Determining a communication channel from a plurality of possible channel bandwidths

A communication device, comprising:

• a network interface configured to
• determine whether a primary channel of a set of access control channels is idle, wherein each of the access control channels partially overlaps, in frequency, at least one channel of a set of component channels,
• determine that a composite channel includes one or more of the component channels based at least on a determination of whether the primary channel is idle, and
• cause a signal to be transmitted via the composite channel after determining that the composite channel includes one or more of the component channels.

A method, implemented in a communication device, of determining an available channel bandwidth in a communication system, wherein the communication system utilizes i) a set of component channels and ii) at least one channel of a set of access control channels for transmitting data streams, the method comprising:

• determining, at the communication device, which channels of the set of access control channels are idle, wherein each of the access control channels partially overlaps, in frequency, at least one of the component channels;
• determining, at the communication device, that a composite channel includes one or more channels of a set of channels, wherein the set of channels is chosen from i) the set of component channels and ii) the set of access control channels based at least on a determination of which of the access control channels are idle;
• and
• causing, at the communication device, the communication device to transmit a signal via the composite channel after determining that the composite channel includes one or more channels of a set of channels.

A communication device, comprising:

• a network interface configured to
• determine which channels of a set of access control channels are idle, wherein each of the access control channels partially overlaps, in frequency, at least one channel of a set of component channels;
• determine that a composite channel includes one or more channels of a set of channels, wherein the set of channels is chosen from i) the set of component channels and ii) the set of access control channels based at least on a determination of which of the access control channels are idle;
• and
• cause a signal to be transmitted via the composite channel after determining that the composite channel includes one or more channels of a set of channels.