A wireless communication apparatus/system/method utilizing directional transmission over a mmW band performing transmission of signals on a sub-6 GHz band that aids scanning for mmW mesh network discovery. A new node sends an assistance request on the sub-6 GHz band. The network node responds to the assistance request by sending an assistance response on the sub-6 GHz band. Upon exchanging the discovery assistance request and response with the network node on the sub-6 GHz band, the new node switches to the mmW band to discover neighbor(s). The network node upon exchanging the discovery assistance request and response on the sub-6 GHz band switches to mmW band to discover new nodes. Implementations can provide assistance directly or in response to cooperation between network stations.