Patent ID: 8289942

Claim:
A method of communication in a wireless communication system, the system having a first station and a plurality of second stations whereby each of the first and second stations for at least a part of the time controls the communication within the system, the method comprising: the first station encoding and transmitting messages having a first format in a first mode using at least one communication channel or having a second format in a second mode using one communication channel, whereby messages transmitted in the first format include a header comprised of a first part common to said first and second formats and a second part recognizable by only those second stations operating in said first format, whereby messages transmitted in the second format include said first part common to said first and second formats and a second part recognizable by only those second stations operating in said second format, whereby the first part common to said first and second formats includes reservation information on one or more upcoming transmissions of the first station, whereby the plurality of second stations are configured to receive and decode at least the first common part of messages transmitted in either the first or second mode, whereby a first subset of the plurality of second stations are arranged for receiving and decoding the second part of messages transmitted in the first format in the first mode, whereby a second subset of the plurality of second stations are arranged for receiving and decoding the second part of messages transmitted in the second format in the second mode, wherein reservation information comprises at least one of: reservation period, duration, traffic category and reservation channel, and wherein the first mode is a single antenna format mode and the second mode is a multiple antenna format mode.