Patent ID: 8351405
Filing Date: 2013-01-08
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of broadcasting beacon signals in a frequency division multiplexing communication system, the method comprising: identifying a plurality of disjoint beacon subsets of available tones in a single contiguous tone block for communicating beacon signals in the communication system, said plurality of disjoint subsets of available tones including a first beacon subset, a second beacon subset, and a third beacon subset within said contiguous tone block; wherein tones in said first, second and third beacon subsets are interspersed in said tone block such that at least two tones of the first beacon subset have at least one tone of a different one of the plurality of disjoint beacon subsets between them; selecting, from the first beacon subset, as a function of cell information and sector information, a first tone for use as a first beacon tone of a first indexed beacon slot, said first indexed beacon slot being part of a timing structure including a plurality of indexed beacon slots; generating a first beacon signal; and transmitting the generated first beacon signal on the first beacon tone in the first indexed beacon slot; wherein none of the tones in said plurality of disjoint beacon subsets of available tones are immediately adjacent another tone in said plurality of disjoint beacon subsets of available tones; and wherein tones in the first subset have a tone spacing of at least nine tones.