Patent ID: 8155482

Claim:
A method comprising: computing, with a processor, metrics for one or more sets of radio frequency (RF) channels, wherein each set comprises at least two contiguous RF channels in a frequency band that are available for use by a wireless network for a wider bandwidth mode of operation that combines bandwidth of two or more contiguous RF channels, wherein the metrics are based on activity from other devices in the set of RF channels; and determining, with the processor, alignment of individual primary and secondary RF channels in a particular set of RF channels for operation of the wireless network in the wider bandwidth mode with respect to RF channels in the frequency band available for use by other wireless devices, wherein a primary channel is a set of one or more RF channels that is the lowest denomination of RF channels that a device uses when it is not operating in the wider bandwidth mode and a secondary channel is one or more RF channels that a device does not use when it is not operating in the wider bandwidth mode; and determining, with the processor, whether there is only one other existing wireless network operating in the wider bandwidth mode on the particular set of RF channels, and if there is more than one other existing wireless network operating in the wider bandwidth mode on the particular set of RF channels, then further determining whether there are any wireless networks operating on an RF channel that is a secondary channel of an existing wireless network operating in the wider bandwidth mode.