Patent Publication Number: US-2023132460-A1

Title: Operating channel change without wi-fi direct network re-establishment protocol

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/332,175, filed Apr. 18, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments pertain to Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) networks. In particular, some embodiments relate to operating channel changes in a WFD. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The use and complexity of wireless systems has increased due to both an increase in the types of electronic devices using network resources as well as the amount of data and bandwidth being used by various applications, such as video streaming, operating on the electronic devices. As expected, a number of issues abound with the advent of any new technology, including complexities related to peer to peer (P2P) connections over WFD, which are widely used today for different use cases such as screen mirroring and file sharing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       In the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the present document. 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a radio architecture in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a front-end module circuitry for use in the radio architecture of  FIG.  1    in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a radio IC circuitry for use in the radio architecture of  FIG.  1    in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a baseband processing circuitry for use in the radio architecture of  FIG.  1    in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a WLAN in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a flowchart of communication in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram of a radio architecture  100  in accordance with some embodiments. Radio architecture  100  may include radio front-end module (FEM) circuitry  104 , radio IC circuitry  106  and baseband processing circuitry  108 . Radio architecture  100  as shown includes both Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) functionality and Bluetooth (BT) functionality although embodiments are not so limited. In this disclosure, “WLAN” and “Wi-Fi” are used interchangeably. 
     FEM circuitry  104  may include a WLAN or Wi-Fi FEM circuitry  104 A and a Bluetooth (BT) FEM circuitry  104 B. The WLAN FEM circuitry  104 A may include a receive signal path comprising circuitry configured to operate on WLAN RF signals received from one or more antennas  101 , to amplify the received signals and to provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the WLAN radio IC circuitry  106 A for further processing. The BT FEM circuitry  104 B may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on BT RF signals received from one or more antennas  101 , to amplify the received signals and to provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the BT radio IC circuitry  106 B for further processing. FEM circuitry  104 A may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify WLAN signals provided by the radio IC circuitry  106 A for wireless transmission by one or more of the antennas  101 . In addition, FEM circuitry  104 B may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify BT signals provided by the radio IC circuitry  106 B for wireless transmission by the one or more antennas. In the embodiment of  FIG.  1   , although FEM  104 A and FEM  104 B are shown as being distinct from one another, embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope the use of an FEM (not shown) that includes a transmit path and/or a receive path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more FEM circuitries where at least some of the FEM circuitries share transmit and/or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals. 
     Radio IC circuitry  106  as shown may include WLAN radio IC circuitry  106 A and BT radio IC circuitry  106 B. The WLAN radio IC circuitry  106 A may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert WLAN RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  104 A and provide baseband signals to WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A. BT radio IC circuitry  106 B may in turn include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert BT RF signals received from the FEM circuitry  104 B and provide baseband signals to BT baseband processing circuitry  108 B. WLAN radio IC circuitry  106 A may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert WLAN baseband signals provided by the WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A and provide WLAN RF output signals to the FEM circuitry  104 A for subsequent wireless transmission by the one or more antennas  101 . BT radio IC circuitry  106 B may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert BT baseband signals provided by the BT baseband processing circuitry  108 B and provide BT RF output signals to the FEM circuitry  104 B for subsequent wireless transmission by the one or more antennas  101 . In the embodiment of  FIG.  1   , although radio IC circuitries  106 A and  106 B are shown as being distinct from one another, embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope the use of a radio IC circuitry (not shown) that includes a transmit signal path and/or a receive signal path for both WLAN and BT signals, or the use of one or more radio IC circuitries where at least some of the radio IC circuitries share transmit and/or receive signal paths for both WLAN and BT signals. 
     Baseband processing circuitry  108  may include a WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A and a BT baseband processing circuitry  108 B. The WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A may include a memory, such as, for example, a set of RAM arrays in a Fast Fourier Transform or Inverse Fast Fourier Transform block (not shown) of the WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A. Each of the WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A and the BT baseband circuitry  108 B may further include one or more processors and control logic to process the signals received from the corresponding WLAN or BT receive signal path of the radio IC circuitry  106 , and to also generate corresponding WLAN or BT baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the radio IC circuitry  106 . Each of the WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A and the BT baseband circuitry  108 B may further include physical layer (PHY) and medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry, and may further interface with application processor  111  for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the radio IC circuitry  106 . 
     Referring still to  FIG.  1   , according to the shown embodiment, WLAN-BT coexistence circuitry  113  may include logic providing an interface between the WLAN baseband circuitry  108 A and the BT baseband circuitry  108 B to enable use cases requiring WLAN and BT coexistence. In addition, a switch  103  may be provided between the WLAN FEM circuitry  104 A and the BT FEM circuitry  104 B to allow switching between the WLAN and BT radios according to application needs. In addition, although the antennas  101  are depicted as being respectively connected to the WLAN FEM circuitry  104 A and the BT FEM circuitry  104 B, embodiments include within their scope the sharing of one or more antennas as between the WLAN and BT FEMs, or the provision of more than one antenna connected to each of FEM  104 A or  104 B. 
     In some embodiments, the front-end module circuitry  104 , the radio IC circuitry  106 , and baseband processing circuitry  108  may be provided on a single radio card, such as wireless radio card  102 . In some other embodiments, the one or more antennas  101 , the FEM circuitry  104  and the radio IC circuitry  106  may be provided on a single radio card. In some other embodiments, the radio IC circuitry  106  and the baseband processing circuitry  108  may be provided on a single chip or IC, such as IC  112 . 
     In some embodiments, the wireless radio card  102  may include a WLAN radio card and may be configured for Wi-Fi communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may be configured to receive and transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication signals over a multicarrier communication channel. The OFDM or OFDMA signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers. 
     In some of these multicarrier embodiments, radio architecture  100  may be part of a Wi-Fi communication station (STA) such as a wireless access point (AP), a base station or a mobile device including a Wi-Fi device. In some of these embodiments, radio architecture  100  may be configured to transmit and receive signals in accordance with specific communication standards and/or protocols, such as any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards including, IEEE 802.11n-2009, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11-2016, IEEE 802.11ac, and/or IEEE 802.11ax standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANs, although the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect. Radio architecture  100  may also be suitable to transmit and/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques and standards. 
     In some embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may be configured for high-efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) communications in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In these embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may be configured to communicate in accordance with an OFDMA technique, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some other embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may be configured to transmit and receive signals transmitted using one or more other modulation techniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequency hopping code division multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time-division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and/or frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) modulation, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, as further shown in  FIG.  1   , the BT baseband circuitry  108 B may be compliant with a Bluetooth (BT) connectivity standard such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth 5.0, or any other iteration of the Bluetooth Standard. In embodiments that include BT functionality as shown for example in  FIG.  1   , the radio architecture  100  may be configured to establish a BT synchronous connection oriented (SCO) link and/or a BT low energy (BT LE) link. In some of the embodiments that include functionality, the radio architecture  100  may be configured to establish an extended SCO (eSCO) link for BT communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some of these embodiments that include a BT functionality, the radio architecture may be configured to engage in a BT Asynchronous Connection-Less (ACL) communications, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG.  1   , the functions of a BT radio card and WLAN radio card may be combined on a single wireless radio card, such as single wireless radio card  102 , although embodiments are not so limited, and include within their scope discrete WLAN and BT radio cards 
     In some embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may include other radio cards, such as a cellular radio card configured for cellular (e.g., 3GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced or 5G communications). 
     In some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture  100  may be configured for communication over various channel bandwidths including bandwidths having center frequencies of about 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and bandwidths of about 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (with contiguous bandwidths) or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (with non-contiguous bandwidths). In some embodiments, a 320 MHz channel bandwidth may be used. The scope of the embodiments is not limited with respect to the above center frequencies however. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates FEM circuitry  200  in accordance with some embodiments. The FEM circuitry  200  is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the WLAN and/or BT FEM circuitry  104 A/ 104 B ( FIG.  1   ), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable. 
     In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry  200  may include a TX/RX switch  202  to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry  200  may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry  200  may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA)  206  to amplify received RF signals  203  and provide the amplified received RF signals  207  as an output (e.g., to the radio IC circuitry  106  ( FIG.  1   )). The transmit signal path of the circuitry  200  may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals  209  (e.g., provided by the radio IC circuitry  106 ), and one or more filters  212 , such as band-pass filters (BPFs), low-pass filters (LPFs) or other types of filters, to generate RF signals  215  for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the antennas  101  ( FIG.  1   )). 
     In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the FEM circuitry  200  may be configured to operate in either the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum or the 5 GHz frequency spectrum. In these embodiments, the receive signal path of the FEM circuitry  200  may include a receive signal path duplexer  204  to separate the signals from each spectrum as well as provide a separate LNA  206  for each spectrum as shown. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry  200  may also include a power amplifier  210  and a filter  212 , such as a BPF, a LPF or another type of filter for each frequency spectrum and a transmit signal path duplexer  214  to provide the signals of one of the different spectrums onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission by the one or more of the antennas  101  ( FIG.  1   ). In some embodiments, BT communications may utilize the 2.4 GHZ signal paths and may utilize the same FEM circuitry  200  as the one used for WLAN communications. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates radio integrated circuit (IC) circuitry  300  in accordance with some embodiments. The radio IC circuitry  300  is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the WLAN or BT radio IC circuitry  106 A/ 106 B ( FIG.  1   ), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable. 
     In some embodiments, the radio IC circuitry  300  may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the radio IC circuitry  300  may include at least mixer circuitry  302 , such as, for example, down-conversion mixer circuitry, amplifier circuitry  306  and filter circuitry  308 . The transmit signal path of the radio IC circuitry  300  may include at least filter circuitry  312  and mixer circuitry  314 , such as, for example, up-conversion mixer circuitry. Radio IC circuitry  300  may also include synthesizer circuitry  304  for synthesizing a frequency  305  for use by the mixer circuitry  302  and the mixer circuitry  314 . The mixer circuitry  302  and/or  314  may each, according to some embodiments, be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. The latter type of circuitry presents a much simpler architecture as compared with standard super-heterodyne mixer circuitries, and any flicker noise brought about by the same may be alleviated for example through the use of OFDM modulation.  FIG.  3    illustrates only a simplified version of a radio IC circuitry, and may include, although not shown, embodiments where each of the depicted circuitries may include more than one component. For instance, mixer circuitry  320  and/or  314  may each include one or more mixers, and filter circuitries  308  and/or  312  may each include one or more filters, such as one or more BPFs and/or LPFs according to application needs. For example, when mixer circuitries are of the direct-conversion type, they may each include two or more mixers. 
     In some embodiments, mixer circuitry  302  may be configured to down-convert RF signals  207  received from the FEM circuitry  104  ( FIG.  1   ) based on the synthesized frequency  305  provided by synthesizer circuitry  304 . The amplifier circuitry  306  may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry  308  may include a LPF configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals  307 . Output baseband signals  307  may be provided to the baseband processing circuitry  108  ( FIG.  1   ) for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals  307  may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry  302  may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  314  may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals  311  based on the synthesized frequency  305  provided by the synthesizer circuitry  304  to generate RF output signals  209  for the FEM circuitry  104 . The baseband signals  311  may be provided by the baseband processing circuitry  108  and may be filtered by filter circuitry  312 . The filter circuitry  312  may include a LPF or a BPF, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  302  and the mixer circuitry  314  may each include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and/or up-conversion respectively with the help of synthesizer circuitry  304 . In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  302  and the mixer circuitry  314  may each include two or more mixers each configured for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  302  and the mixer circuitry  314  may be arranged for direct down-conversion and/or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry  302  and the mixer circuitry  314  may be configured for super-heterodyne operation, although this is not a requirement. 
     Mixer circuitry  302  may comprise, according to one embodiment: quadrature passive mixers (e.g., for the in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) paths). In such an embodiment, RF input signal  207  from  FIG.  3    may be down-converted to provide I and Q baseband output signals to be sent to the baseband processor 
     Quadrature passive mixers may be driven by zero and ninety-degree time-varying LO switching signals provided by a quadrature circuitry which may be configured to receive a LO frequency (f LO ) from a local oscillator or a synthesizer, such as LO frequency  305  of synthesizer circuitry  304  ( FIG.  3   ). In some embodiments, the LO frequency may be the carrier frequency, while in other embodiments, the LO frequency may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the zero and ninety-degree time-varying switching signals may be generated by the synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the LO signals may differ in duty cycle (the percentage of one period in which the LO signal is high) and/or offset (the difference between start points of the period). In some embodiments, the LO signals may have a 25% duty cycle and a 50% offset. In some embodiments, each branch of the mixer circuitry (e.g., the in-phase (I) and quadrature phase (Q) path) may operate at a 25% duty cycle, which may result in a significant reduction is power consumption. 
     The RF input signal  207  ( FIG.  2   ) may comprise a balanced signal, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The I and Q baseband output signals may be provided to low-nose amplifier, such as amplifier circuitry  306  ( FIG.  3   ) or to filter circuitry  308  ( FIG.  3   ). 
     In some embodiments, the output baseband signals  307  and the input baseband signals  311  may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals  307  and the input baseband signals  311  may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the radio IC circuitry may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry. 
     In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, or for other spectrums not mentioned here, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. 
     In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  304  may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry  304  may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider. According to some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry  304  may include digital synthesizer circuitry. An advantage of using a digital synthesizer circuitry is that, although it may still include some analog components, its footprint may be scaled down much more than the footprint of an analog synthesizer circuitry. In some embodiments, frequency input into synthesizer circuitry  304  may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. A divider control input may further be provided by either the baseband processing circuitry  108  ( FIG.  1   ) or the application processor  111  ( FIG.  1   ) depending on the desired output frequency  305 . In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table (e.g., within a Wi-Fi card) based on a channel number and a channel center frequency as determined or indicated by the application processor  111 . 
     In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry  304  may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency  305 , while in other embodiments, the output frequency  305  may be a fraction of the carrier frequency (e.g., one-half the carrier frequency, one-third the carrier frequency). In some embodiments, the output frequency  305  may be a LO frequency (f LO ). 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a functional block diagram of baseband processing circuitry  400  in accordance with some embodiments. The baseband processing circuitry  400  is one example of circuitry that may be suitable for use as the baseband processing circuitry  108  ( FIG.  1   ), although other circuitry configurations may also be suitable. The baseband processing circuitry  400  may include a receive baseband processor (RX BBP)  402  for processing receive baseband signals  309  provided by the radio IC circuitry  106  ( FIG.  1   ) and a transmit baseband processor (TX BBP)  404  for generating transmit baseband signals  311  for the radio IC circuitry  106 . The baseband processing circuitry  400  may also include control logic  406  for coordinating the operations of the baseband processing circuitry  400 . 
     In some embodiments (e.g., when analog baseband signals are exchanged between the baseband processing circuitry  400  and the radio IC circuitry  106 ), the baseband processing circuitry  400  may include ADC  410  to convert analog baseband signals received from the radio IC circuitry  106  to digital baseband signals for processing by the RX BBP  402 . In these embodiments, the baseband processing circuitry  400  may also include DAC  412  to convert digital baseband signals from the TX BBP  404  to analog baseband signals. 
     In some embodiments, the transmit baseband processor  404  may be configured to generate OFDM or OFDMA signals as appropriate for transmission by performing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The receive baseband processor  402  may be configured to process received OFDM signals or OFDMA signals by performing an FFT. In some embodiments, the receive baseband processor  402  may be configured to detect the presence of an OFDM signal or OFDMA signal by performing an autocorrelation, to detect a preamble, such as a short preamble, and by performing a cross-correlation, to detect a long preamble. The preambles may be part of a predetermined frame structure for Wi-Fi communication. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , in some embodiments, the antennas  101  ( FIG.  1   ) may each comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result. Antennas  101  may each include a set of phased-array antennas, although embodiments are not so limited. 
     Although the radio architecture  100  is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a WLAN  500  in accordance with some embodiments. The WLAN  500  may comprise a basis service set (BSS) that may include an access point (AP)  502 , a plurality of stations (STAs)  504 , and a plurality of legacy devices  506 . In some embodiments, the STAs  504  and/or AP  502  are configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11be extremely high throughput (EHT) and/or high efficiency (HE) IEEE 802.11ax. In some embodiments, the STAs  504  and/or AP  520  are configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11az. In some embodiments, IEEE 802.11EHT may be termed Next Generation 802.11. 
     The AP  502  may be an AP using the IEEE 802.11 to transmit and receive. The AP  502  may be a base station. The AP  502  may use other communications protocols as well as the IEEE 802.11 protocol. The EHT protocol may be termed a different name in accordance with some embodiments. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include using orthogonal frequency division multiple-access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and/or code division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol may include a multiple access technique. For example, the IEEE 802.11 protocol may include space-division multiple access (SDMA) and/or multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO). There may be more than one EHT AP  502  that is part of an extended service set (ESS). A controller (not illustrated) may store information that is common to the more than one APs  502  and may control more than one BSS, e.g., assign primary channels, colors, etc. AP  502  may be connected to the internet. 
     The legacy devices  506  may operate in accordance with one or more of IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ad/af/ah/aj/ay/ax, or another legacy wireless communication standard. The legacy devices  506  may be STAs or IEEE STAs. The STAs  504  may be wireless transmit and receive devices such as cellular telephone, portable electronic wireless communication devices, smart telephone, handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, wireless watch, wireless personal device, tablet, or another device that may be transmitting and receiving using the IEEE 802.11 protocol such as IEEE 802.11be or another wireless protocol. 
     The AP  502  may communicate with legacy devices  506  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In example embodiments, the H AP  502  may also be configured to communicate with STAs  504  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. 
     In some embodiments, a HE or EHT frames may be configurable to have the same bandwidth as a channel. The HE or EHT frame may be a physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, PPDU may be an abbreviation for physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, there may be different types of PPDUs that may have different fields and different physical layers and/or different media access control (MAC) layers. For example, a single user (SU) PPDU, multiple-user (MU) PPDU, extended-range (ER) SU PPDU, and/or trigger-based (TB) PPDU. In some embodiments EHT may be the same or similar as HE PPDUs. 
     The bandwidth of a channel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, 80+80 MHz, 160 MHz, 160+160 MHz, 320 MHz, 320+320 MHz, 640 MHz bandwidths. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a channel less than 20 MHz may be 1 MHz, 1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4.06 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz, or a combination thereof or another bandwidth that is less or equal to the available bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels may be based on a number of active data subcarriers. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is based on 26, 52, 106, 242, 484, 996, or 2×996 active data subcarriers or tones that are spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is 256 tones spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the channels are multiple of 26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz. In some embodiments a 20 MHz channel may comprise 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which may determine the size of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). An allocation of a bandwidth or a number of tones or sub-carriers may be termed a resource unit (RU) allocation in accordance with some embodiments. 
     In some embodiments, the 26-subcarrier RU and 52-subcarrier RU are used in the 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 106-subcarrier RU is used in the 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 242-subcarrier RU is used in the 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 484-subcarrier RU is used in the 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. In some embodiments, the 996-subcarrier RU is used in the 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz OFDMA and MU-MIMO HE PPDU formats. 
     A HE or EHT frame may be configured for transmitting a number of spatial streams, which may be in accordance with MU-MIMO and may be in accordance with OFDMA. In other embodiments, the AP  502 , STA  504 , and/or legacy device  506  may also implement different technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA 2000 1×, CDMA 2000 Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), BlueTooth®, low-power BlueTooth®, or other technologies. 
     In accordance with some IEEE 802.11 embodiments, e.g., IEEE 802.11EHT/ax embodiments, a HE AP  502  may operate as a master station which may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusive control of the medium for a transmission opportunity (TXOP). The AP  502  may transmit an EHT/HE trigger frame transmission, which may include a schedule for simultaneous UL/DL transmissions from STAs  504 . The AP  502  may transmit a time duration of the TXOP and sub-channel information. During the TXOP, STAs  504  may communicate with the AP  502  in accordance with a non-contention based multiple access technique such as OFDMA or MU-MIMO. This is unlike conventional WLAN communications in which devices communicate in accordance with a contention-based communication technique, rather than a multiple access technique. During the HE or EHT control period, the AP  502  may communicate with stations  504  using one or more HE or EHT frames. During the TXOP, the HE STAs  504  may operate on a sub-channel smaller than the operating range of the AP  502 . During the TXOP, legacy stations refrain from communicating. The legacy stations may need to receive the communication from the HE AP  502  to defer from communicating. 
     In accordance with some embodiments, during the TXOP the STAs  504  may contend for the wireless medium with the legacy devices  506  being excluded from contending for the wireless medium during the master-sync transmission. In some embodiments the trigger frame may indicate an UL-MU-MIMO and/or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, the trigger frame may include a DL UL-MU-MIMO and/or DL OFDMA with a schedule indicated in a preamble portion of trigger frame. 
     In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HE or EHT TXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technique, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-division multiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be a Code division multiple access (CDMA). 
     The AP  502  may also communicate with legacy stations  506  and/or STAs  504  in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In some embodiments, the AP  502  may also be configurable to communicate with STAs  504  outside the TXOP in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.11EHT/ax communication techniques, although this is not a requirement. 
     In some embodiments the STA  504  may be a “group owner” (GO) for peer-to-peer modes of operation. A wireless device may be a STA  502  or a HE AP  502 . 
     In some embodiments, the STA  504  and/or AP  502  may be configured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11mc. In example embodiments, the radio architecture of  FIG.  1    is configured to implement the STA  504  and/or the AP  502 . In example embodiments, the front-end module circuitry of  FIG.  2    is configured to implement the STA  504  and/or the AP  502 . In example embodiments, the radio IC circuitry of  FIG.  3    is configured to implement the HE station  504  and/or the AP  502 . In example embodiments, the base-band processing circuitry of  FIG.  4    is configured to implement the STA  504  and/or the AP  502 . 
     In example embodiments, the STAs  504 , AP  502 , an apparatus of the STA  504 , and/or an apparatus of the AP  502  may include one or more of the following: the radio architecture of  FIG.  1   , the front-end module circuitry of  FIG.  2   , the radio IC circuitry of  FIG.  3   , and/or the base-band processing circuitry of  FIG.  4   . 
     In example embodiments, the radio architecture of  FIG.  1   , the front-end module circuitry of  FIG.  2   , the radio IC circuitry of  FIG.  3   , and/or the base-band processing circuitry of  FIG.  4    may be configured to perform the methods and operations/functions herein described in conjunction with  FIGS.  1 - 13   . 
     In example embodiments, the STAs  504  and/or the HE AP  502  are configured to perform the methods and operations/functions described herein in conjunction with the figures herein. The term Wi-Fi may refer to one or more of the IEEE 802.11 communication standards. AP and STA may refer to EHT/HE access point and/or EHT/HE station as well as legacy devices  506 . 
     In some embodiments, a HE AP STA refers to an AP  502  and/or STAs  504  that are operating as EHT APs  502 . In some embodiments, when a STA  504  is not operating as an AP, it may be referred to as a non-AP STA or non-AP. In some embodiments, STA  504  may be referred to as either an AP STA or a non-AP. 
     In some embodiments, a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) may be a physical layer conformance procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU). In some embodiments, the AP  502  and STAs  504  may communicate in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards such as 11be, 11r, 11i, and/or 11w. IEEE P802.11be™/D1.0, May 2021, IEEE P802.11, December 2020, and IEEE P802.11ax are incorporated herein by reference. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates a block diagram of an example machine  600  upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may perform. In alternative embodiments, the machine  600  may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine  600  may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine  600  may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine  600  may be a HE AP  502 , EVT station  504 , personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable communications device, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations. 
     Machine (e.g., computer system)  600  may include a hardware processor  602  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory  604  and a static memory  606 , some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus)  608 . 
     Specific examples of main memory  604  include Random Access Memory (RAM), and semiconductor memory devices, which may include, in some embodiments, storage locations in semiconductors such as registers. Specific examples of static memory  606  include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. 
     The machine  600  may further include a display device  610 , an input device  612  (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device  614  (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device  610 , input device  612  and UI navigation device  614  may be a touch screen display. The machine  600  may additionally include a mass storage (e.g., drive unit)  616 , a signal generation device  618  (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device  620 , and one or more sensors  621 , such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine  600  may include an output controller  628 , such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.). In some embodiments the processor  602  and/or instructions  624  may comprise processing circuitry and/or transceiver circuitry. 
     The storage device  616  may include a machine readable medium  622  on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions  624  (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions  624  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  604 , within static memory  606 , or within the hardware processor  602  during execution thereof by the machine  600 . In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor  602 , the main memory  604 , the static memory  606 , or the storage device  616  may constitute machine readable media. 
     Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., EPROM or EEPROM) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RAM; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. 
     While the machine readable medium  622  is illustrated as a single medium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions  624 . 
     An apparatus of the machine  600  may be one or more of a hardware processor  602  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory  604  and a static memory  606 , sensors  621 , network interface device  620 , antennas  660 , a display device  610 , an input device  612 , a UI navigation device  614 , a mass storage  616 , instructions  624 , a signal generation device  618 , and an output controller  628 . The apparatus may be configured to perform one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein. The apparatus may be intended as a component of the machine  600  to perform one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein, and/or to perform a portion of one or more of the methods and/or operations disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a pin or other means to receive power. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include power conditioning hardware. 
     The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine  600  and that cause the machine  600  to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may include non-transitory machine-readable media. In some examples, machine readable media may include machine readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal. 
     The instructions  624  may further be transmitted or received over a communications network  626  using a transmission medium via the network interface device  620  utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. 
     In an example, the network interface device  620  may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network  626 . In an example, the network interface device  620  may include one or more antennas  660  to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device  620  may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine  600 , and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. 
     Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example, circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a module that operates to perform specified operations. In an example, the software may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform the specified operations. 
     Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example, where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as respective different modules at different times. Software may accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, to constitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitute a different module at a different instance of time. 
     Some embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc. 
     As above, in P2P connections over WFD two devices open an ad hoc connection, forming a group to exchange data. In this technology, one of the devices takes the role of the group owner, the other takes the group client, and together the group owner (GO) and group client (GC) open a connection that is similar in nature to the traditional Wi-Fi connection of a client and an access point. In this case, however, the Wi-Fi direct group is formed solely for the specific use case, and usually terminates after the use case is finished. Once a P2P network is formed and roles are determined, additional devices can optionally join the network as clients. 
     The role chosen (GO or GC) for each device is determined in the negotiation phase of the connection—called the Group Owner Negotiation (GON). After the role for each device is selected, the role is preserved until the end of the connection. The GO acts as the AP in the connection, and the GC acts as the client. 
     The channel on which the connection is established is called the operating channel. This channel is selected by the GO, by taking into consideration its own capabilities and the client(s) capabilities, in the negotiation phase. The client sends its own supported channels list, and the GO selects a channel from the intersection between its own list and the client&#39;s list. After the connection is established, only the GO can decide to switch to a different the established network to operate on a different channel. 
     Due to the ad hoc nature of the Wi-Fi direct use cases, many of these use cases are such that one of the devices (usually the GC) is already connected to an infrastructure network (BS S networks) in parallel to the group creation and lifetime. In such use cases, the device can share its radio resources between the two roles (BSS and Wi-Fi direct) in a time domain multiplexing (TDM) scheme. The device toggles its radio to visit both channels in a periodic manner, in which, part of the time the device is in the BSS channel and available to exchange data with the AP with which the device is connected, and the other part of the time in the channel of the Wi-Fi direct and available to exchange data with the Wi-Fi direct peer. The toggling of the channels is not optimal for performance, since such toggling reduces the availability time of the devices for exchanging data in the Wi-Fi direct channel, in addition to transition intervals where there is no guarantied availability in any of the networks. This can cause latency and throughput degradation. An optimal configuration is one in which both devices are in one channel all the time, a configuration that can occur only if the GO selects a channel that the GC has a connection with its AP. In most cases, the GO does not select the channel of the GC&#39;s AP, but instead selects an arbitrary channel. This is because the GC may be unable to communicate to the GO that the GC prefers to work in a different channel. This may consequently lead to sub-optimal channel selection by the GO. 
     To this end, a protocol is introduced for the WFD GC to communicate using either the infrastructure connection channel of the GC via the GO Negotiation phase or a request to change the operating channel of the Wi-Fi direct group in the post-connection phase. For the negotiation phase, populating the operating channel field in the P2P information element so the operating channel field reflects the channel of the infrastructure channel of the GC or GC&#39;s preferred operating channel is discussed and for post connection. A set of action frames are defined that includes the request from a GC to switch the client and response from the WFD GO. The GO can take this channel into consideration and if the GO can use the channel, the GO changes the operating channel by sending an extended Channel Switch Announcement (eCSA) to move the WFD group to the channel that was requested by the GC. 
       FIG.  7    illustrates a flowchart of communication in accordance with some embodiments. Note that only some operations of the method  700  are shown; other operations may be present but are not shown for convenience. The method  700  for the GC to communicate a preferred channel to the GO can be divided to pre-connection cases and post-connection cases, as shown in  FIG.  7   . 
     In the pre-connection case, the GC communicates a preferred operating channel during the GO negotiation phase. For example, if the GC is already connected to an infrastructure and wishes the GO to choose the same channel, the GC can select an operating channel as an associated AP as the preferred operating channel. 
     In the post-connection case, the GC communicates the preferred operating channel after the P2P Group is established. For example, if the GC was not connected to an AP at the time of the connection to the GO, but connects to an AP at some point after connection to the GO, the GC may prefer that the GO switch to use the AP operating channel as the P2P operating channel. 
     Pre Connection Case: 
     In the pre-connection case, the GC includes a preferred operating channel (e.g., the channel used by the GC for connection with the AP) in the Operating Channel attribute of the P2P information element (IE) in the GO Negotiation Request/Response frames to the GO during the Wi-Fi direct negotiation phase with the GO. In this phase, the GC provides the channel of the AP connection in the operating channel field of the P2P IE in the GO Negotiation Request or GON Response action frames. 
     When the GO receives a GON request or GON response frame, with an operating channel that is not empty, the GO may take the operating channel information into consideration in the choice of channels for the Group. If the GO chooses the indicated operating channel, the GO may optimize the performance for the GC as this is the AP connection channel of the GC. It should be noted that the GO may have other considerations to choose a different channel and it is not mandatory to choose the operating channel indicated by the GC. 
     Post Connection Case: 
     For post-connection cases, a new capability bit may be defined in the P2P IE. The new capability bit “channel switch request support” may be added to association request/response, probe responses, and/or beacons. 
     The capability bit from the GC side indicates that the GC is able to send a channel switch request in the middle of the connection. The capability bit from the GO side indicates that the GO supports such requests. 
     Supported channel list and supported operating classes should be provided by the GO and GC in the GON phase. 
     After connection, if the GC would like to change the operating channel, the GC may send an action frame including the target channel and corresponding operating class and other parameters. An example of the request frame format is shown below: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Order 
                 Information 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 1 
                 Category 
               
               
                 2 
                 Action 
               
               
                 3 
                 Target Channel 
               
               
                 4 
                 Operating Class 
               
               
                 5 
                 Secondary Channel Offset 
               
               
                 6 
                 Wide Bandwidth Channel 
               
               
                   
                 Switch element 
               
               
                 7 
                 Country 
               
               
                 8 
                 Transmit Power Envelope 
               
               
                 9 
                 Criticality 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Or as another example, the Channel Switch Request/Response frames may use a P2P action frame format as below: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Size 
                 Value 
                   
               
               
                 Field 
                 (octets) 
                 (Hexadecimal) 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 Category 
                 1 
                 0x7F 
                 IEEE 802.11 vendor 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 specific usage 
               
               
                 Organizationally 
                 3 
                 50 6F 9A 
                 WFA specific OUI 
               
               
                 Unique Identifier 
               
               
                 (OUI) 
               
               
                 OUI type 
                 1 
                 0x09 (to 
                 Identifying the type or 
               
               
                   
                   
                 be assigned) 
                 version of action frame. 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Setting to 09 indicates 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Wi-Fi P2P v1.0 
               
               
                 OUI Subtype 
                 1 
                   
                 Identifying the type of 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 P2P action frame. The 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 specific value is defined 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 in Table 60. 
               
               
                 Dialog Token 
                 1 
                   
                 When set to a nonzero 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 value, used to identify 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 the request/response 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 transaction 
               
               
                 Elements 
                 Variable 
                   
                 Including P2P IE or any 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Information elements 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 defined in IEEE Std 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 802.11-2020 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     For the Channel Switch Request frame, the Elements field may contain the following elements: Target Channel; Operating Class; Secondary Channel Offset; Wide Bandwidth (BW) Channel Switch element; Country; Transmit Power Envelope; Criticality, etc. 
     For the Channel Switch Response frame, the Elements field may contain the following elements or attributes: Status Code, Link Identifier, Channel Switch Timing and etc. Note that it is optional for the GO to send a Channel Switch Response frame. 
     The target channel may be selected from the supported channel list and the operating class from the supported operating class the GC sent in the GON phase. The secondary channel offset, wide BW element may be per the selected channel (according to the requested BW), the country may be per the regulatory domain of the GC, and the transmit power envelop per the FCC/ETSI regulation of the TX power. The criticality is an integer between 0-255 to indicate the importance of the channel switch for the client 
     After the GC sends the action frame to the GO, the GO may consider the requested channel, and if allowed by regulatory rules of the GO, and if the GO does not have other constraints, the GO may add CSA/eCSA element to beacons to schedule a channel switch of the group to the requested channel. The GO may send multiple beacons with the CSA/eCSA element (e.g., 7) prior to switching to the new channel. The beacon may use a decreasing counter to count down from the predetermined number of beacons to indicate the number of beacons before the switch to the new channel. 
     Optionally, if the GO decides to reside on current channel, the GO may respond to the channel change request by transmission to the GC of a channel change rejection response providing a rejection reason in the Status Code. Rejection reason codes may include: unspecified, unable to change the channel as additional GCs are being served by the GO, unable to support the requested channel, or changing the channel degrades GO performance by X (X is an octet having a value 0-255), among others. In the last case, in response to reception of an indication of excessive degradation, the GC may send another request with criticality value that is higher than X. 
     In some embodiments, the group may contain multiple GCs. Accordingly, if the GO receives different requests from multiple GCs, the GO may determine which request to accept or reject according to an implementation dependent heuristic. The request to switch to a different channel may be based on performance issues and thus permit better performance and concurrency with other roles like a BSS non-AP station, 
     Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. The embodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
     The subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “embodiment” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. 
     In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one, independent of any other instances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, UE, article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements in addition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. 
     The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it may be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.