Padding Pad

MAC variable Trigger frame unverified

Optional padding, so a station has time to read its own instructions before it must start transmitting.

Reading a capture

Padding that exists to buy processing time rather than to fill a boundary. A station near the end of a long User Info list would otherwise have microseconds to parse and prepare; the AP adds octets it does not need so that everyone has the same deadline.

Where it sits

Trigger MPDU > Padding

Accuracy

Clause
802.11-2024 §9.3.1.22
Verified
Not verified against the standard. Treat this as a claim, not a fact.