSIDs, each BSSID identifying a BSS, each BSS associated with the first color value.

13. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to adjust a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) sensitivity level.

14. A device recited in claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first CCA sensitivity level for a primary 20 MHz channel; and determine a second CCA sensitivity level for a 40 MHz channel by increasing the first CCA sensitivity level by 3 dB.

15. A device recited in claim 14 wherein the first CCA sensitivity level has a minimum value of −82 dBm.

16. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to determine, when the first color value is different than the second color value, whether a channel is to be accessed.

17. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to determine, when the first color value equals the second color value, that the PPDU was received from the AP.

18. A device recited in claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to determine, when the first color value is different than the second color value, that the PPDU was received from an AP to which the station is not associated.