Method and apparatus for scanning existing networks in TVWS

An apparatus for scanning existing networks in a communication system as a first station, the apparatus comprising:

• a transceiver configured to receive a white space map (WSM) comprising information for available channels from a second station;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• control scanning the existing networks on the available channels identified within the received WSM;
• control the transceiver to perform the scanning by one or more of a first scheme or a second scheme;
• control the transceiver to listen to a beacon frame from an AP station of a basic service set (BSS) on a specific channel among the available channels identified by the received WSM according to the first scheme;
• control the transceiver to:
• transmit a probe request frame to an AP station of the BSS on any channel among the available channels identified by the received WSM;
• and
• receive a probe response frame in response to the probe request frame according to the second scheme.