[1] The IEEE 802.11 standards use a bitmap to indicate to any sleeping listening stations that the access point (AP) has buffered data waiting for it.
Following a beacon frame that includes a DTIM, the access point will release the buffered broadcast and multicast data, if any exists.
Client devices that awaken from power-save mode may find that they have to wait longer than expected to receive the next beacon frame.
Client devices, however, compensate for this inaccuracy by utilizing the time stamp found within the beacon frame.
Client devices in wireless networks may have conflicting requirements for power consumption and communication throughput when in power-save mode.
For example, laptop computers may require relatively high communication throughput and may have low sensitivity to power consumption.
A higher DTIM period may increase the potential savings in power consumption but reduce the communication throughput, and vice versa.