Beamforming feedback frame formats within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications

A method for execution by a first wireless communication device, the method comprising:

• employing one or more antennae to receive a sounding frame transmitted from a second wireless communication device via a communication channel using a first one or more clusters;
• processing the sounding frame to determine a beamforming feedback frame type;
• generating a beamforming feedback frame having the determined beamforming feedback frame type, indicating the first wireless communication device, and indicating characteristics of the communication channel corresponding to:
• the first one or more clusters being reported within the beamforming feedback frame;
• and
• a correspondence between the first one or more clusters and the one or more antennae being reported within the beamforming feedback frame, such that each of the first one or more clusters and a second one or more clusters being a respective mapping of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) tones within a corresponding at least one channel among a corresponding at least one frequency band;
• employing the one or more antennae to transmit the beamforming feedback frame to the second wireless communication device, wherein the characteristics of the communication channel corresponding to at least one of:
• an average signal to noise ratio (SNR) within a receive chain of the first wireless communication device processing the sounding frame;
• an average SNR corresponding to a tone within the receive chain of the first wireless communication device processing the sounding frame;
• an average SNR of a space time stream (STS) by which the sounding frame transmitted from the second wireless communication device;
• and
• an average SNR corresponding to a tone of the STS by which the sounding frame transmitted from the second wireless communication device;
• and
• the second wireless communication device receiving the beamforming feedback frame from the first wireless communication device, determining a beamforming parameter based on the beamforming feedback frame, and transmitting a multi-user packet to the first wireless communication device based on the beamforming parameter.

An apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of antennae, wherein a first one or more antennae of the plurality of antennae to receive a sounding frame transmitted from a wireless communication device via a communication channel using a first one or more clusters;
• and
• a baseband processing module to:
• process the sounding frame to determine a beamforming feedback frame type;
• generate a beamforming feedback frame having the determined beamforming feedback frame type, indicating the apparatus, and indicating characteristics of the communication channel corresponding to:
• a second one or more clusters being reported within the beamforming feedback frame;
• and
• a correspondence between the second one or more clusters and a second one or more antennae of the plurality of antennae being reported within the beamforming feedback frame, such that each of the first one or more clusters and the second one or more clusters being a respective mapping of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) tones within a corresponding at least one channel among a corresponding at least one frequency band;
• and wherein the wireless communication device configured to receive the beamforming feedback frame from the first wireless communication device, determine a beamforming parameter based on the beamforming feedback frame, and transmit a multi-user packet to the first wireless communication device based on the beamforming parameter.