WO2019040092A1

WO2019040092A1 - Dual connectivity for 6 ghz

Info

Publication number: WO2019040092A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/067711
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurent Cariou
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2017-08-24
Filing date: 2017-12-20
Publication date: 2019-02-28

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and devices related to dual connectivity. A device may associate with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association. The device may identify a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band. The device may associate with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association. The device may cause to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

Description

DUAL CONNECTIVITY FOR 6 GHZ

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/549,805, filed August 24, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for wireless communications and, more particularly, to dual connectivity for 6 gigahertz (GHz).

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wireless devices are becoming widely prevalent and are increasingly requesting access to wireless channels. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is developing one or more standards that utilize Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) in channel allocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 depicts a network diagram illustrating an example network environment for dual connectivity, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIGs. 3A and 3B depict illustrative schematic diagrams for a basic service set transition management (BTM) frame request and a request mode field, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a management frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIGs. 5A and 5B depict flow diagrams of illustrative processes for an illustrative dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 6 depicts a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station that may be suitable for use as a user device, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. [0010] FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of an example machine upon which any of one or more techniques (e.g., methods) may be performed, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Example embodiments described herein provide certain systems, methods, and devices for dual connectivity for 6 gigahertz (GHz).

[0012] The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0013] There is currently a desire to open a new band for unlicensed operation between 6- 7 GHz. In opening new band between 6-7 GHz, it is desired to define in the 802.1 lax standard software and/or management features that control admission and/or access to this band, for example to protect incumbents and/or to preserve the greenfield (or almost greenfield) status of this band. Some legacy devices are multi-band devices that operate according to the 802.1 lax standard in multiple bands, including 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and/or 6 GHz. These implementations mitigate negative impacts these devices have both on incumbents and on future devices operating at 6 GHz. The 6-7 GHz band may also be referred to as a 6 GHz band. The 6-7 GHz band covers a range of frequencies from upper 5 GHz frequencies to upper 6 GHz frequencies (around 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz). A two-step approach to introduce Wi-Fi in that band is currently being used.

[0014] The first step is to use Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 lax in that band, for example by defining a new channelization for it. In this first step, it may be difficult or impractical to change the hardware compared to IEEE 802.1 lax in lower bands. For this reason, this first step may include only software and/or management changes.

[0015] The second step is to define a new greenfield (or almost greenfield) Wi-Fi standard in that band, that will be defined as part of the next best thing (NBT) standardization effort, which encompasses technologies for next generation Wi-Fi. There are strong benefits in removing the legacy devices and behaviors and starting a new design with an improved physical layer (PHY) to adapt to the requirements of that band (an example requirement is the protection of incumbents that operate at 6 GHz) and with an improved medium access control (MAC) to improve scheduling, spatial reuse, and/or predictability. [0016] These steps allow an improvement in overall efficiency in operating at 6 GHz.

[0017] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and devices for dual connectivity at 6 GHz.

[0018] In one embodiment, in order to enable the above two steps and preserve the benefits of a new band for NBT greenfield operation, a dual connectivity system may define in 802.1 lax (or in the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) specification that will certify 802.1 lax products at 6 GHz) one or more software and/or management features, for example by controlling access of multi-band devices to the 6 GHz band. The goals of these features include ensuring that the presence of those devices will not significantly impact benefits and/or gains of the NBT greenfield. One or more approaches for ensuring the presence of those devices will not negatively impact devices that operate or will operate at 6 GHz is to define one or more software and/or management features that allow an access point (AP) to control the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) of those stations (STAs) and/or to shut down those STAs. Further, NBT may need to operate with larger bandwidth. Therefore, a mix of STAs with very different max bandwidth is not desired because this may significantly reduce the efficiency.

[0019] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system may ensure that improve multi- band operation (MBO) of dual band devices. For instance, one improvement may include disallowing STAs from directly associating with an AP at 6 GHz. Rather, these STAs may be allowed to directly associate with an AP at 2.4 GHz and/or at 5 GHz. Admission to the 6 GHz band may be controlled via basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) requests. These improved MBO operations may serve as an admission control in the 6 GHz band and may serve as a way to ensure backward compatibility in lower bands.

[0020] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system may improve upon one or more MBO mechanisms. For instance, example improvements to MBO mechanisms include the splitting of a management and a data plane for a STA across multiple bands, a single association across a BSS, and/or LI and L2 aggregation.

[0021] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system may modify basic service set transition management (BTM) frames. BTM frames are currently used for an AP and a STA to force and/or to ask for a transition between two BSSs (e.g., between 2.4 GHz and 6 GHz and/or between 5 GHz and 6 GHz). An AP may have any combination of collocated bands, including, for example, a 2.4 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, or a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, and a 6 GHz band. [0022] An AP may send (or cause to send) a BTM request to a STA that indicates a request and/or a demand to transition from a first band (e.g., from a 5 GHz band) to a second band (e.g., to a 6 GHz band). Note that the STA may send (or cause to send) a BTM request to an AP that indicates a request and/or a demand to transition from a first band to a second band. Currently, if the BTM request is accepted by the STA (for instance, the BTM request requests the STA to transition from the 5 GHz band to the 6 GHz band), the STA is disassociated from the first band (e.g. the band at 5 GHz) and performs a re-association at the second band (e.g., the band at 6 GHz). Note that the first band and the second band may be any of a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band.

[0023] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system may modify (or cause to modify) the BTM request and/or BTM response frames. For example, an AP and/or a STA may ask for dual connectivity with the current band (e.g., a 5 GHz band) and a target band (e.g., a 6 GHz band). If the BTM exchange is successful, the STA may perform an association or a re- association with the target band (e.g., with the 6 GHz band) and will keep/maintain an association with the current band (e.g., with the 5 GHz band). Note that a STA may be dual band non-concurrent. A STA that is dual band non-concurrent is capable of transmission on only a single band at any given time. A dual band non-concurrent STA may be associated with an AP at both bands (e.g., at 5 GHz and at 6 GHz), but may not be in each band 100% of the time. A duty cycle defines an amount of time a dual band non-concurrent STA will spend in each band.

[0024] In one embodiment, and once dual connectivity is established, the STA may have its data plane moved instantaneously (or almost instantaneously) between the first band and the second band (e.g., between a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band) with a simple exchange of information. For example, a STA may send (or cause to send) a management frame or management frames to an AP on each band it is associated with (e.g., to the AP on a 5 GHz band and on a 6 GHz band). These management frames may allow the STA to use the operation mode indication (OMI) procedure defined in 802.1 lax. A management frame may include one or more of a target wake time (TWT) setup frame (e.g., a TWT setup frame for a first band may be transmitted on a second band, or vice versa) and/or an add block acknowledgment (ADDBA) frame. The STA may send quality of service (QoS) null frames to carry feedback to the AP.

[0025] The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in greater detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0026] FIG. 1 depicts a network diagram illustrating an example network environment of dual connectivity, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Wireless network 100 may include one or more user devices 120 and one or more access points(s) (AP) 102, which may communicate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 communication standards. The user device(s) 120 may be mobile devices that are non- stationary (e.g., not having fixed locations) or may be stationary devices.

[0027] In some embodiments, the user devices 120 and the AP 102 may include one or more computer systems similar to that of the functional diagram of FIG. 6 and/or the example machine/system of FIG. 7.

[0028] One or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP(s) 102 may be operable by one or more user(s) 110. It should be noted that any addressable unit may be a station (STA). A STA may take on multiple distinct characteristics, each of which shape its function. For example, a single addressable unit might simultaneously be a portable STA, a quality-of- service (QoS) STA, a dependent STA, and a hidden STA. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and the AP(s) 102 may be STAs. The one or more illustrative user device(s) 120 and/or AP(s) 102 may operate as a personal basic service set (PBSS) control point/access point (PCP/AP). The user device(s) 120 (e.g., 124, 126, or 128) and/or AP(s) 102 may include any suitable processor-driven device including, but not limited to, a mobile device or a non-mobile, e.g., a static, device. For example, user device(s) 120 and/or AP(s) 102 may include, a user equipment (UE), a station (STA), an access point (AP), a software enabled AP (SoftAP), a personal computer (PC), a wearable wireless device (e.g., bracelet, watch, glasses, ring, etc.), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, an ultrabook™ computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, an internet of things (IoT) device, a sensor device, a PDA device, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device (e.g., combining cellular phone functionalities with PDA device functionalities), a consumer device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a PCS device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable GPS device, a DVB device, a relatively small computing device, a non-desktop computer, a "carry small live large" (CSLL) device, an ultra mobile device (UMD), an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an "origami" device or computing device, a device that supports dynamically composable computing (DCC), a context-aware device, a video device, an audio device, an A/V device, a set-top-box (STB), a blu-ray disc (BD) player, a BD recorder, a digital video disc (DVD) player, a high definition (HD) DVD player, a DVD recorder, a HD DVD recorder, a personal video recorder (PVR), a broadcast HD receiver, a video source, an audio source, a video sink, an audio sink, a stereo tuner, a broadcast radio receiver, a flat panel display, a personal media player (PMP), a digital video camera (DVC), a digital audio player, a speaker, an audio receiver, an audio amplifier, a gaming device, a data source, a data sink, a digital still camera (DSC), a media player, a smartphone, a television, a music player, or the like. Other devices, including smart devices such as lamps, climate control, car components, household components, appliances, etc. may also be included in this list.

[0029] As used herein, the term "Internet of Things (IoT) device" is used to refer to any object (e.g., an appliance, a sensor, etc.) that has an addressable interface (e.g., an Internet protocol (IP) address, a Bluetooth identifier (ID), a near-field communication (NFC) ID, etc.) and can transmit information to one or more other devices over a wired or wireless connection. An IoT device may have a passive communication interface, such as a quick response (QR) code, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, an NFC tag, or the like, or an active communication interface, such as a modem, a transceiver, a transmitter-receiver, or the like. An IoT device can have a particular set of attributes (e.g., a device state or status, such as whether the IoT device is on or off, open or closed, idle or active, available for task execution or busy, and so on, a cooling or heating function, an environmental monitoring or recording function, a light-emitting function, a sound-emitting function, etc.) that can be embedded in and/or controlled/monitored by a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, ASIC, or the like, and configured for connection to an IoT network such as a local ad-hoc network or the Internet. For example, IoT devices may include, but are not limited to, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwaves, freezers, dishwashers, dishes, hand tools, clothes washers, clothes dryers, furnaces, air conditioners, thermostats, televisions, light fixtures, vacuum cleaners, sprinklers, electricity meters, gas meters, etc., so long as the devices are equipped with an addressable communications interface for communicating with the IoT network. IoT devices may also include cell phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Accordingly, the IoT network may be comprised of a combination of "legacy" Internet-accessible devices (e.g., laptop or desktop computers, cell phones, etc.) in addition to devices that do not typically have Internet-connectivity (e.g., dishwashers, etc.). [0030] The user device(s) 120 and/or AP(s) 102 may also include mesh stations in, for example, a mesh network, in accordance with one or more IEEE 802.11 standards and/or 3 GPP standards.

[0031] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may be configured to communicate with each other via one or more communications networks 130 and/or 135 wirelessly or wired. The user device(s) 120 may also communicate peer-to-peer or directly with each other with or without the AP(s) 102. Any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include, but not limited to, any one of a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, broadcasting networks, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, any of the communications networks 130 and/or 135 may include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, white space communication mediums, ultra-high frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof.

[0032] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128) and AP(s) 102 may include one or more communications antennas. The one or more communications antennas may be any suitable type of antennas corresponding to the communications protocols used by the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126 and 128), and AP(s) 102. Some non-limiting examples of suitable communications antennas include Wi-Fi antennas, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards compatible antennas, directional antennas, non-directional antennas, dipole antennas, folded dipole antennas, patch antennas, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, omnidirectional antennas, quasi-omnidirectional antennas, or the like. The one or more communications antennas may be communicatively coupled to a radio component to transmit and/or receive signals, such as communications signals to and/or from the user devices 120 and/or AP(s) 102. [0033] Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may be configured to perform directional transmission and/or directional reception in conjunction with wirelessly communicating in a wireless network. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may be configured to perform such directional transmission and/or reception using a set of multiple antenna arrays (e.g., DMG antenna arrays or the like). Each of the multiple antenna arrays may be used for transmission and/or reception in a particular respective direction or range of directions. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may be configured to perform any given directional transmission towards one or more defined transmit sectors. Any of the user device(s) 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may be configured to perform any given directional reception from one or more defined receive sectors.

[0034] MIMO beamforming in a wireless network may be accomplished using RF beamforming and/or digital beamforming. In some embodiments, in performing a given MIMO transmission, user devices 120 and/or AP(s) 102 may be configured to use all or a subset of its one or more communications antennas to perform MIMO beamforming.

[0035] Any of the user devices 120 (e.g., user devices 124, 126, 128), and AP(s) 102 may include any suitable radio and/or transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in the bandwidth and/or channels corresponding to the communications protocols utilized by any of the user device(s) 120 and AP(s) 102 to communicate with each other. The radio components may include hardware and/or software to modulate and/or demodulate communications signals according to pre-established transmission protocols. The radio components may further have hardware and/or software instructions to communicate via one or more Wi-Fi and/or Wi-Fi direct protocols, as standardized by the IEEE 802.11 standards. In certain example embodiments, the radio component, in cooperation with the communications antennas, may be configured to communicate via 2.4 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11b, 802. llg, 802.11η, 802.1 lax), 5 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11η, 802.1 lac, 802.1 lax), 6 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ax or beyond), and/or 60 GHz channels (e.g., 802.11ad, 802.1 lay). In some embodiments, non- Wi-Fi protocols may be used for communications between devices, such as Bluetooth, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), Ultra- High Frequency (UHF) (e.g. IEEE 802.1 laf, IEEE 802.22), white band frequency (e.g., white spaces), or other packetized radio communications. The radio component may include any known receiver and baseband suitable for communicating via the communications protocols. The radio component may further include a low noise amplifier (LNA), additional signal amplifiers, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, one or more buffers, and digital baseband. [0036] In one embodiment, an AP 102 may send a BTM request 142 to one or more user device(s) 120 that may be associated with the AP 102. The user device(s) 120 may respond with a BTM response 144. It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0037] FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for a dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] System 200 may include one or more APs 202 and one or more user devices 220, which may communicate in accordance with IEEE 802.11 communication standards. User device 220 may be mobile devices that are non- stationary (e.g., not having fixed locations) or may be stationary devices. Note that user device 220 may also be referred to herein as a STA.

[0039] In one embodiment, AP 202 may communicate with user device 220 via one or more respective interfaces. In an illustrated embodiment, AP 202 includes Interface 1 204 and Interface 2 206 and user device 220 includes Interface 1 208 and Interface 2 210. Note that each of AP 202 and user device 220 may include any number of interfaces and are not limited to the two interfaces each depicted in FIG. 2.

[0040] In one embodiment, each interface may be capable of supporting communication on a channel. For example, AP 202 may communicate with user device 220 using ones of their respective interfaces. AP 202 may communicate via Interface 1 204 with user device 220 via Interface 1 208 on a first channel. AP 202 may communicate via Interface 1 204 with user device 220 via Interface 2 210 on a second channel. AP 202 may communicate via Interface 2 206 with user device 220 via Interface 1 208 on a third channel. AP 202 may communicate via Interface 2 206 with user device 220 via Interface 2 210 on a fourth channel. Each channel may support communication on one or more bands, including a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, and/or a 6 GHz band.

[0041] System 200 may support dual connectivity with improved MBO between AP 202 and user device 220. AP 202 may have any combination of collocated bands, including, for example, a 2.4 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, or a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, and a 6 GHz band. User device 220 may be associated with AP 202 at one or more of these bands. For example, user device 220 may associate via Interface 1 208 with AP 202 via Interface 1 204 at 5 GHz. User device 220 may also associate via Interface 2 210 with AP 202 via Interface 2 206 at 6 GHz. Access to the 6 GHz band may be controlled via BTM frames, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0042] User device 220 may be dual-band non-concurrent. In other words, user device 220 may be capable of communicating with AP 202 via only a single channel at a given time. For example, user device 220 may include only a single interface (e.g., Interface 1 208) and/or user device 220 may be capable of operating on only a single interface of Interface 1 208 or Interface 2 210 at a given time. A dual band non-concurrent user device 220 may perform MBO by associating with AP 202 via Interface 1 204 at a first band (e.g., at 5 GHz) and with AP 202 via Interface 2 206 at a second band (e.g., at 6 GHz). A duty cycle may define an amount of time that a dual-band non-concurrent user device 220 spends in each band.

[0043] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0044] FIGs. 3A and 3B depict illustrative schematic diagrams for a basic service set transition management (BTM) frame request and a request mode field, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 3A, there is shown a BTM request frame, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] In one embodiment, BTM request frame 300 may be used to control access of a STA to a 6 GHz band. BTM request frame 300 may include a plurality of fields, including a Category field, a Wireless Network Management (WNM) Action field, a Dialog Token field, Request Mode field 302, a Disassociation Timer field, and a Validity Interval field. BTM request frame 300 may include one or more optional fields, including a BSS Termination Duration field, a Session Information Uniform Resource Locator (URL) field, and/or a BSS Candidate List Entries field. Each field of BTM request frame 300 may include one or more octets, as illustrated in FIG. 3A. An octet is a group of 8 bits associated with a field. The Category field, the WNM Action field, the Dialog Token field, Request Mode field 302, and the Validity Timer field may include a single octet. The Disassociation Timer field may include 2 octets. The BSS Termination Duration field may include either 0 octets or 12 octets. The Session Information URL field and the BSS Transition Candidate List Entries fields may include a variable number of octets.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 3B, there is shown a Request Mode field, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure. Request Mode field 350 may correspond to Request Mode field 302 of FIG. 3A. Request Mode field 350 may include 8 bits (e.g., bits 0-7). Request Mode field 350 may include bits that correspond to binary characteristics of Request Mode field 350. For example, Request Mode field 350 may include bits that correspond to one or more of the following characteristics: Preferred Candidate List Included, Abridged, Disassociation Imminent, BSS Termination Included, and ESS Disassociation Imminent. Request Mode field 350 may include bits that are reserved, such as Reserved bits 304. Reserved bits are bits that are not associated with defined characteristics. In an illustrated embodiment, Request Mode field 350 includes 3 reserved bits that correspond to bit numbers 5, 6, and 7.

[0048] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system (e.g., dual connectivity system 200 of FIG. 2) may use BTM request frame 300 to enable and/or control dual connectivity between a STA and an AP. For example, an AP and/or a STA may modify BTM request frame 300 in order to indicate that BTM request frame 300 is meant for establishing dual connectivity. In one embodiment, an AP and/or a STA may modify a BTM request frame, such as BTM request 300, by using Reserved bits 304 in Request Mode field 302 and/or Request Mode field 350. For example, Reserved bits 304 may be modified and/or defined to include a 1-bit field that indicates that BTM request frame 300 is meant for establishing dual connectivity. The bit may be called Dual Connectivity. If the Dual Connectivity bit is a 0, then BTM request frame 300 is not meant to establish dual connectivity. If the Dual Connectivity bit is a 1, then BTM request frame 300 is meant to establish dual connectivity. Note that the above convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Dual Connectivity bit indicates no dual connectivity and that a 1 in the Dual Connectivity bit indicates dual connectivity) is set forth for illustrative purposes only, and that the opposite convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Dual Connectivity bit indicates dual connectivity and that a 1 in the Dual Connectivity bit indicates no dual connectivity) falls within the scope of the present disclosure. Request Mode field 350 of BTM request 300 may include bits that correspond to one or more of the following characteristics: Preferred Candidate List Included, Abridged, Disassociation Imminent, BSS Termination Included, ESS Disassociation Imminent, and Dual Connectivity. The Dual Connectivity bit may correspond to one of Reserved bits 304 (e.g., bits 5, 6, or 7).

[0049] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system may indicate to which band the STA transitions to once dual connectivity is established. It is also important to include the information to which BSS the STA will have its data plane once dual connectivity is established. Note that the STA may have as its data plane the current band (e.g., a 5 GHz band) or the target band (e.g., a 6 GHz band). The target band may be indicated in a neighbor report of the BTM request frame. An AP and/or a STA may modify a BTM request frame in order to indicate to which BSS the STA will have as its data plane once dual connectivity is established. In one embodiment, an AP and/or a STA may modify a BTM request frame, such as BTM request frame 300, by using the Reserved bits 304 in Request Mode field 302 and/or Request Mode field 350. For example, Reserved bits 304 may be modified and/or defined to include a 2-bit field that indicates in a first bit of the 2-bit field that BTM request frame 300 is meant for establishing dual connectivity and in a second bit of the 2-bit field to which BSS the STA will have as its data plane once dual connectivity is established. The first bit of the 2-bit field may be called Dual Connectivity and the second bit of the 2-bit field may be called Data Plane. If the Data Plane bit is a 0, then BTM request frame 300 indicates that the current band (e.g., a 5 GHz band) is the data plane of the STA. If the Dual Connectivity bit is a 1, then BTM request frame 300 indicates that the target band (e.g., a 6 GHz band) is the data plane of the STA. Note that the above convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Data Plane bit indicates that the current band is the data plane of the STA and that a 1 in the Data Plane bit indicates that the target band is the data plane of the STA) is set forth for illustrative purposes only, and that the opposite convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Data Plane bit indicates that the target band is the data plane of the STA and that a 1 in the Data Plane bit indicates that the current band is the data plane of the STA) falls within the scope of the present disclosure. Request Mode field 350 of BTM request 300 may include bits that correspond to one or more of the following characteristics: Preferred Candidate List Included, Abridged, Disassociation Imminent, BSS Termination Included, ESS Disassociation Imminent, Dual Connectivity, and Data Plane. The Dual Connectivity bit and the Data Plane bit may correspond to two of Reserved bits 304 (e.g., bits 5, 6, or 7).

[0050] In one embodiment, an AP (e.g., AP 202) may send BTM request frame 300 and a neighbor report of the target band to a STA (e.g., STA 220), wherein BTM request frame 300 includes one or more of a Dual Connectivity bit and/or a Data Plane bit. The STA may respond with a BTM response frame indicating that the STA accepts BTM request frame 300.

The STA may move to the target band and may perform association and/or re-association with the target band. Once this is done, depending on the Data Plane bit, the STA may move back to the originally serving band (e.g., if this is where the data plane was indicated to be) or the STA may stay in the band/channel of the target band (e.g., if the data plane was indicated to be there).

[0051] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0052] FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative schematic diagram for an operating mode indication (OMI) field, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] In one embodiment, an AP and/or a STA may use one or more of a management frame and/or an OMI to indicate a directive to move a data plane from a first band (e.g., from a 5 GHz band) to a second band (e.g., to a 6 GHz band). Once the management frame or the OMI is acknowledged and accepted, the STA may move its data plane to the target band or may maintain its data plane in the current band.

[0054] In one embodiment, a management frame may be an operating mode notification (OMN) frame. Alternatively, the management frame may be a BTM request frame that includes a request to move to the target band (as described above).

[0055] In one embodiment, the AP and/or the STA may modify and/or define a new field of an OMI to indicate a data plane for the STA. Referring to FIG. 4, OMI field 400 may include 12 bits (e.g., bits B0-B11) that correspond to one or more characteristics of OMI field 400. For example, OMI field 400 includes one or more of the following characteristics: Receiver Number of Spatial Streams (Rx NSS), Channel Width, Uplink (UL) Multi-User (MU) Disable, and Transmitter (Tx) Number of Space-Time Streams (NSTS). Each characteristic of OMI field 400 may be associated with any number of bits. In an illustrated embodiment, Rx NSS is a 3 bit field, Channel Width is a 2 bit field, UL MU Disable is a 1-bit field, Tx NSTS is a 3 -bit field, and 3 bits are reserved in Reserved bits 402. OMI field 400 may include one or more bits that are reserved, such as Reserved bits 402. Reserved bits are bits that are not associated with defined characteristics. In an illustrated embodiment, OMI field 400 includes 3 reserved bits that correspond to bit numbers B9, B10, and Bl l.

[0056] In one embodiment, a dual connectivity system (e.g., dual connectivity system 200 of FIG. 2) may use OMI field 400 to indicate a data plane for a STA. For example, an AP and/or a STA may modify OMI field 400 in order to indicate a data plane for the STA. In one embodiment, an AP and/or a STA may modify an OMI frame, such as OMI frame 400, by using Reserved bits 402. For example, Reserved bits 402 may be modified and/or defined to include a 1-bit field (e.g., an operating mode (OM) A-control field) that indicates a data plane for the STA. The bit may be called Operating AP. If the Operating AP bit is a 0, then OMI frame 400 indicates that the current band (e.g., a 5 GHz band) is the data plane for the STA. If the Operating AP bit is a 1, then OMI frame 400 indicates that the target band (e.g., a 6 GHz) band) is the data plane for the STA. Note that the above convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Operating AP bit indicates the current band is the data plane for the STA and that a 1 in the Operating AP bit indicates the target band is the data plane for the STA) is set forth for illustrative purposes only, and that the opposite convention (e.g., that a 0 in the Operating AP bit indicates that the target band is the data plane for the STA and that a 1 in the Operating AP bit indicates that the current band is the data plane for the STA) falls within the scope of the present disclosure. [0057] In one embodiment, a STA may send (or cause to send) the at least one of a management frame and/or an OMI frame to an AP on a first band (e.g., on a 5 GHz band), wherein the management frame or the OMI frame is intended for management of a second band (e.g., a 6 GHz) band. The STA may indicate which band of the first band or the second band the management frame or the OMI frame is intended to manage.

[0058] In one embodiment, an indication may be added to the management frame or the OMI frame. For example, a specific element may be added to the frame (e.g., to BTM request frame 300 or to OMI frame 400), wherein the element describes the BSSID that is the target of the management frame. In another example, a bit may be added to the frame (e.g., to BTM request frame 300 or to OMI frame 400) using one of Reserved bits 304 for BTM request frame 300 or Reserved bits 402 for OMI frame 400. A 0 may indicate that the frame is intended to manage the current band and a 1 may indicate that the frame is intended to manage the target band. Note that this convention may be reversed such that a 0 indicates that the frame is intended to manage the target band and a 1 indicates that the frame is intended to manage the current band.

[0059] In one embodiment, a new A-control field that may be added in a MAC header of the frame and/or sent with a QoS null frame along with the frame. The new A-control field may include a bit that indicates the target of the frame (either the current band or the target band).

[0060] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0061] FIGs. 5A and 5B illustrate flow diagrams of illustrative processes for an illustrative dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 5A illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 500 for an illustrative dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0063] At block 502, a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 of FIG. 1) may associate with an AP at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association. The first frequency band may be one of a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band. The device may directly associate with the AP at 2.4 GHz and/or at 5 GHz. The device may associate via a first interface of the device (e.g., the device may have one or more interfaces) with the AP via a first interface of the AP (e.g., the AP may have one or more interfaces) at the first frequency band. [0064] At block 504, the device may identify a BTM request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band. The second frequency band may be one of a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band. The device may be dual-band non-concurrent, wherein the BTM request may indicate a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

[0065] At block 506, the device may associate with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association. The device may associate via a first interface of the device with the AP via a first interface of the AP at the first frequency band. The device may associate via a second interface of the device with the AP via a second interface of the AP at the second frequency band. The device may be dual-band non-concurrent (e.g., wherein the device has a single interface) such that the device may associate via a first interface of the device with the AP via a first interface of the AP at the first frequency band and with the AP via a second interface of the AP at the second frequency band.

[0066] At block 508, the device may cause to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association. The device may identify at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an OMI received from the AP. The device may cause to transition a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band. The device may cause to send one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames may be sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames may be sent on the second frequency band. The first management frame may indicate a TWT for the second frequency band. The second management frame may indicate a TWT for the first frequency band. The device may further comprise a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. The device may further comprise one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[0067] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0068] FIG. 5B illustrates a flow diagram of illustrative process 550 for an illustrative dual connectivity system, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] At block 552, a device (e.g., the user device(s) 120 and/or the AP 102 of FIG. 1) may identify an indication that a device is associated with an AP at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association. For example, the indication may be included in a BTM request. The first frequency band may be one of a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band. The device may directly associate with the AP at 2.4 GHz and/or at 5 GHz. The device may associate via a first interface of the device (e.g., the device may have one or more interfaces) with the AP via a first interface of the AP (e.g., the AP may have one or more interfaces) at the first frequency band.

[0070] At block 554, the device may transmit a BTM request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band. The device may modify a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP. The modified request mode field may be a 1-bit field that indicates dual-connectivity. The modified request mode field may be a 2-bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field may indicate dual-connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field may indicate one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0071] At block 556, the device may identify an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association. The device may cause to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device. The device may identify an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band. The device may identify a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request. The device may cause to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0072] It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

[0073] FIG. 6 shows a functional diagram of an exemplary communication station 600 in accordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, FIG. 6 illustrates a functional block diagram of a communication station that may be suitable for use as an AP 102 (FIG. 1) or user device 120 (FIG. 1) in accordance with some embodiments. The communication station 600 may also be suitable for use as a handheld device, a mobile device, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a wearable computer device, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device.

[0074] The communication station 600 may include communications circuitry 602 and a transceiver 610 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from other communication stations using one or more antennas 601. The transceiver 610 may be a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver that are combined and share common circuitry (e.g., communication circuitry 602). The communication circuitry 602 may include amplifiers, filters, mixers, analog to digital and/or digital to analog converters. The transceiver 610 may transmit and receive analog or digital signals. The transceiver 610 may allow reception of signals during transmission periods. This mode is known as full-duplex, and may require the transmitter and receiver to operate on different frequencies to minimize interference between the transmitted signal and the received signal. The transceiver 610 may operate in a half- duplex mode, where the transceiver 610 may transmit or receive signals in one direction at a time.

[0075] The communications circuitry 602 may include circuitry that can operate the physical layer (PHY) communications and/or media access control (MAC) communications for controlling access to the wireless medium, and/or any other communications layers for transmitting and receiving signals. The communication station 600 may also include processing circuitry 606 and memory 608 arranged to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, the communications circuitry 602 and the processing circuitry 606 may be configured to perform operations detailed in FIGs. 2-5.

[0076] In accordance with some embodiments, the communications circuitry 602 may be arranged to contend for a wireless medium and configure frames or packets for communicating over the wireless medium. The communications circuitry 602 may be arranged to transmit and receive signals. The communications circuitry 602 may also include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 606 of the communication station 600 may include one or more processors. In other embodiments, two or more antennas 601 may be coupled to the communications circuitry 602 arranged for sending and receiving signals. The memory 608 may store information for configuring the processing circuitry 606 to perform operations for configuring and transmitting message frames and performing the various operations described herein. The memory 608 may include any type of memory, including non-transitory memory, for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, the memory 608 may include a computer-readable storage device, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices and other storage devices and media.

[0077] In some embodiments, the communication station 600 may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), a wearable computer device, or another device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly.

[0078] In some embodiments, the communication station 600 may include one or more antennas 601. The antennas 601 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively separated for spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of the antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station.

[0079] In some embodiments, the communication station 600 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

[0080] Although the communication station 600 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, two or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements of the communication station 600 may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0081] Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, the communication station 600 may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device memory.

[0082] FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of an example of a machine 700 or system upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may be performed. In other embodiments, the machine 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 700 may operate in the capacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the machine 700 may act as a peer machine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environments. The machine 700 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a wearable computer device, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine, such as a base station. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or other computer cluster configurations.

[0083] Examples, as described herein, may include or may operate on logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer-readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured by a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

[0084] The machine (e.g., computer system) 700 may include a hardware processor 702 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 704 and a static memory 706, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 708. The machine 700 may further include a power management device 732, a graphics display device 710, an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 714 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the graphics display device 710, alphanumeric input device 712, and UI navigation device 714 may be a touch screen display. The machine 700 may additionally include a storage device (i.e., drive unit) 716, a signal generation device 718 (e.g., a speaker), a dual connectivity device 719, a network interface device/transceiver 720 coupled to antenna(s) 730, and one or more sensors 728, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 700 may include an output controller 734, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.)).

[0085] The storage device 716 may include a machine- readable medium 722 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 724 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 724 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 704, within the static memory 706, or within the hardware processor 702 during execution thereof by the machine 700. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 702, the main memory 704, the static memory 706, or the storage device 716 may constitute machine-readable media.

[0086] The dual connectivity device 719 may carry out or perform any of the operations and processes (e.g., process 500, process 550, etc.) described and shown above.

[0087] Dual connectivity device 719 may control access of multi-band devices to the 6 GHz band. The goals of these features include ensuring that the presence of those devices will not significantly impact benefits and/or gains of the NBT greenfield. One or more approaches for ensuring the presence of those devices will not negatively impact devices that operate or will operate at 6 GHz is to define one or more software and/or management features that allow an access point (AP) to control the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) of those stations (STAs) and/or to shut down those STAs. Further, NBT may need to operate with larger bandwidth. Therefore, a mix of STAs with very different max bandwidth is not desired because this may significantly reduce the efficiency.

[0088] Dual connectivity device 719 may ensure that improve multi-band operation (MBO) of dual band devices. For instance, one improvement may include disallowing STAs from directly associating with an AP at 6 GHz. Rather, these STAs may be allowed to directly associate with an AP at 2.4 GHz and/or at 5 GHz. Admission to the 6 GHz band may be controlled via basic service set (BSS) transition management (BTM) requests. These improved MBO operations may serve as an admission control in the 6 GHz band and may serve as a way to ensure backward compatibility in lower bands.

[0089] Dual connectivity device 719 may improve upon one or more MBO mechanisms. For instance, example improvements to MBO mechanisms include the splitting of a management and a data plane for a STA across multiple bands, a single association across a BSS, and/or LI and L2 aggregation.

[0090] Dual connectivity device 719 may modify basic service set transition management (BTM) frames. BTM frames are currently used for an AP and a STA to force and/or to ask for a transition between two BSSs (e.g., between 2.4 GHz and 6 GHz and/or between 5 GHz and 6 GHz). An AP may have any combination of collocated bands, including, for example, a 2.4 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band, or a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, and a 6 GHz band.

[0091] Dual connectivity device 719 may be an AP, wherein the AP sends (or causes to send) a BTM request to a STA that indicates a request and/or a demand to transition from a first band (e.g., from a 5 GHz band) to a second band (e.g., to a 6 GHz band). Dual connectivity device 719 may be a STA, wherein the STA sends (or causes to send) a BTM request to an AP that indicates a request and/or a demand to transition from a first band to a second band. Currently, if the BTM request is accepted by the STA (for instance, the BTM request requests the STA to transition from the 5 GHz band to the 6 GHz band), the STA is disassociated from the first band (e.g. the band at 5 GHz) and performs a re-association at the second band (e.g., the band at 6 GHz). Note that the first band and the second band may be any of a 2.4 GHz band, a 5 GHz band, or a 6 GHz band. [0092] Dual connectivity device 719 may modify (or cause to modify) the BTM request and/or BTM response frames. For example, an AP and/or a STA may ask for dual connectivity with the current band (e.g., a 5 GHz band) and a target band (e.g., a 6 GHz band). If the BTM exchange is successful, the STA may perform an association or a re- association with the target band (e.g., with the 6 GHz band) and will keep/maintain an association with the current band (e.g., with the 5 GHz band). Note that a STA may be dual band non-concurrent. A STA that is dual band non-concurrent is capable of transmission on only a single band at any given time. A dual band non-concurrent STA may be associated with an AP at both bands (e.g., at 5 GHz and at 6 GHz), but may not be in each band 100% of the time. A duty cycle defines an amount of time a dual band non-concurrent STA will spend in each band.

[0093] Once dual connectivity is established, dual connectivity device 719 may have its data plane moved instantaneously (or almost instantaneously) between the first band and the second band (e.g., between a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band) with a simple exchange of information. For example, a STA may send (or cause to send) a management frame or management frames to an AP on each band it is associated with (e.g., to the AP on a 5 GHz band and on a 6 GHz band). These management frames may allow the STA to use the operation mode indication (OMI) procedure defined in 802.1 lax. A management frame may include one or more of a target wake time (TWT) setup frame (e.g., a TWT setup frame for a first band may be transmitted on a second band, or vice versa) and/or an add block acknowledgment (ADDBA) frame. The STA may send quality of service (QoS) null frames to carry feedback to the AP.

[0094] It is understood that the above are only a subset of what the dual connectivity device 719 may be configured to perform and that other functions included throughout this disclosure may also be performed by the dual connectivity device 719.

[0095] While the machine-readable medium 722 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 724.

[0096] Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but not limited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

[0097] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 700 and that cause the machine 700 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media. In an example, a massed machine -readable medium includes a machine-readable medium with a plurality of particles having resting mass. Specific examples of massed machine -readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD- ROM disks.

[0098] The instructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 726 using a transmission medium via the network interface device/transceiver 720 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 720 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network 726. In an example, the network interface device/transceiver 720 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 700 and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software. The operations and processes described and shown above may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various implementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain implementations, less than or more than the operations described may be performed.

[0099] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The terms "computing device," "user device," "communication station," "station," "handheld device," "mobile device," "wireless device" and "user equipment" (UE) as used herein refers to a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, a netbook, a wireless terminal, a laptop computer, a femtocell, a high data rate (HDR) subscriber station, an access point, a printer, a point of sale device, an access terminal, or other personal communication system (PCS) device. The device may be either mobile or stationary.

[0100] As used within this document, the term "communicate" is intended to include transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as "communicating," when only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term "communicating" as used herein with respect to a wireless communication signal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating a wireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit the wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receive the wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

[0101] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," "third," etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0102] The term "access point" (AP) as used herein may be a fixed station. An access point may also be referred to as an access node, a base station, an evolved node B (eNodeB), an evolved node B (eNodeB), or some other similar terminology known in the art. An access terminal may also be called a mobile station, user equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, or some other similar terminology known in the art. Embodiments disclosed herein generally pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments may relate to wireless networks that operate in accordance with one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.

[0103] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices and systems, for example, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an onboard device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless access point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audio device, an audio- video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, a wireless area network, a wireless video area network (WVAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

[0104] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal communication system (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable global positioning system (GPS) device, a device which incorporates a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFID element or chip, a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transceiver or device, a single input multiple output (SIMO) transceiver or device, a multiple input single output (MISO) transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, digital video broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a smartphone, a wireless application protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

[0105] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems following one or more wireless communication protocols, for example, radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), frequency- division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal FDM (OFDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), extended TDMA (E-TDMA), general packet radio service (GPRS), extended GPRS, code-division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier modulation (MDM), discrete multi-tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), global system for mobile communications (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP, long term evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices, systems, and/or networks.

[0106] Example 1 may include a device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: associate with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association; identify a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; associate with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and cause to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

[0107] Example 2 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0108] Example 3 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the device is dual-band non-concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

[0109] Example 4 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: identify at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and cause to transition a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0110] Example 5 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: cause to send one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

[0111] Example 6 may include the device of example 5 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

[0112] Example 7 may include the device of example 5 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.

[0113] Example 8 may include the device of example 1 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

[0114] Example 9 may include the device of example 7 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[0115] Example 10 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: identifying an indication that a device is associated with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association; transmit a basic service set transition management (BTM) request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; and identifying an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association.

[0116] Example 11 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band and the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0117] Example 12 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise modifying a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP.

[0118] Example 13 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a

1- bit field that indicates dual-connectivity.

[0119] Example 14 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 12 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a

2- bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field indicates dual-connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field indicates one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0120] Example 15 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: causing to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0121] Example 16 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 15 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: identifying an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band.

[0122] Example 17 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: identifying a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request.

[0123] Example 18 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 10 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: causing to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0124] Example 19 may include a method comprising: associating, by a device, with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association; identifying, by the device, a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; associating, by the device, with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and causing, by the device, to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

[0125] Example 20 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0126] Example 21 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 19 and/or some other example herein, wherein the device is dual-band non- concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

[0127] Example 22 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 19 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: identifying, by the device, at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and causing to transition, by the device, a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0128] Example 23 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 19 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: causing to send, by the device, one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

[0129] Example 24 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 23 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

[0130] Example 25 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 23 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.

[0131] An apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 19-25.

[0132] A system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 19-25.

[0133] A machine-readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 19-25.

[0134] Example 29 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising: associating with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association; identifying a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; associating with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and causing to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

[0135] Example 30 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0136] Example 31 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the device is dual-band non- concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

[0137] Example 32 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: identifying at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and causing to transition a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0138] Example 33 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 29 and/or some other example herein, wherein the operations further comprise: causing to send one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

[0139] Example 34 may include the non- transitory computer-readable medium of example 33 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

[0140] Example 35 may include the non-transitory computer-readable medium of example 33 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.

[0141] Example 36 may include an apparatus comprising means for: means for associating with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association; means for identifying a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; means for associating with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and means for causing to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

[0142] Example 37 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0143] Example 38 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, wherein the device is dual-band non-concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

[0144] Example 39 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for identifying at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and means for causing to transition a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0145] Example 40 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for causing to send one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

[0146] Example 41 may include the apparatus of example 40 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

[0147] Example 42 may include the apparatus of example 40 and/or some other example herein, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.

[0148] Example 43, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: identify an indication that a device is associated with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association; transmit a basic service set transition management (BTM) request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; and identify an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association. [0149] Example 44 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band and the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0150] Example 45 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to modify a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP.

[0151] Example 46 may include the device of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 1-bit field that indicates dual- connectivity.

[0152] Example 47 may include the device of example 45 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 2-bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field indicates dual-connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field indicates one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0153] Example 48 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: cause to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0154] Example 49 may include the device of example 48 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: identify an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band.

[0155] Example 50 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: identify a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request.

[0156] Example 51 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: cause to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0157] Example 52 may include the device of example 43 and/or some other example herein, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. [0158] Example 53 may include the device of example 52 and/or some other example herein, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

[0159] Example 54 may include a method comprising: identifying an indication that a device is associated with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association; transmit a basic service set transition management (BTM) request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; and identifying an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association.

[0160] Example 55 may include the method of example 54 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band and the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0161] Example 56 may include the method of example 54 and/or some other example herein, further comprising modifying a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP.

[0162] Example 57 may include the method of example 56 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 1-bit field that indicates dual- connectivity.

[0163] Example 58 may include the method of example 56 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 2-bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field indicates dual-connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field indicates one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0164] Example 59 may include the method of example 54 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: causing to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0165] Example 60 may include the method of example 59 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: identifying an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band.

[0166] Example 61 may include the method of example 54 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: identifying a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request. [0167] Example 62 may include the method of example 54 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: causing to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0168] Example 63 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any one of examples 54-62.

[0169] Example 64 may include a system, comprising at least one memory device having programmed instruction that, in response to execution cause at least one processor to perform the method of any one of examples 54-62.

[0170] Example 65 may include a machine-readable medium including code, when executed, to cause a machine to perform the method of any one of examples 54-62.

[0171] Example 66 may include an apparatus comprising: means for identifying an indication that a device is associated with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association; means for transmitting a basic service set transition management (BTM) request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; and means for identifying an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association.

[0172] Example 67 may include the apparatus of example 66 and/or some other example herein, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band and the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

[0173] Example 68 may include the apparatus of example 66 and/or some other example herein, further comprising means for modifying a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP.

[0174] Example 69 may include the apparatus of example 68 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 1-bit field that indicates dual- connectivity.

[0175] Example 70 may include the apparatus of example 68 and/or some other example herein, wherein the modified request mode field is a 2-bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field indicates dual-connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field indicates one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0176] Example 71 may include the apparatus of example 66 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for causing to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

[0177] Example 72 may include the apparatus of example 71 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for identifying an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band.

[0178] Example 73 may include the apparatus of example 66 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for identifying a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request.

[0179] Example 74 may include the apparatus of example 66 and/or some other example herein, further comprising: means for causing to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

[0180] Example 75 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing a method as claimed in any of the preceding examples.

[0181] Example 76 may include machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed, to implement a method as claimed in any preceding examples.

[0182] Example 77 may include machine-readable storage including machine-readable instructions, when executed, to implement a method or realize an apparatus as claimed in any preceding example.

[0183] Example 78 may include one or more non- transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-77, or any other method or process described herein.

[0184] Example 79 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-77, or any other method or process described herein.

[0185] Example 80 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-77, or portions or parts thereof.

[0186] Example 81 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-77, or portions thereof. [0187] Example 82 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0188] Example 83 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0189] Example 84 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.

[0190] Embodiments according to the disclosure are in particular disclosed in the attached claims directed to a method, a storage medium, a device and a computer program product, wherein any feature mentioned in one claim category, e.g., method, can be claimed in another claim category, e.g., system, as well. The dependencies or references back in the attached claims are chosen for formal reasons only. However, any subject matter resulting from a deliberate reference back to any previous claims (in particular multiple dependencies) can be claimed as well, so that any combination of claims and the features thereof are disclosed and can be claimed regardless of the dependencies chosen in the attached claims. The subject-matter which can be claimed comprises not only the combinations of features as set out in the attached claims but also any other combination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned in the claims can be combined with any other feature or combination of other features in the claims. Furthermore, any of the embodiments and features described or depicted herein can be claimed in a separate claim and/or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described or depicted herein or with any of the features of the attached claims.

[0191] The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0192] Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference to block and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/or computer program products according to various implementations. It will be understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flow diagrams, respectively, may be implemented by computer-executable program instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the order presented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, according to some implementations. [0193] These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto a special- purpose computer or other particular machine, a processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer, processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage media or memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage media produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. As an example, certain implementations may provide for a computer program product, comprising a computer- readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code or program instructions implemented therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

[0194] Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flow diagrams, may be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, or combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0195] Conditional language, such as, among others, "can," "could," "might," or "may," unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while other implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to be performed in any particular implementation.

[0196] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A device, the device comprising memory and processing circuitry configured to: associate with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association;

identify a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band;

associate with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and

cause to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is dual-band non-concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: identify at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and

cause to transition a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

5. The device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

cause to send one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

9. The device of claim 8, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver.

10. A non- transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising:

identify an indication that a device is associated with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at the first frequency band is a first association; transmit a basic service set transition management (BTM) request to the device, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; and

identify an indication that the device is associated with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first frequency band is a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band and the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise modifying a request mode field of the BTM request, wherein the modified request mode field indicates dual-connectivity of the AP.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the modified request mode field is a 1-bit field that indicates dual-connectivity.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the modified request mode field is a 2-bit field, wherein a first bit of the 2-bit field indicates dual- connectivity, and wherein a second bit of the 2-bit field indicates one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

15. The non- transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

causing to send a neighbor report to the device, wherein the neighbor report indicates the first frequency band or the second frequency band as a data plane for the device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying an indication that the device transitioned the data plane to the indicated one of the first frequency band or the second frequency band.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a BTM response received from the device, wherein the BTM response indicates that the device has accepted the BTM request.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

causing to send a management frame on the first frequency band to the device, wherein the management frame includes an indication that the device should move a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

19. A method comprising:

associating, by a device, with an access point (AP) at a first frequency band, wherein the association at first frequency band is a first association;

identifying, by the device, a basic service set transition management (BTM) request received from the AP, wherein the BTM request indicates availability of a second frequency band; associating, by the device, with the AP at the second frequency band, wherein the association at the second frequency band is a second association, and wherein the device maintains the first association; and

causing, by the device, to send a BTM response to the AP, wherein the BTM response indicates the first association and the second association.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first frequency band is one of a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or a 5 GHz band, and wherein the second frequency band is a 6 GHz band.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the device is dual-band non-concurrent, and wherein the BTM request indicates a duty cycle that defines an amount of time the device will spend in the first frequency band and in the second frequency band.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

identifying, by the device, at least one of a second BTM request received from the AP or an operating mode indication (OMI) received from the AP; and

causing to transition, by the device, a data plane of the device from the first frequency band to the second frequency band.

23. The method of any one of claims 19 to 22, further comprising:

causing to send, by the device, one or more management frames to the AP, wherein a first management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the first frequency band and a second management frame of the one or more management frames is sent on the second frequency band.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the second frequency band.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the second management frame indicates a target wake time (TWT) for the first frequency band.