Patent ID: 8826106

Claim:
A method comprising: generating a first data unit corresponding to a first physical layer (PHY) mode, wherein generating the first data unit includes (a) forward error correction (FEC) encoding a first plurality of information bits, (b) mapping the FEC-encoded first plurality of information bits to a first plurality of constellation symbols, and (c) generating a first plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols to include the first plurality of constellation symbols, wherein the first plurality of OFDM symbols (i) utilizes a first tone spacing, and (ii) includes a first number of non-zero tones collectively spanning a first bandwidth; and generating a second data unit corresponding to a second PHY mode, wherein generating the second data unit includes (a) FEC encoding a second plurality of information bits, (b) block encoding the FEC-encoded second plurality of information bits, (c) mapping the block-encoded second plurality of information bits to a second plurality of constellation symbols, and (d) generating a second plurality of OFDM symbols to include the second plurality of constellation symbols, wherein the second plurality of OFDM symbols (i) utilizes the first tone spacing, and (ii) includes a second number of non-zero tones collectively spanning a second bandwidth, the second number of non-zero tones is less than the first number of non-zero tones, and the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth.