Patent ID: 7729281

Claim:
A packet communication method in a multicarrier communications environment comprising: determining, by a transceiver, a packet including a header portion and a data portion; and transmitting, by the transceiver, the packet including the header portion and the data portion, wherein: the header portion indicates one or more communications parameters used for the data portion of the packet, and the data portion is used for communication of a number of data bytes at a data rate, and wherein: the header portion includes a legacy header portion, which is modulated on a first multicarrier symbol, the header portion containing a Rate field indicating a legacy data rate value and a Length field indicating a legacy number of data bytes, the number of data bytes communicated in the data portion of the packet is different than the legacy number of data bytes indicated in the legacy header portion of the packet, and the data rate used in the data portion of the packet is different than the legacy data rate indicated in the legacy header portion of the packet, and wherein: the header portion includes an extended rate header portion modulated on at least one additional multicarrier symbol, the extended rate header portion includes at least one field indicating at least one actual communication parameter used for the data portion of the packet, the extended header potion is not decodable by a legacy device, and the Rate field and Length fields are used to defer transmission for a period of time at least corresponding to the duration of the packet, the packet including both the legacy header portion and the extended rate header portion.