Patent ID: 8441967

Claim:
A system comprising: a physical layer module configured to communicate with a communication channel including (i) a first sub-channel and (ii) a second sub-channel, generate a first signal indicating a clear channel assessment for the first sub-channel of the communication channel, and generate a second signal indicating a clear channel assessment for the second sub-channel of the communication channel; a signal processing module configured to generate a third signal by increasing a pulse width of the second signal by a predetermined period of time; and a control module configured to determine whether to transmit data in a first mode, a second mode, or a third mode based on (i) the first signal, (ii) the second signal, and (iii) the third signal, wherein in the first mode, the control module is configured to transmit data via the communication channel based on the first signal, in the second mode, the control module is configured to transmit data via the communication channel based on (i) the first signal and (ii) the second signal, and in the third mode, the control module is configured to transmit data via (i) the first sub-channel or (ii) the communication channel based on (i) the first signal and (ii) the third signal.