Media access control for punctured/aggregated communication channels in WLAN

A first communication device for communicating in a wireless communication network, the first communication device comprising:

• a wireless network interface device comprising one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to:
• receive one or more physical layer (PHY) data units from a second communication device via a communication channel that includes a first frequency segment and a second frequency segment separated from the first frequency segment by a gap in frequency, wherein the gap is not used for the communication channel, and wherein receiving the one or more PHY data units includes simultaneously i) receiving a first frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units via the first frequency segment of the communication channel, and ii) receiving a second frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units via the second frequency segment of the communication channel;
• and
• wherein the one or more ICs are further configured to:
• extract a plurality of media access control (MAC) layer data units from the one or more PHY data units, including i) extracting a first MAC layer data unit from the first frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units, and ii) extracting a second MAC layer data unit from the second frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units, wherein the plurality of MAC layer data units are from the second communication device,
• generate acknowledgement information for the plurality of MAC layer data units, and
• transmit the acknowledgment information to the second communication device via one or both of i) the first frequency segment and ii) the second frequency segment, wherein:
• the first MAC layer data unit extracted from the first frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units includes a first fragment of a third MAC layer data unit;
• the second MAC layer data unit extracted from the second frequency portion of the one or more PHY data units includes a second fragment of the third MAC layer data unit;
• and
• the one or more ICs are further configured to:
• generate an acknowledgment frame to acknowledge receipt of the third MAC layer data unit.