Point-controlled contention arbitration in multiple access wireless LANs

A power management method that divorces multicast frames for power save stations from DTIM beacons. An access point associates power save stations with a multicast group. Each station has an associated power save interval, the station being in a power save state during the interval, otherwise in an active state. The access point maintains a timer for each station in order to determine whether the station is in an active or power save state. The timer can be reset whenever the station sends an inbound frame. When the access point receives a multicast frame for the group, it buffers the frame until the timer for each member of the group expires, thereby ensuring each member of the group is in an active state, and broadcasts the multicast frame.