Gigabit Wireless LAN:

Enhancements in 802.11ac

Eldad Perahia, Ph.D., Intel Corporation,

eldad.perahia@intel.com
Robert Stacey, Apple, rstacey@apple.com
Dec 2012
• Introduction Outline
– History
– Usage models
– PAR
– Enhancements
– Channelization
• PHY
– Waveform design
– Packet structure
– PHY Transmitter flow
– Downlink multi-user MIMO
– Very High Throughput (VHT) waveform Preamble
• MAC
– Coexistence in wider channels
– Channel access in wider channels
– Dynamic bandwidth operation
– Aggregation
• DL MU-MIMO

2
 Early History
• Very High Throughput Study Group (VHTSG)
– Began in May 2007 as a precursor to starting task
group, in which purpose and scope of task group were
defined
– Started initially to address Very High Throughput for <
6 GHz IMT-Advanced operation
– IMT-Advanced objective was dropped
– Focus for < 6 GHz shifted to enhancing 802.11n in 5
GHz band
– <6 GHz PAR approved in Sept 2008

3
 Wi-Fi Alliance VHT Usage
Category
Models [6] # Usage Model

1. Wireless Display 1a Desktop Storage & Display

1b Projection to TV or Projector in Conf Rom
1c In room Gaming
1d Streaming from Camcorder to Display
1e Broadcast TV Field Pick Up
1f Medical Imaging Surgical Procedure Support
2. Distribution of HDTV 2a Lightly compressed video streaming around home
2b Compr. video streaming in a room / t.o. home
2c Intra Large Vehicle (e.g. airplane) Applications
2d Wireless Networking for Small Office
2e Remote medical assistance
3. Rapid Upload / Download 3a Rapid Sync-n-Go file transfer
3b Picture by Picture viewing
3c Airplane docking
3d Movie Content Download to car
3e Police / Surveillance Car Upload
4. Backhaul 4a Multi-Media Mesh backhaul
4b Point to Point backhaul
5. Outdoor Campus / Auditorium 5a Video demos / telepresence in Auditorium
5b Public Safety Mesh
6. Manufacturing Floor 6a Manufacturing floor automation

4
 Compressed Video Streaming
around a House
• Pre-Conditions:
• User has operational WLAN
network which includes a TV with
wireless capabilities, a DVR with
wireless capabilities, and an AP
associated with the WLAN that is
not in the same room as the game
machine and TV.
• Application:
• User can display the output of the
DVR wirelessly on the TV using a
video codec like Motion 2000 JPEG
that compresses video.

5
 Rapid Sync-and-Go
• Pre-Conditions:
• User has WLAN connectivity
between a PC, PDA, cell phone, a
camcorder, and a camera.

• Application:
• User can sync movies to/from the
camcorder and transfer the picture
files. An MPEG4 video file of 1
GByte takes 8 seconds over a
single hop 1Gbps link. 200 jpeg
(picture) files of 10 Mbyte takes less
than 30 seconds over a 1Gbps
single hop link . Jitter and delay are
not critical. Instead, the key metric is
the user’s time spent to do a
transfer. Less than 1 minute is
acceptable. 1-5 minutes may be
acceptable. More than 5 minutes is
not acceptable.

6
 Wireless I/O
E-Net
• Pre-Conditions:
• User has operational WLAN network
for Internet access and general data
networking. The wireless network used
for storage and display may or may not
be part of the other operational WLAN
network.
7
Wireless Dock
E-Net
Application:
User can wirelessly display the output of the
computer to monitor or TV using
uncompressed video.
User can wirelessly store data from a
computer to a harddrive. The data being
stored transfers at ~1Gbps, jitter is <
200msec, delay is <200msec, 10E-5 PER.
 802.11ac Project Authorization
Request (PAR)
• PAR requires that the amendment support
single link throughput of at least 500 Mbps
• 802.11ac must support multi-station
throughput of at least 1 Gbps
• Operation in 2.4 GHz is excluded
• Must have backward compatibility and
coexistence with legacy IEEE802.11
devices in the 5 GHz unlicensed band

8
 Recent History
• Task group started Nov 2008
• Task group documents
– Specification Framework
– Functional Requirements & Evaluation Methodology
– Amendment to 11n Channel Model
– Usage Models
• Draft 3.0 approved June 2012, will probably be the version
used for WFA certification
• Timeline going forward
– Initial Sponsor Ballot: planned for March 2013
– Recirculation Sponsor Ballot: planned for May 2013
– Final Working Group Approval: planned for November 2013
– RevCom & Standards Board Final Approval: planned for February
2014

9
 Different Physical Layers
802.11, a, b, g, n, ac
802.1 802.11 802.11a 802.11g 802.11n 802.11ac
1 b
Access DSSS DSSS/ OFDM OFDM SDM / MU+SDM
Technology OFDM / OFDM
CCK
Data Rate 1, 2 Up to Up to Up to Up to Up to
(Mbps) 11 54 54 600 6933
Frequency 2.4 2.4 5 2.4 2.4 and 5 5
Band (GHz)
Channel 22 22 20 22 20 and 20, 40, 80,
Bandwidth 40 160
(MHz)

10
PHY Data Rate Improvement in
802.11
10000

1000

100 20/25 MHz

40 MHz
10 80 MHz
160 MHz
1
dot11 11b (2.4 11a (5 11n 11ac; 4ss 11ac; 8ss
(2.4 GHz) GHz) GHz )/ (2.4/5 (5 GHz) (5 GHz)
11g (2.4 GHz)
GHz)

11
New Features and Enhancements
Proposed for IEEE 802.11ac
• Wider bandwidth
– 80 MHz channel width
– 160 MHz channel width
– Non-contiguous 160 MHz (80 MHz + 80 MHz)
• Modulation, coding, and spatial streams
– 256 QAM, rate = 3/4
– 256 QAM, rate = 5/6
– Up to 8 streams
• Downlink Multi-User MIMO (DL MU-MIMO)
• Increased aggregate size limits
• Enhancement to coexistence mechanisms

12
 Mandatory vs. Optional 802.11n
PHY Features
Mandatory Optional

1, 2* spatial streams 2*, 3, 4 spatial streams

Throughput
20 MHz; 64 QAM Enhancement 40 MHz, 114 tones
rate 5/6; 56 tones
½ Guard Interval

Transmit Beamforming
Basic MIMO/SDM
Robustness Space Time Block Code
Enhancement
Convolutional Code Low Density Parity Check

Interoperability
Mixed Format Preamble w/ Legacy Green Field Preamble

*2 spatial streams mandatory for AP only

13
 Modifications in 802.11ac to
802.11n Features
• STBC
– only for 2x1, 4x2, 6x3, 8x4
– No 3x2 or 4x3 as in 11n
• LDPC
– Added block-interleaving of constellation symbols per stream, per
OFDM symbol
• Transmit Beamforming
– Only Explicit feedback, no implicit feedback
– Only Compressed-V feedback, no Uncompressed-V, no CSI
– Only NDP sounding, no staggered sounding
– No unequal modulation

14
Mandatory vs. Optional 802.11ac
PHY Features
Mandatory Optional

Throughput Enhancement
1 spatial stream 2 - 8 spatial streams

160 MHz, 80+80 MHz

20, 40, 80 MHz
½ GI, 256 QAM
DL MU-MIMO

Transmit Beamforming
Basic MIMO/SDM
Robustness Space Time Block Code
Enhancement
Convolutional Code Low Density Parity Check

Interoperability
VHT Preamble w/ Legacy

15
Channelization for 20/40/80 MHz
• 40/80 MHz channelization
– Consists of two adjacent IEEE 20/40 MHz
channels
– Non-overlapping channelization
5170 5330 5490 5710 5735 5835
MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz

104
108

120

136
140

149
153
157
161
165
100

124
128
132

144
112
116
36
40
44
48
52

64
56
60

IEEE channel #
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz

16
 Channelization for Contiguous
160 MHz
• Apply the same rule as in 40 and 80 MHz channel
construction
– Consists of two adjacent IEEE 80 MHz channels
– Non-overlapping channelization
• Not necessary to come up with coexistence rules for partially
overlapping channels

5170 5330 5490 5710 5735 5835

MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz
104
108

120

136
140

149
153
157
161
165
100

124
128
132

144
112
116
36
40
44
48
52

64
56
60

IEEE channel #
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz
160 MHz

17
 Noncontiguous 160 MHz
(VHT80+80) BSS
• Any two nonadjacent 80 MHz channels may be used in
setting up a noncontiguous 160 MHz (VHT80+80) BSS
– Allows VHT80 STA to associate with the VHT80+80 BSS
– Allows contiguous-only devices to associate with the VHT80+80 BSS
as a VHT80 STA
5170 5330 5490 5710 5735 5835
MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz

120
124

136
140

149
153
157
100
104
108

128
132

161
165
144
112
116
36

48
52
56
60
40
44

IEEE channel # 64
20 MHz
40 MHz
80 MHz

Examples of
VHT80+80 BSS
Setup

18
 80 MHz Sub-Carrier Design
-103 -75 -39 -11 11 39 75 103

-128 -122 -2 2 122 127

OFDM sub carrier number

• 14 Null tones: {-128, … -123, -1, 0, 1, 123, …

127}
• 242 Populated tones: {-122, … -2, 2, … 122}
– 8 Pilot tones: {-103, -75, -39, -11, 11, 39, 75, 103}
– 234 Data tones: {Populated tones} – {Pilot tones}

19
 PHY Transmitter Flow Overview:
Single User, 20-80 MHz
append tail (for BCC),
encoding,
puncturing (for BCC)
• Scrambler same as 11a/n
• BCC encoder /

Encoder Parser
Scrambler
A-MPDU
Append MAC
padding
Append PHY Padding:
0-7 bits
Prepend Service Field:
Scrambler seed, Reserved,
puncturing same as 11a/n
VHT-SIG-B CRC

• LDPC fully optional

append tail (for BCC),
encoding,
puncturing (for BCC) • Spatial Mapping same as
11n
Insert GI
Analog
IDFT and
Interleaver Constellation and RF
Window
(for BCC) mapper

CSD
Spatial Mapping
Stream Parser

STBC

Interleaver Constellation
CSD Insert GI
(for BCC) mapper Analog
IDFT and
and RF
Window

20
 160 MHz Sub-Carrier Design
-231 -203 -167 -139 -117 -89 -53 -25

-256 -250 -130 -126 -6

25 53 89 117 139 167 203 231

6 126 130 250 255

OFDM sub carrier number

28 Null tones: {-256, … -251,-129,-128, -127, -5,…-1,0,1… 5, 127, 128,129,251, … 255}

484 Populated tones: {-250, … -6, 6, … 250}
• 16 Pilot tones: {+/-231, +/-203, +/-167, +/-139, +/-117, +/-89, +/-53, +/-25}
• 468 Data tones: {Populated tones} – {Pilot tones}

21
 PHY Transmitter Flow Overview:
Single User, 160 MHz contiguous
BCC Constellation LDPC tone
FEC Encoder

Segment
Interleaver mapper mapper Insert GI

Parser
IDFT Analog
and
Constellation and RF
Interleaver Window
mapper
234
subcarriers

Spatial Mapping
FEC Encoder

512 pt
Encoder Parser

Stream Parser

STBC
PHY Padding

Spatial Mapping
Scrambler

IDFT

STBC
FEC Encoder

BCC Constellation LDPC tone

CSD
Segment

Interleaver mapper mappter Insert GI

Parser

Analog
IDFT and
BCC Constellation LDPC tone and RF
CSD Window
Interleaver mapper mapper

– Code across 160 MHz, BCC interleaver per 80 MHz

– There may be 1 or more FEC encoders when BCC encoding is used
– When using LDPC, BCC interleavers not used
– When using BCC, the LDPC tone mappers not used

22
 PHY Transmitter Flow Overview:
Single User, 80+80 MHz non-contiguous

BCC Constellation LDPC tone Insert GI Analog

FEC Encoder

IDFT and

Segment
Interleaver mapper mappter and RF

Parser
Window
Constellation Insert GI Analog
Interleaver IDFT and
mapper Window and RF

Spatial Mapping
234
FEC Encoder

256 pt
Encoder Parser

subcarriers
Stream Parser

STBC
PHY Padding

Spatial Mapping
Scrambler

IDFT

STBC
FEC Encoder

BCC Constellation LDPC tone Insert GI Analog

CSD IDFT and
Segment

Interleaver mapper mappter and RF

Parser

Window
BCC Constellation LDPC tone Insert GI Analog
CSD IDFT and
Interleaver mapper mappter Window and RF

For 80+80 MHz sub-carrier design, each frequency segment follows the 80 MHz
format

23
 PPDU overview (SU)
PPDU Duration (# of symbols)

Freq
Last Symbol

L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-STF

L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-STF

VHT- PHY
VHT-LTFs Service VHT A-MPDU MAC Pad Tail
SIG B Pad
L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-STF

L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-STF

• Illustrating 80 MHz bandwidth

• Parallel L-TFs, L-SIG, VHT-SIG-A, VHT-STF represents 20
MHz waveform replicated on each sub-channel
• MAC provides an A-MPDU that fills the frame to the last byte
for each user
• L-SIG length and rate indicate PPDU duration (number of
symbols)
• PHY Padding (0 – 7 bits)
• Tail after pad (in 11n, tail before pad)

24
 Preamble Overview
VHT format PPDU
VHT-LTFs
8μs 8μs 4μs 8μs 4μs 4μs per LTF 4μs

L- VHT- VHT- VHT- VHT-

L-STF L-LTF VHT-SIG-A Data
SIG STF LTF LTF SIG-B

HT mixed format PPDU

HT-LTFs
8μs 8μs 4μs 8μs 4μs 4μs per LTF

L- HT- HT- HT-

L-STF L-LTF HT-SIG Data
SIG STF LTF LTF

• Legacy format the same as 11a/n

• VHT-SIG-A replaces HT-SIG
• VHT-STF and VHT-LTF similar to HT-STF and HT-LTF
• New VHT-SIG-B

25
 L-SIG
• Same number of subcarriers (data • Major difference from 11n:
and pilot) as 11n for 20 MHz and – Length field in L-SIG used to
40 MHz convey number of symbols in
• For 80MHz and 160MHz: same VHT packet
number of subcarriers and – No length field in VHT-SIG-A
positions as 11a/n L-SIG in each – See next slides
20 MHz subchannel
• Same rate, length, reserve, parity
and tail format
• As in 11n, 20 MHz waveform
replicated in each 20 MHz sub-
channel for 40, 80, and 160 MHz

26
 L-SIG
Length Conveys Number of Symbols (1/2)
• Similar to 11n, use L-SIG spoof rate of 6 Mbps for 11ac packets
– 3 bytes / symbol
• Long GI packet
– 4 us / symbol
– Legacy spoof symbols = L-SIG length / 3 bytes per symbol
– VHT payload symbols = Legacy spoof symbols – VHT preamble symbols

20 usec legacy spoof symbols = L-SIG length / 3 bytes per symbol

L VHT
preamble preamble VHT Payload

VHT payload symbols = legacy spoof symbols VHT preamble symbols

L-SIG spoof rate is fixed at 6 Mbps (3 bytes / symbol)

27
 L-SIG
Length Conveys Number of Symbols (2/2)
• Short GI packet
– 3.6 us / VHT symbol
– End of frame may not be aligned to a 4 us boundary
– Legacy devices using L-SIG may find the end of the
packet to occur up to 3.6 usec after the energy on the air
has disappeared
Short GI symbol time= 3.6 usec
3.6 * VHT symbols

L VHT
preamble preamble VHT Payload
Remainder <= 3.6 usec

Legacy spoof time = 4 usec per symbol * legacy spoof symbols

L-SIG symbol time = 4.0 usec Legacy spoof symbols = L-SIG length / 3

28
 L-SIG
Ambiguous End of Short GI Packets

• L-SIG can only indicate time in units of 4 us

• Two 3.6 us short GI boundaries may map to the same 4 us
normal GI boundary used by L-SIG
Short GI packet with N symbols 3.6 3.6 3.6

Short GI packet with N+1 symbols 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6

L-SIG spoof with M symbols 4 4 4

• Addressed with extra short GI bit in VHT-SIG-A

– LSB set to 1 for short GI
– MSB set to 1 for short GI AND Nsym%10 == 9

29
 Length & Duration at Tx
• Tx MAC computes the number of  8LN service Ntail N ES 
N SYM  mSTBC  
OFDM symbols and padding,  mSTBC N DBPS 
which includes N PAD  NSYM N DBPS  8L  Nservice  Ntail N ES
– A-MPDU (L)
– Service
– MAC Padding (to last byte
boundary) TXTIME  for SGI   TLEG _ PREAMBLE  TL  SIG  TVHT  SIG  A  TVHT _ PREAMBLE
T  N SYM 
– PHY Padding (0-7 bits) TVHT  SIG  B  TSYM   SYMS 
 TSYM 
– PHY BCC tail (6 bits / encoder)
• TXTIME  TXTIME 20 
L_LENGTH   33
 4 
– Covers entire PLCP packet
– Short or long GI
• L_LENGTH
– Similar to 11n

30
 Length & Duration at Rx
• Compute RXTIME from RXTIME 
L_LENGTH  3
*4  20
3
L_LENGTH

  TL  STF  TL  LTF  TL  SIG  TVHT  SIG  A 

• Compute Nsym from RXTIME,  RXTIME  
 

TVHT  STF  TVHT _ LTF  N LTF  TVHT  SIG  B  
N SYM  for SGI   floor  
NVHT-LFT , short GI  TSYMS 
 
 

• Correction factor for SGI

– If SGI bits = 11 and STBC=0,
then subtract one from N_sym
– If SGI bits = 11 and STBC=1,
then subtract two from N_sym

• Full Length in Octets

 N service  Ntail N ES 
PSDU_LENGTH  floor  SYM DBPS
N N

 8 

31
 Example of Short GI Correction
– 20 MHz, single stream, 64-QAM, r=5/6, ½ GI
PSDU Length # of 11ac TXTIME (usec) LSIG Length # of 11ac symbols
(bytes) symbols (bytes) computed from LSIG
without correction
1232 38 180 117 38

1233 39 184 120 40

1264 39 184 120 40

1265 40 184 120 40

1297 40 184 120 40

1298 41 188 123 41

32
 VHT-LTF:
Phase tracking during LTFs
• Carrier frequency offset causes EVM degradation at RX
– Carrier frequency offset estimation error due to phase noise
– Carrier frequency drift
• 11a/n has pilot tones in data symbols to track phase per
symbol
– Compensate residual frequency offset error and phase noise
– But no pilot tones in HT-LTF
• No phase tracking during HT-LTF
• 11ac supports max. 8 spatial streams (compared to 4 in
11n)
– Much longer VHT-LTF (e.g. 8 VHT-LTF symbols)
• More susceptible to phase rotations
– Simulation results show significant channel estimation performance degradation
w/o phase tracking during VHT-LTF
• 11ac requires higher channel estimation quality and EVM
– Higher order MIMO, 256-QAM, DL MU-MIMO

33
 VHT-LTF:
PER Performance with Frequency Drift
• 40MHz, NLOS B 10/771r0, “Phase Tracking During VHT-LTF”

• 2000 bytes / packet

1.0000
• Phase noise added at both TX and
RX (IEEE phase noise model)
• Initial carrier frequency offset w/o
tracking

PER
0.1000
estimation using L-LTF
• ML MIMO receiver
• Phase tracking always enabled for
data symbols 0.0100
-59 -57 -55 -53 -51 -49
• 4x4, 4 streams, 64-QAM 5/6 RSSI (dBm)

• IPN = -36 dBc

• Freq. drift = 50 Hz/us

34
 VHT-LTF:
P-Matrix for Pilot Subcarriers
• Identical pilot values for all space-time streams
– All tones in VHT-LTF symbols, except pilot tones, are multiplied by the
PVHTLTF matrix (VHT-LTF mapping matrix) as in 11n
– Pilot tones are multiplied by a row-repetition matrix RVHTLTF instead
• Dimension of RVHTLTF = Dimension of PVHTLTF (NSTS x NLTF)
• All rows in RVHTLTF is the same as the 1st row of PVHTLTF
– Avoid spectral line
• Allows phase tracking during VHT-LTF w/o MIMO channel
estimation
– Simple digital solution to mitigate carrier frequency offset and drift
 AVHTLTF
k

1, n

VHTLTFk x
IFFT


 RVHTLTF ,if k is a pilot tone CSD Qk N
k

STS

A
VHTLTF

 PVHTLTF , otherwise IFFT
x
X m,n  element in row m and column n of matrix X  AVHTLTF
k

N STS , n

35
 VHT-LTF:
Receiver Processing for Pilot Subcarriers

• Possible approach
– Estimate channel on pilot tones from first
VHT-LTF
– Used pilot tones on subsequent VHT-LTFs for
phase tracking
– Phase tracking during the VHT-LTFs is not
required

36
 VHT-SIG-A Waveform Design
• Two symbols (VHT-SIG-A1 and VHT-SIG-A2)
• Same number of subcarriers (data and pilot) and
positions as legacy format
• For 80MHz and 160MHz: same number of
subcarriers and positions and values as legacy in
each 20 MHz subchannel
• CSD and phase rotations same as legacy
• Extend 80 MHz preamble to 160 MHz preamble
by simple repetition

37
 Auto-detection
11a Data (BPSK… 64-QAM)

11n MF

VHT

4us 4us 4us

38
 VHT-SIG-A1 Fields and Order
Bit Field MU bit SU bit Description
Inde allocatio allocatio
x n n
0-1 BW 3 3 B0-B1: Set to 0 for 20 MHz, 1 for 40 MHz, 2
for 80 MHz, 3 for 160 MHz or 80+80 MHz
mode
2 Reserve Reserved for possible expansion of BW
d field. Set to 1.
3 STBC 1 1 Set to 1 for STBC, 0 otherwise
4-9 Group 6 6 Set to all ones indicating:
ID -A single user transmission
-A transmission where the group
membership has not yet been established
-A transmission that needs to bypass a
group (e.g. broadcast)
For MU: used to identify users

Integer fields are transmitted in unsigned binary format, LSB first

39
Bit Field MU bit SU bit Description
Inde allocatio allocatio
x n n
10-21 NSTS 12 12 For SU:
• first 3 bits contain stream allocation, set to
0 for one space time stream, set to 1 for
two space time streams, … 7 for eight
space time streams
• Remaining 9 bits contain partial AID: being
the 9 LSB bits of AID. For Broadcast and
multicast, these 9 bits are set to 0.
For MU: 3 bits/user with maximum of 4 users
• Set to 0 for 0 space time streams
• Set to 1 for 1 space time stream
• Set to 2 for 2 space time streams
• Set to 3 for 3 space time streams
• Set to 4 for 4 space time streams
22 No TXOP 1 1 Set to 0 by VHT AP if it allows non-AP VHT STAs in
PS TXOP power save mode to enter Doze state during a
TXOP.
Set to 1 otherwise.
The bit is reserved and set to 1 in VHT PPDUs transmitted
by a non-AP VHT STA.
23 Reserved 1 1 Set to 1
Total 24 24

40
 VHT-SIG-A2 Fields and Order
Bit Field MU bit SU bit Description
Index allocatio allocatio
n n
0-1 Short GI 2 2 •B0 set to 1 for short GI
•B1 set to 1 for short GI AND Nsym%10
== 9
2-3 Coding 2 2 B2:
•SU: set to 0 for BCC or 1 for LDPC
•MU: if the NSTS field for user 1 is
non-zero, then B2 indicates the coding
used for user 1; set to 0 for BCC and 1
for LDPC. If the NSTS field for user 1
is set to 0, then this field is reserved
and set to 1.

B3: set to 1 if LDPC PPDU encoding

process (or at least one LPDC user’s
PPDU encoding process) results in an
extra OFDM symbol (or symbols). Set
to 0 otherwise.
Integer fields are transmitted in unsigned binary format, LSB first

41
Bit Field MU bit SU bit Description
Index allocatio allocatio
n n
4-7 MCS 0 4 For SU:
•MCS index
For MU:
•B4: Indicates coding for user 2 if the
NSTS field for user 2 is non-zero: set to 0
for BCC, 1 for LDPC. If NSTS for user 2 is
set to 0, then reserved and set to 1.
•B5: Indicates coding for user 3 if the
NSTS field for user 2 is non-zero: set to 0
for BCC, 1 for LDPC. If NSTS for user 3 is
set to 0, then reserved and set to 1.
•B6: Indicates coding for user 4 if the
NSTS field for user 2 is non-zero: set to 0
for BCC, 1 for LDPC. If NSTS for user 4 is
set to 0, then reserved and set to 1.
•B7 is reserved and set to 1
8 SU- 0 1 Set to 1 when packet is a SU-
Beamfor beamformed packet, 0 otherwise
med
For MU: reserved and set to 1

42
Bit Index Field MU bit SU bit Description
allocation allocatio
n
9 Reserved 6 1 Set to 1

10-17 CRC 8 8 CRC calculated as in 11n Section

20.3.9.4.4 with C7 in B10
18-23 Tail 6 6 All zeros
Total 24 24

43
 MCS Exclusions
• For the TGac Tx data flow, the number of data bits per
OFDM symbol (N_dbps) and number of coded bits per
OFDM symbol (N_cbps) must be an integer value for each
BCC encoder
– also true for 11a and 11n, but this was always the case for all rates
and MCSs
• New conditions in TGac lead to fractional N_dbps and
N_cbps per encoder:
– 80 MHz with 234 data subcarriers
– 256-QAM
– More than two encoders
• Even thought MSC exclusions do not apply to LDPC, for
simplicity same MCSs for LDPC

44
 20 MHz MCSs
1 SS
1 & 2 SS 2 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 6.5 7.2 0 BPSK 1/2 1 13.0 14.4
1 QPSK 1/2 1 13.0 14.4 1 QPSK 1/2 1 26.0 28.9
2 QPSK 3/4 1 19.5 21.7 2 QPSK 3/4 1 39.0 43.3
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 26.0 28.9 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 52.0 57.8
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 39.0 43.3 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 78.0 86.7
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 52.0 57.8 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 104.0 115.6
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 58.5 65.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 117.0 130.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 65.0 72.2 7 64-QAM 5/6 1 130.0 144.4
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 78.0 86.7 8 256-QAM 3/4 1 156.0 173.3
9 9
• 1 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue
• 2 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

45
 20 MHz MCSs
3 & 4 SS
3 SS 4 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 19.5 21.7 0 BPSK 1/2 1 26.0 28.9
1 QPSK 1/2 1 39.0 43.3 1 QPSK 1/2 1 52.0 57.8
2 QPSK 3/4 1 58.5 65.0 2 QPSK 3/4 1 78.0 86.7
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 78.0 86.7 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 104.0 115.6
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 117.0 130.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 156.0 173.3
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 156.0 173.3 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 208.0 231.1
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 175.5 195.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 234.0 260.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 195.0 216.7 7 64-QAM 5/6 1 260.0 288.9
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 234.0 260.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 1 312.0 346.7
9 256-QAM 5/6 1 260.0 288.9 9

• 4 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

46
 20 MHz MCSs
5 & 6 SS
5 SS 6 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 32.5 36.1 0 BPSK 1/2 1 39.0 43.3
1 QPSK 1/2 1 65.0 72.2 1 QPSK 1/2 1 78.0 86.7
2 QPSK 3/4 1 97.5 108.3 2 QPSK 3/4 1 117.0 130.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 130.0 144.4 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 156.0 173.3
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 195.0 216.7 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 234.0 260.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 260.0 288.9 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 312.0 346.7
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 292.5 325.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 351.0 390.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 325.0 361.1 7 64-QAM 5/6 1 390.0 433.3
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 390.0 433.3 8 256-QAM 3/4 1 468.0 520.0
9 9 256-QAM 5/6 1 520.0 577.8

• 5 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

47
 20 MHz MCSs
7 & 8 SS
7 SS 8 SS
MC Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
S Modulatio Modulatio
R NES Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
Inde n 800ns n
400ns GI x GI GI
x GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 52.0 57.8
0 BPSK 1/2 1 45.5 50.6
1 QPSK 1/2 1 104.0 115.6
1 QPSK 1/2 1 91.0 101.1
2 QPSK 3/4 1 156.0 173.3
2 QPSK 3/4 1 136.5 151.7
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 208.0 231.1
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 182.0 202.2
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 312.0 346.7
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 273.0 303.3
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 416.0 462.2
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 364.0 404.4
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 468.0 520.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 409.5 455.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 520.0 577.8
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 455.0 505.6
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 624.0 693.3
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 546.0 606.7
9
9
• 7 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue
• 8 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

48
 40 MHz MCSs
1 & 2 SS
1 SS 2 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 13.5 15.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 27.0 30.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 27.0 30.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 54.0 60.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 40.5 45.0 2 QPSK 3/4 1 81.0 90.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 54.0 60.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 108.0 120.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 81.0 90.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 162.0 180.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 108.0 120.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 216.0 240.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 121.5 135.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 243.0 270.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 135.0 150.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 1 270.0 300.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 162.0 180.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 1 324.0 360.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 1 180.0 200.0 9 256-QAM 5/6 1 360.0 400.0

49
 40 MHz MCSs
3 & 4 SS
3 SS 4 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 40.5 45.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 54.0 60.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 81.0 90.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 108.0 120.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 121.5 135.0 2 QPSK 3/4 1 162.0 180.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 162.0 180.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 216.0 240.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 243.0 270.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 324.0 360.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 324.0 360.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 432.0 480.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 364.5 405.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 486.0 540.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 405.0 450.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 1 540.0 600.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 486.0 540.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 2 648.0 720.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 1 540.0 600.0 9 256-QAM 5/6 2 720.0 800.0

50
 40 MHz MCSs
5 & 6 SS
5 SS 6 SS
Data rate (Mb/s) MC Data rate (Mb/s)
MCS Modulatio S Modulatio
R NES 800ns R NES
Index n 400ns GI Inde n 800ns 400ns
GI GI GI
x
0 BPSK 1/2 1 67.5 75.0
0 BPSK 1/2 1 81.0 90.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 135.0 150.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 162.0 180.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 202.5 225.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 243.0 270.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 270.0 300.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 324.0 360.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 405.0 450.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 486.0 540.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 540.0 600.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 2 648.0 720.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 2 607.5 675.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 2 729.0 810.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 2 675.0 750.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 2 810.0 900.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 810.0 900.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 972.0 1080.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 2 900.0 1000.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 2 1080.0 1200.0

51
 40 MHz MCSs
7 & 8 SS
7 SS 8 SS
Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
MCS Modulatio NE Modulatio N
R 800ns 400ns Inde R
Index n n ES 800ns GI 400ns GI
S
GI GI x
0 BPSK 1/2 1 94.5 105.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 108.0 120.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 189.0 210.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 216.0 240.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 283.5 315.0 2 QPSK 3/4 1 324.0 360.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 378.0 420.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 432.0 480.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 2 567.0 630.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 2 648.0 720.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 2 756.0 840.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 2 864.0 960.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 2 850.5 945.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 2 972.0 1080.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 2 945.0 1050.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 2 1080.0 1200.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 3 1134.0 1260.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 3 1296.0 1440.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 3 1260.0 1400.0 9 256-QAM 5/6 3 1440.0 1600.0

52
 80 MHz MCSs
1 & 2 SS
1 SS 2 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 29.3 32.5 0 BPSK 1/2 1 58.5 65.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 58.5 65.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 117.0 130.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 87.8 97.5 2 QPSK 3/4 1 175.5 195.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 117.0 130.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 234.0 260.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 175.5 195.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 1 351.0 390.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 234.0 260.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 1 468.0 520.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 263.3 292.5 6 64-QAM 3/4 1 526.5 585.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 1 292.5 325.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 2 585.0 650.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 1 351.0 390.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 2 702.0 780.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 1 390.0 433.3 9 256-QAM 5/6 2 780.0 866.7

53
 80 MHz BCC MCSs
3 & 4 SS
3 SS 4 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 87.8 97.5 0 BPSK ½ 1 117.0 130.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 175.5 195.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 234.0 260.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 263.3 292.5 2 QPSK 3/4 1 351.0 390.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 351.0 390.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 468.0 520.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 526.5 585.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 2 702.0 780.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 2 702.0 780.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 2 936.0 1040.0
6 6 64-QAM 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 2 877.5 975.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 3 1170.0 1300.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 3 1404.0 1560.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 3 1170.0 1300.0 9 256-QAM 5/6 3 1560.0 1733.3
• 3SS, MCS 6 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

54
 80 MHz BCC MCSs
5 & 6 SS
5 SS 6 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio MCS Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns R NES 800ns 400ns
n Index n
x GI GI GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 146.3 162.5 0 BPSK 1/2 1 175.5 195.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 292.5 325.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 351.0 390.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 438.8 487.5 2 QPSK 3/4 1 526.5 585.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 2 585.0 650.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 2 702.0 780.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 2 877.5 975.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 3 1170.0 1300.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 3 1404.0 1560.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 3 1316.3 1462.5 6 64-QAM 3/4 3 1579.5 1755.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 3 1462.5 1625.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 4 1755.0 1950.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 4 1755.0 1950.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 4 2106.0 2340.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 4 1950.0 2166.7 9
• 6SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

55
 80 MHz BCC MCSs
7 & 8 SS
7 SS 8 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK ½ 1 204.8 227.5 0 BPSK 1/2 1 234.0 260.0
1 QPSK ½ 1 409.5 455.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 468.0 520.0
2 QPSK 3/4 3 614.3 682.5 2 QPSK 3/4 2 702.0 780.0
3 16-QAM ½ 2 819.0 910.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 2 936.0 1040.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 3 1228.5 1365.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 3 1404.0 1560.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 4 1638.0 1820.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 4 1872.0 2080.0
6 6 64-QAM 3/4 4 2106.0 2340.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 6 2047.5 2275.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 6 2340.0 2600.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 6 2457.0 2730.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 6 2808.0 3120.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 6 2730 3033.3 9 256-QAM 5/6 6 3120.0 3466.7

• 7 SS, MCS 6 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

56
 160 MHz MCSs
1 & 2 SS
1 SS 2 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 58.5 65.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 117.0 130.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 117.0 130.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 234.0 260.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 175.5 195.0 2 QPSK 3/4 1 351.0 390.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 1 234.0 260.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 1 468.0 520.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 1 351.0 390.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 2 702.0 780.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 1 468.0 520.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 2 936.0 1040.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 1 526.5 585.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 2 585.0 650.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 3 1170.0 1300.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 2 702.0 780.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 3 1404.0 1560.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 2 780.0 866.7 9 256-QAM 5/6 3 1560.0 1733.3

57
 160 MHz BCC MCSs
3 & 4 SS
3 SS 4 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 175.5 195.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 234.0 260.0
1 QPSK 1/2 1 351.0 390.0 1 QPSK 1/2 1 468.0 520.0
2 QPSK 3/4 1 526.5 585.0 2 QPSK 3/4 2 702.0 780.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 2 702.0 780.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 2 936.0 1040.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 3 1404.0 1560.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 3 1404.0 1560.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 4 1872.0 2080.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 3 1579.5 1755.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 4 2106.0 2340.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 4 1755.0 1950.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 6 2340.0 2600.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 4 2106.0 2340.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 6 2808.0 3120.0
9 9 256-QAM 5/6 6 3120.0 3466.7

• 3 SS, MCS 9 excluded due to BCC fractional bit issue

58
 160 MHz MCSs
5 & 6 SS
5 SS 6 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 292.5 325.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 351.0 390.0
1 QPSK 1/2 2 585.0 650.0 1 QPSK 1/2 2 702.0 780.0
2 QPSK 3/4 2 877.5 975.0 2 QPSK 3/4 2 1053.0 1170.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 3 1170.0 1300.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 3 1404.0 1560.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 4 1755.0 1950.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 4 2106.0 2340.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 5 2340.0 2600.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 6 2808.0 3120.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 5 2632.5 2925.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 6 3159.0 3510.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 6 2925.0 3250.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 8 3510.0 3900.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 8 3510.0 3900.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 8 4212.0 4680.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 8 3900.0 4333.3 9 256-QAM 5/6 9 4680.0 5200.0

59
 160 MHz MCSs
7 & 8 SS
7 SS 8 SS
MCS Data rate (Mb/s) MCS Data rate (Mb/s)
Modulatio Modulatio
Inde R NES 800ns 400ns Inde R NES 800ns 400ns
n n
x GI GI x GI GI
0 BPSK 1/2 1 409.5 455.0 0 BPSK 1/2 1 468.0 520.0
1 QPSK 1/2 2 819.0 910.0 1 QPSK 1/2 2 936.0 1040.0
2 QPSK 3/4 3 1228.5 1365.0 2 QPSK 3/4 3 1404.0 1560.0
3 16-QAM 1/2 4 1638.0 1820.0 3 16-QAM 1/2 4 1872.0 2080.0
4 16-QAM 3/4 6 2457.0 2730.0 4 16-QAM 3/4 6 2808.0 3120.0
5 64-QAM 2/3 7 3276.0 3640.0 5 64-QAM 2/3 8 3744.0 4160.0
6 64-QAM 3/4 7 3685.5 4095.0 6 64-QAM 3/4 8 4212.0 4680.0
7 64-QAM 5/6 9 4095.0 4550.0 7 64-QAM 5/6 9 4680.0 5200.0
8 256-QAM 3/4 12 4914.0 5460.0 8 256-QAM 3/4 12 5616.0 6240.0
9 256-QAM 5/6 12 5460.0 6066.7 9 256-QAM 5/6 12 6240.0 6933.3

60
 VHT-SIG-B:
Bit encoding
• Single stream Data field OFDM symbol format per user w/ BPSK, R=1/2 modulation
• In 20 MHz mode, 26 bits are available
• For 40/80/160 MHz, repeat bits including tail bits
– No frequency repetition of 20 MHz sub-channels into other sub-channels
– Provides easy way for receiver to get processing gain by averaging repeated soft values at the decoder
input
• For higher BWs, additional bits are available due to extra tones
– In 40 MHz, we get 27 bits
– In 80/160 MHz, we get 29 bits
6 tail
20 MHz 20 bits
bits

6 tail 6 tail
40 MHz 21 bits 21 bits
bits bits

Repeated

6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 1 Pad

80 MHz 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits
bits bits bits bits bit

Repeated

160 MHz 6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 1 Pad 6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 6 tail 1 Pad
23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits 23 bits
80+80 MHz bits bits bits bits bit bits bits bits bits bit

Repeated

Repeated

61
 VHT-SIG-B:
Bit Allocation
• VHT-SIGB Allocation (20/40/80 MHz):
SIGB Fields MU – Bit allocation SU – Bit allocation

20 MHz 40 MHz 80 MHz 20 MHz 40 MHz 80 MHz

Length (in units of 4 octets) 16 17* 19* 17 19 21

MCS 4 4 4 - - -
RSVD 0 0 0 3 2 2
Tail 6 6 6 6 6 6
Total # bits 26 27 29 26 27 29

– * Additional bits to accommodate large packet sizes in 5.46ms (max

packet duration in LSIG)
– 160 MHz repeats the 80 MHz VHT-SIG-B twice in frequency

62
 VHT-SIG-B:
Length
User

PPDU Duration (# of symbols)

Last Symbol
PHY
Service VHT A-MPDU Tail
Pad
VHT- PHY
L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-TFs Service VHT A-MPDU Tail
SIG B Pad
PHY
Service VHT A-MPDU Tail
Pad

0-3 MPDU MPDU 0-3 Less than

octets Length = 0 Length = 0 octets 8-bit
Dword Final Last byte
A-MPDU A-MPDU A-MPDU Null Null
MAC MAC boundary
subframe 1 subframe 2 subframe n subframe subframe
Pad Pad

VHT-SIGB Length

• Length in VHT-SIG-B is provided to indicate useful data

in PSDU, which allows receivers to shut-off PHY
processing after receiving useful data thereby saving some
power

63
 VHT-SIG-B:
CRC in SERVICE Field
• Transmitter shall include VHT-SIG-B CRC in SERVICE field
• Transmitter shall compute 8-bit CRC based on SIG B "not including
tail" and insert 8-bit CRC in 8 MSBs of the SERVICE field
– Transmitter will not include scrambler seed in computation of CRC bits
– CRC defined in 802.11n-2009 section 20.3.9.4.4. C7 of the CRC is
mapped to B8 of the SERVICE field, C6 to B7, …, C0 to B15
• The resulting SERVICE field and PSDU shall be scrambled, as in 11n
• CRC achieves protection of the scrambler init field
– Any error in the scrambler init field will result in a corrupted CRC field
after descrambling
– Check of the CRC field against the contents of SIG-B will then fail

VHT-SIG-B Service Field

20 bits in 20MHz Tail Scrambler Rsvd CRC
*21 (40MHz) / 23(80MHz) bits (6bit) Seed (7bit) (1bit) (8bit)

64
 VHT-SIG-B:
Requirements for Single User

• Tx
– Required to compute and populate DWORD
length, tail, and reserved bits
– Required to compute and populate VHT-SIG-B
CRC in SERVICE field
• Rx
– Optional to process VHT-SIG-B

65
 PHY Transmitter Flow:
256 QAM
00001000 00011000 00111000 00101000 01101000 01111000 01011000 01001000 11001000 11011000 11111000 11101000 10101000 10111000 10011000 10001000

– Normalization factor
00001001 00011001 00111001 00101001 01101001 01111001 01011001 01001001 11001001 11011001 11111001 11101001 10101001 10111001 10011001 10001001

K MOD  1
00001011 00011011 00111011 00101011 01101011 01111011 01011011 01001011 11001011 11011011 11111011 11101011 10101011 10111011 10011011 10001011 170
00001010 00011010 00111010 00101010 01101010 01111010 01011010 01001010 11001010 11011010 11111010 11101010 10101010 10111010 10011010 10001010

00001110 00011110 00111110 00101110 01101110 01111110 01011110 01001110 11001110 11011110 11111110 11101110 10101110 10111110 10011110 10001110

00001111 00011111 00111111 00101111 01101111 01111111 01011111 01001111 11001111 11011111 11111111 11101111 10101111 10111111 10011111 10001111

00001101 00011101 00111101 00101101 01101101 01111101 01011101 01001101 11001101 11011101 11111101 11101101 10101101 10111101 10011101 10001101

00001100 00011100 00111100 00101100 01101100 01111100 01011100 01001100 11001100 11011100 11111100 11101100 10101100 10111100 10011100 10001100

00000100 00010100 00110100 00100100 01100100 01110100 01010100 01000100 11000100 11010100 11110100 11100100 10100100 10110100 10010100 10000100

00000101 00010101 00110101 00100101 01100101 01110101 01010101 01000101 11000101 11010101 11110101 11100101 10100101 10110101 10010101 10000101

00000111 00010111 00110111 00100111 01100111 01110111 01010111 01000111 11000111 11010111 11110111 11100111 10100111 10110111 10010111 10000111

00000110 00010110 00110110 00100110 01100110 01110110 01010110 01000110 11000110 11010110 11110110 11100110 10100110 10110110 10010110 10000110

00000010 00010010 00110010 00100010 01100010 01110010 01010010 01000010 11000010 11010010 11110010 11100010 10100010 10110010 10010010 10000010

00000011 00010011 00110011 00100011 01100011 01110011 01010011 01000011 11000011 11010011 11110011 11100011 10100011 10110011 10010011 10000011

00000001 00010001 00110001 00100001 01100001 01110001 01010001 01000001 11000001 11010001 11110001 11100001 10100001 10110001 10010001 10000001

00000000 00010000 00110000 00100000 01100000 01110000 01010000 01000000 11000000 11010000 11110000 11100000 10100000 10110000 10010000 10000000

66
MAC

67
 Coexistence in Wider Channels
802.11n Channels: 802.11ac Channels:
36, 40, 44, 48
36, 40

Channels:
44, 48
Channel: Channels:
36 36, 40

• With 11n it is relatively easy to handle overlapping networks:

• Easy to avoid overlap by choosing different channel
• Choose primary channel that matches neighbor if overlap unavoidable
• With 11ac it becomes much harder
• More channels used means greater probability of co-channel operation
• Harder to choose primary channel common to all overlapping networks

68
 Enhancements to Coexistence
Mechanisms
• 802.11ac extends the medium access protocol developed in
11n to wider channels
• 802.11ac improves co-channel operation with the
following:
• Enhanced secondary channel CCA
• Improved dynamic channel width operation
• Operating Mode Notification frame

69
 Channel access in wider channels
Primary channel AIFS CW
40 MHz PPDU PIFS
PIFS 80 MHz PPDU
Secondary channels
40 MHz PPDU PIFS

AIFS CW
Primary channel 40 MHz PPDU 40 MHz PPDU
PIFS

Secondary channels 40 MHz PPDU

• Basic 11n channel access mechanism is extended to wider bandwidth

• Random backoff (AIFS+CW) is based on primary channel activity
• Secondary channels must be sensed idle PIFS before transmission
• If some of the subchannels are busy, a narrower transmission is permitted
– A transmission always includes primary channel
• Note that mid-packet signal detect is needed on secondary channel since
packet may start while primary channel transmission is in progress

70
 Enhanced CCA
802.11n 802.11ac
Primary Valid signal: -82 dBm Valid signal: -82 dBm
channel Energy detect: -62 dBm Energy detect: -62 dBm
Secondary Energy detect only: Valid signal: -72dBm
channel -62 dBm Energy detect: -62 dBm

• Detecting a valid signal in secondary channel is harder than in primary

channel
• Because the STA always transmits in the primary channel, it only needs to
detect start of packet in primary channel
• Because a secondary transmission may begin while a primary channel
transmission is in progress, a STA must be able to detect signal in middle
of a packet on secondary channel

71
 Improved Dynamic Channel Width Operation
AP1:
36,40,44,48
Data
AP2:
44,48 RTS CTS BA
Interference Data
RTS CTS BA
RTS
STA2
STA1 RTS Interference

• E.g. STA1 receives interference from STA2, but transmission

is not detected by AP1
• BW signaling is added to RTS and CTS frames
• AP1 sends RTS with BW of intended transmission
• STA1 sends CTS response with BW of clear channels
• AP1 only sends data on clear channels

72
Operating Mode Notification Frame

• If the interference in the previous example is strong or

frequent, then STA1 can send a Operating Mode
Notification frame
• Operating Mode Notification frame tells AP that the STA
is changing the BW on which it operates
• E.g. 80 MHz  40 MHz
• AP will then only send data frames occupying the reduced
BW
• Operating Mode Notification frame can also be used to
reduce the number of spatial streams that a STA can receive
(enhancement of 11n’s SM power save mechanism)

73
 Aggregation in 11n
• 802.11n added two forms of
A-MSDU
aggregation:
MAC

FCS
• A-MSDU MSDU MSDU MSDU
Header
– Performed at the top of the MAC
– Easily done in software A-MPDU
– Limited by max A-MSDU size

Delimiter

Delimiter

Delimiter
A-MPDU

A-MPDU

A-MPDU
(approx 8kB) MPDU MPDU MPDU
• A-MPDU
– Performed at the bottom of the MAC
– Done in hardware
– Limited by PPDU length field of 64kB
• Most 11n implementations only did A-
MPDU
• Doing both A-MSDU and A-
MPDU, while permitted, had little
benefit

74
 Aggregation in 11ac
MSDU MSDU MSDU MSDUs typically ≤1500B in size

A-MSDU Aggregated to form A-MSDU

MAC A-MSDU encapsulated in MPDU

FCS
MSDU MSDU MSDU (length limit increased to 11,454B)
Header

Delimiter
Delimiter

Delimiter

MPDUs aggregated to form A-MPDU

A-MPDU

A-MPDU

A-MPDU
(length limit increased to 1MB,
MPDU MPDU MPDU BA window limit of 64 remains
unchanged)

• With 11ac, both A-MSDU and A-MPDU aggregation are

required to achieve good efficiency at higher data rates
• Also, in 11ac all packets required to be A-MPDU
– PHY no longer conveys the number of octets in the packet, just number
of OFDM symbols
– MPDU only contains duration, not length
– Delimiter in A-MPDU contains MPDU length

75
 Aggregation in 11ac
A-MPDU only vs A-MSDU+A-MPDU
Throughput with 10% PER
1,400 80.00%
With A-MSDU,
reach 1.16 Gbps
1,200 70.00%

60.00%
1,000
11,414B A-MSDU Limit
At 11n rates,
Throughput (Mbps)

50.00%

MAC Efficiency
7,935B A-MSDU Limit
800 no benefit from
A-MSDU+A-MPDU 40.00%
3,839B A-MSDU Limit

600 No A-MSDU
30.00% 11,414B A-MSDU Limit

400 7,935B A-MSDU Limit

20.00%
3,839B A-MSDU Limit
200 Without A-MSDU, No A-MSDU
10.00%
only reach 660 Mbps
0 0.00%
0 500 1,000 1,500

PHY Data Rate (Mbps)

Throughput simulation, 1 and 2 spatial streams, 160 MHz

76
 Downlink Multi User MIMO
(DL MU-MIMO)
• In 11n MIMO, the access point
transmits multiple data streams to a
single station at a time
• In 11ac DL MU-MIMO, the access
point simultaneously transmits data
streams to multiple stations
• Example: STA1 STA3
STA2
– Access point with 6 antenna
– One hand-held client device with
one antenna (STA1)
– One laptop client device (STA2)
with two antennas
– One TV set top box client device
with two antennas (STA3)
– Access point simultaneously
transmits one stream to STA1, two
streams to STA2, and two streams
to STA3

77
 PHY Transmitter Flow Overview:
Multi User
LDPC Insert GI
Constellation Analog
tone IDFT and
Stream Parser mapper and RF
Window
PHY Padding

mapper

...
Scrambler

Encoder

STBC
...
LDPC

LDPC Insert GI
Constellation Analog
tone CSD IDFT and

Spatial Mapping
mapper and RF
mapper Window
User 1 (Using LDPC)

...
...

Encoder

...
BCC Constellation
BCC

mapper CSD
Interleaver
Stream Parser
Encoder Parser
PHY Padding

Scrambler

STBC
...

...
Encoder
BCC

Insert GI
BCC Constellation Analog
CSD IDFT and
Interleaver mapper and RF
Window
User Nu (Using BCC)

78
 DL MU-MIMO Parameters

• Maximum number of users in a

transmission is 4
• Maximum number of spatial streams per
user is 4
• Maximum total number of spatial streams
(summed over users) is 8

79
 PPDU overview (MU)
User
PPDU Duration (# of symbols)

Last Symbol
VHT- VHT- PHY
VHT-LTF Service VHT A-MPDU Tail
STF SIG B Pad
VHT- VHT- PHY
L-TFs L-SIG VHT-SIG A VHT-LTF Service VHT A-MPDU MAC Pad Tail
STF SIG B Pad
VHT- VHT- PHY
VHT-LTF Service VHT A-MPDU MAC Pad Tail
STF SIG B Pad

0-3 MPDU MPDU 0-3 Less than

octets Length = 0 Length = 0 octets 8-bit
Dword Null Null Final Last byte
A-MPDU A-MPDU A-MPDU boundary
MAC subframe subframe MAC
subframe 1 subframe 2 subframe n
Pad (EOF) (EOF) Pad

When RX MAC detects

MPDU Delimiter
EOF Reserved
length = 0
CRC
Signature
the EOF padding
delimiter, it can inform RX
MPDU Delimiter PHY to stop receiving
Octets: 4

• Illustrating parallel transmissions to multiple users

• Parallel VHT-SIG-B, Service, VHT A-MPDU represents directional transmission to each users
• MAC provides an A-MPDU that fills the frame to the last byte for each user
• Same preamble structure is used for both SU and MU VHT frames
– Require that A-MPDU always be used with both SU and MU VHT frames
– “Aggregation” bit in VHT-SIG is then not needed
• Tail: 6 bits per BCC encoder for each user

80
 MU Ack Protocol
RA=STA 1, implicit block ack request
BAR BAR
AP RA=STA 2, block ack RA=STA 2 RA=STA 3
RA=STA 3, block ack

STA 1 BA
STA 2 BA
STA 3 BA

•Ack protocol is unchanged from 802.11n

•MU PPDU may solicit a response from only one STA
•Remaining STAs are polled for response
•Note: Not to scale; BAR-BA is of much shorter
duration that MU PPDU

81
 Group ID concept
1. AP transmits MU MIMO
PPDU to a group of
STAs identified by Space-time streams 0, 1 To STA 1
Group ID
Space-time streams 2, 3 To STA 3
Space-time stream 4 To STA 4

VHT-SIG-A
2. STAs use Group
ID to index local
table to identify Group Nsts Table
its Nsts Index ID 3. Nsts Index determines
which space-time
2 2 0 2 1 streams the STA
demodulates

STA 1 STA 2 STA 3 STA 4

Group Nsts Group Nsts Group Nsts Group Nsts
ID Index ID Index ID Index ID Index
0 - 0 - 0 0 0 1
Per STA
1 - 1 0 1 1 1 2 lookup tables
2 0 2 1 2 2 2 3
… … … … … … … …
63 1 63 2 63 3 63 -

82
 Sounding and Feedback Protocol

1. Sounding feedback sequence starts with AP sending an NDP Announcement frame

followed by an NDP
– NDP Announcement identifies the first responder after the NDP and may identify other STAs
which will be polled subsequently
2. STA identified as first by the NDP Announcement sends VHT Compressed Beamforming
report frame SIFS time after the NDP
3. AP polls all remaining STAs using the Beamforming Report Poll frame

• Note that in the SU case, the sequence is simply NDP Announcement-NDP-VHT

Compressed Beamforming report frame

83
 Acronyms (1/4)
• A-MPDU - aggregate MAC protocol data unit
• A-MSDU – aggregate MAC service data unit
• ACK - acknowledgment
• AID - association identifier
• AIFS - arbitration interframe space
• A-MPDU - aggregate MAC protocol data unit
• AP – access point
• BA - Block Acknowledgment
• BAR - Block Acknowledgment request
• BB – baseband
• BCC - binary convolutional code
• BF - beamforming
84
• BPSK - binary phase shift keying
• BW – bandwidth
• CCA - clear channel assessment
• CCK - complementary code keying
• CRC - cyclic redundancy code
• CSD - cyclic shift diversity
• CSI - channel state information
• CSMA/CA - carrier sense multiple access with
collision avoidance
• CTS - clear to send
• CW - contention window
• DL - downlink
• DSSS - direct sequence spread spectrum
 Acronyms (2/4)
• FFT - Fast Fourier Transform
• FEC - forward error correction
• FEM – front-end module
• GI – guard interval
• HT – high throughput
• IBSS – independent basic service set
• ID - identification
• Infra-BSS – infrastructure basic service set
• IMT-Advanced - International Mobile
Telecommunications - Advanced
• ISM - industrial, scientific, and medical
• LDPC - low-density parity check
85
• L-SIG – legacy signal field
• L-TF, LTF – legacy training field
• MAC - medium access control
• MCS – modulation, coding scheme
• MF – mixed format
• MIB - management information base
• MIMO - multiple input, multiple output
• MPDU - MAC protocol data unit
• MSDU - MAC service data unit
• MU – multi user
• NDP - null data packet
• NDPA – NDP announcement
 Acronyms (3/4)
• OFDM - orthogonal frequency division • RTS - request to send
multiplexing • SC – single carrier
• PAR - Project Authorization Request • SDM – spatial division multiplexing
• PAPR - Peak-to-Average Power Ratio • SIFS - short interframe space
• PHY - physical layer
• SIG – signal field
• PIFS - point (coordination function) interframe space
• SNR – signal to noise ratio
• PLCP - physical layer convergence procedure
• PPDU - PLCP protocol data unit • STA – station
• PS – power save • STBC - space-time block coding
• PSDU - PLCP service data unit • STF – short training field
• QAM - quadrature amplitude modulation • SU – single user
• QPSK - quadrature phase shift keying • TG – task group
• RFIC – radio frequency integrated circuit
• TX – transmit or transmitter
• RX – receive or receiver
• TXOP - transmission opportunity

86
 Acronyms (4/4)
• VHT – very high throughput
• WG – working group
• WLAN – wireless local area networking

87
 References
1. Perahia, Eldad, and Stacey, Robert, “Next Generation Wireless LANs: Throughput,
Robustness, and Reliability in 802.11n”, Cambridge University Press, 2008
2. Kim, Youhan, “Channelization for 11ac”, 11-10/1064r2,
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/10/11-10-1064-02-00ac-channelization-for-11ac.ppt
3. Stacey, Robert, “Specification Framework for TGac”, 11-09/992r21,
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/09/11-09-0992-21-00ac-proposed-specification-
framework-for-tgac.doc
4. Merlin, Simone, “Protocol for SU and MU Sounding Feedback”, 11-10/1091,
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/10/11-10-1091-00-00ac-protocol-for-su-and-mu-sounding-
feedback.pptx
5. Merlin, Simone, “ACK protocol and backoff procedure for MU-MIMO”, 11-10/1092,
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/10/11-10-1092-00-00ac-ack-protocol-and-backoff-
procedure-for-mu-mimo.pptx
6. P802.11ac Draft 4.0
7. Myles, Andrew, and de Vegt, Rolf, “Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) VHT Study Group Usage
Models”, 11-07/2988r4, https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/07/11-07-2988-04-0000-liaison-
from-wi-fi-alliance-to-802-11-regarding-wfa-vht-study-group-consolidation-of-usage-
models.ppt

88