SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WLAN OFDMA DESIGN OF UPLINK AND DOWNLINK TRANSMISSIONS

摘要

Embodiments are provided for WLAN Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) design of subcarrier groups and corresponding frame format. An embodiment method includes grouping a plurality of subcarriers for OFDMA transmissions into a plurality of subcarrier groups in accordance with a pre-defined grouping structure for subcarriers. The method further includes allocating the subcarrier groups to a plurality of corresponding users, and signaling, to the users, a map of the subcarrier groups to the corresponding users. According to the pre-defined grouping structure, each one of the subcarrier groups includes a plurality of consecutive subcarriers, a plurality of non-consecutive subcarriers, or a combination of consecutive and non-consecutive subcarriers according to a deterministic structure. The map is signaled using an OFDMA PPDU comprising a legacy preamble portion configured to silence legacy users that do not use OFDMA communications, an OFDMA preamble portion indicating the map, and a data portion.