Access point notification of wireless stations about availability of data

Abstract

An access point device comprising a transceiver configured to receive and send messages on a communication channel, and a controller configured to cause the transceiver to transmit beacon messages regularly on the communication channel is disclosed. The beacon messages include a first indication that data, for one or more stations arranged to communicate with the access point device over the communication channel, is buffered in a buffer associated with the access point device when data is buffered in the buffer. The transceiver is arranged to transmit at least one utility message, transmitted over the communication channel between transmissions of the beacon messages, wherein the at least one utility message comprises a second indication for at least one of the one or more stations as to whether an upcoming beacon message comprises the first indication that data for the at least one of the one or more stations is buffered in the buffer. The station is arranged to communicate over the communication channel with the access point device, and arranged to apply a power save mode including a Doze state and an Awake state, wherein, when the station is in the Doze state, the station occasionally enters the Awake state for determining whether data for the station is buffered in the buffer and then re-enters the Doze state if no data for the station is indicated to be buffered in the buffer. The station is arranged to perform the re-entering to the Doze state at the first found one of the first indication and the second indication that indicates that no data for the station is buffered in the buffer. Methods and computer programs for the station and the access point device are also disclosed.