Allocation of wireless channels for preferred stations

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer readable media may be operable to facilitate an allocation of one or more channels to one or more preferred stations. An access point may be configured to allocate the use of one or more sub-bands of a frequency spectrum to one or more stations. One or more sub-bands may be assigned to one or more preferred stations, thereby creating a plurality of virtual networks provided by the access point. The virtual networks provided by the access point may support different authentication and encryption options. The access point may simultaneously communicate with a plurality of stations by simultaneously transmitting and/or receiving communications over the different sub-bands.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving a wireless communication at an access point, wherein the wireless communication is received from a station;   retrieving a station identifier from the wireless communication; and   if the retrieved station identifier matches an identifier associated with a sub-band of a frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate, outputting a communication to the station, wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the sub-band associated with the station identifier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a service type identifier. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a device type identifier. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 if the retrieved station identifier does not match an identifier associated with a sub-band of the frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate, selecting an available sub-band of the frequency spectrum and outputting a communication to the station, wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the selected sub-band.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 if the retrieved station identifier indicates that the station cannot accommodate sub-band communication;   identifying time intervals wherein said station can communicate using the complete frequency spectrum; and   instructing any stations capable of sub-band communication to refrain from communication that might interfere with said station.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication comprises configuration information associated with the sub-band associated with the station identifier. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate is partitioned into at least two sub-bands. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the access point is configured to simultaneously communicate with one or more stations over each of the at least two sub-bands. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that the retrieved station identifier is associated with a device category, wherein the device category is designated for communicating over a specific sub-band of the frequency spectrum; and   wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the specific sub-band.   
     
     
         10 . An access point comprising:
 an interface configured to be used to receive a wireless communication from a station; and   one or more modules configured to:
 retrieve a station identifier from the wireless communication; and 
 if the retrieved station identifier matches an identifier associated with a sub-band of a frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate, output a communication to the station, wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the sub-band associated with the station identifier. 
   
     
     
         11 . The access point of  claim 10 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a service type identifier. 
     
     
         12 . The access point of  claim 10 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a device type identifier. 
     
     
         13 . The access point of  claim 10 , wherein the frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate is partitioned into at least two sub-bands, and wherein the access point is configured to simultaneously communicate with one or more stations over each of the at least two sub-bands. 
     
     
         14 . One or more non-transitory computer readable media having instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform the operations comprising:
 receiving a wireless communication at an access point, wherein the wireless communication is received from a station;   retrieving a station identifier from the wireless communication; and   if the retrieved station identifier matches an identifier associated with a sub-band of a frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate, outputting a communication to the station, wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the sub-band associated with the station identifier.   
     
     
         15 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 14 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a service type identifier. 
     
     
         16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 14 , wherein the retrieved station identifier comprises a device type identifier. 
     
     
         17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause one or more processors to perform the operations comprising:
 if the retrieved station identifier does not match an identifier associated with a sub-band of the frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate, selecting an available sub-band of the frequency spectrum and outputting a communication to the station, wherein the communication instructs the station to communicate with the access point over the selected sub-band.   
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 14 , wherein the communication comprises configuration information associated with the sub-band associated with the station identifier. 
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 14 , wherein the frequency spectrum over which the access point is configured to communicate is partitioned into at least two sub-bands. 
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 19 , wherein the access point is configured to simultaneously communicate with one or more stations over each of the at least two sub-bands.