A method of assigning addresses to subscriber stations in a wireless communication environment, the method comprising: assigning a first unicast address and a first time duration to a first non-legacy subscriber station for communication with a network entity in a wireless communication network; assigning the first unicast address and a second time duration different from the first time duration to a second non-legacy subscriber station for communicating with the network entity in the wireless communication network; communicating based on the assigned first unicast address and the assigned first time duration with the first non-legacy subscriber station and communicating based on the assigned first unicast address and the assigned second time duration with the second non-legacy subscriber station; and assigning a second unicast address to a third legacy subscriber station for communication with the network entity in the wireless communication network; wherein the assigned first unicast address is valid for the first non-legacy subscriber station during the assigned first time duration and for the second non-legacy subscriber station during the assigned second time duration, wherein the first unicast address is assigned from a first set of station identifiers and a second set of station identifiers, the first set of station identifiers is for legacy subscriber stations, the second set of station identifiers is for non-legacy subscriber stations, and the second unicast address assigned from the first set of station identifiers to the third legacy subscriber station is not shared with other subscriber stations including the first non-legacy subscriber station and the second non-legacy subscriber station, and wherein the second set of station identifiers is formed using the first set of station identifiers and a set of extended bits, wherein the first non-legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using both the first unicast address and the first time duration, wherein the second non-legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using both the first unicast address and the second time duration, and wherein the third legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using the second unicast address. assigning a first unicast address and a first time duration to a first non-legacy subscriber station for communication with a network entity in a wireless communication network; assigning the first unicast address and a second time duration different from the first time duration to a second non-legacy subscriber station for communicating with the network entity in the wireless communication network; communicating based on the assigned first unicast address and the assigned first time duration with the first non-legacy subscriber station and communicating based on the assigned first unicast address and the assigned second time duration with the second non-legacy subscriber station; and assigning a second unicast address to a third legacy subscriber station for communication with the network entity in the wireless communication network; wherein the assigned first unicast address is valid for the first non-legacy subscriber station during the assigned first time duration and for the second non-legacy subscriber station during the assigned second time duration, wherein the first unicast address is assigned from a first set of station identifiers and a second set of station identifiers, the first set of station identifiers is for legacy subscriber stations, the second set of station identifiers is for non-legacy subscriber stations, and the second unicast address assigned from the first set of station identifiers to the third legacy subscriber station is not shared with other subscriber stations including the first non-legacy subscriber station and the second non-legacy subscriber station, and wherein the second set of station identifiers is formed using the first set of station identifiers and a set of extended bits, wherein the first non-legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using both the first unicast address and the first time duration, wherein the second non-legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using both the first unicast address and the second time duration, and wherein the third legacy subscriber station is uniquely identified using the second unicast address.