Traffic characteristics for target wake time (TWT) negotiation

A communication device, comprising:

• a wireless network interface device associated with an access point (AP), the wireless network interface device having one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices configured to:
• generate a beacon frame that includes i) parameters of a broadcast target wake time (TWT) schedule in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that provides multiple broadcast TWT schedules, and ii) information regarding a quantity of client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule, and
• control the wireless network interface device to transmit the beacon frame to inform one or more other communication devices of i) the parameters of the broadcast TWT schedule and ii) the quantity of client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule, the information regarding the quantity of client stations for assisting one or more other communication devices with choosing whether to join the broadcast TWT schedule rather than another one of the multiple broadcast TWT schedules.

A method for communicating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that provides multiple broadcast target wake time (TWT) schedules, the method comprising:

• receiving, at a client station, a beacon frame from an access point (AP) communication device, the beacon frame including i) parameters of a broadcast TWT schedule and ii) information regarding a quantity of other client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule;
• and
• using, at the client station, the information within the beacon frame regarding the quantity of other client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule to determine whether the client station will join the TWT broadcast schedule rather than another one of the multiple broadcast TWT schedules.

A communication device, comprising:

• a wireless network interface device associated with a client station, the wireless network interface device having one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices configured to:
• receive a beacon frame from an access point (AP) communication device of a wireless local area network (WLAN) that provides multiple broadcast target wake time (TWT) schedules, the beacon frame including i) parameters of a broadcast TWT schedule and ii) information regarding a quantity of other client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule, and
• use the information within the beacon frame regarding the quantity of other client stations that have currently joined the broadcast TWT schedule to determine whether the client station will join the TWT broadcast schedule rather than another one of the multiple broadcast TWT schedules.