Techniques for wireless network communications with high-directional steerable antennas combining quasi omni-directional transmissions with beamforming training

A method, comprising:

• enabling a wireless station to operate in a wireless network using low-rate quasi omni-directional transmissions to support steerable directional antennas by enabling low-rate transmissions in all transmit directions and receiving from all receive directions used in a high-rate mode;
• and
• wherein transmission formats are the same for beamforming training and for low-rate quasi omni-directional transmission based on TX-RX space scanning so that a same frame may be used for carrying a low-rate frame and performing beamforming training.

A method, comprising:

• defining a superframe format that is operable in wireless devices to communicate in wireless networks with high-directional steerable antennas combined with emulated omni-directional transmissions implemented as TX-RX space scanning using directional antennas;
• and
• wherein the superframe format contains a frame to simultaneously carry control information and perform beamforming training of the directional antennas.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a transceiver operable to communicate in a wireless network using directional antennas and frequencies above 45 GHz, the transceiver adapted to use a low-rate emulated omni-directional communications mode implemented as TX-RX space scanning using the directional antennas, and a high-rate directional communications mode;
• and
• wherein the low-rate omni-directional communications mode using TX-RX space scanning uses a same frame to simultaneously carry control information and perform beamforming training of the directional antennas.

A non-transitory machine-accessible medium that provides instructions, which when accessed, cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

• communicating in a wireless network using a low-rate quasi omni-directional communications mode implemented as TX-RX space scanning using directional antennas, and a high-rate directional communications mode with beamformed directional antennas;
• and
• wherein the quasi low-rate omni-directional communications mode using TX-RX space scanning uses a same frame to simultaneously carry control information and perform beamforming training of the directional antennas.