Virtual carrier sensing with two network allocation vectors

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors, the instructions to configure the one or more processors to cause a wireless device to:

• decode a frame;
• determine a duration of the frame;
• determine whether the frame is an intra-basic service set (BSS)(intra-BSS) frame, an inter-BSS frame, or an unclassified frame;
• set an intra-BSS network allocation vector (NAV) to the duration of the frame, if the frame is determined to be the intra-BSS frame, and if a receiver address is decoded from the frame and the receiver address is not an address of the wireless device, and if the duration of the frame is longer than a current duration of an intra-BSS NAV;
• and
• set a regular NAV to the duration of the frame, if the frame is determined to be the inter BSS frame or the unclassified frame, and if the duration of the frame is longer than a current duration of the regular NAV.

A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:

• decoding a frame;
• determining a duration of the frame;
• determining whether the frame is an intra-basic service set (BSS) (intra-BSS) frame, an inter-BSS frame, or an unclassified frame;
• setting an intra-BSS network allocation vector (NAV) to the duration of the frame, if the frame is determined to be the intra-BSS frame, and if a receiver address is decoded from the frame and the receiver address is not an address of the wireless device, and if the duration of the frame is longer than a current duration of an intra-BSS NAV;
• and
• setting a regular NAV to the duration of the frame, if the frame is determined to be the inter BSS frame or the unclassified frame, and if the duration of the frame is longer than a current duration of the regular NAV.

An apparatus of a station comprising:

• a network allocation vector (NAV) timer;
• and processing circuitry coupled to the NAV timer, the processing circuitry configured to:
• store a smaller of a regular NAV and an intra-basic service set (BSS) NAV in the NAV timer;
• determine a difference between the larger of the regular NAV and the intra-BSS NAV and the smaller of the regular NAV and the intra-BSS NAV;
• determine when the smaller of the regular NAV and the intra-BSS NAV is zero;
• and
• store the difference in the NAV timer.