A method comprises providing a frame, the frame including a downlink sub-frame and an uplink sub-frame, portions of the downlink sub-frame and uplink sub-frame being allocated for communication with a mobile station configured to operate utilizing a legacy IEEE 802.16 standard, and portions of the downlink sub-frame and uplink sub-frame being allocated for communication with a mobile station configured to operate utilizing the IEEE 802.16m standard; and using the frame to wirelessly communicate with a mobile station in at least one of the uplink and downlink directions. A method of using an 802.16m frame structure for multi-band operation is also provided, as well as an 802.16m frame structure for relay support.