Extended nstr indication bitmaps in case of channel switching mechanisms such as dso, npca or dbe

Abstract

A non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) determines a non-simultaneous transmit receive (NSTR) status of a pair of links setup with two respective APs affiliated with an AP MLD 110, the determining being based on frequency edges of operating channels of the two affiliated APs. The determining may comprise comparing a frequency difference between the nearest frequency edges of the operating channels of the two affiliated APs with a minimum frequency gap value specific to the non-AP MLD. The non-AP MLD may report the NSTR status of the link pair to the AP MLD, including reporting the NSTR status of the link pair upon the AP MLD activating dynamic sub-band operation (DSO), non-primary channel access (NPCA), or high efficiency subchannel selective transmission (HE SST) on one link of the pair at the non-AP MLD. One operating channel of the two affiliated APs may be an expended operating channel resulting from a Dynamic Bandwidth Expansion (DBE) mechanism, compared to a Basic Service Set (BSS) operating channel implemented by the affiliated AP in absence of DBE mechanism. [Figure 1]