In one aspect, a new radio protocol architecture is proposed. The proposed architecture is applicable to wireless networks such as a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN). In the new architecture, there is a clear-cut separation of control, management, and data planes. New control service access points (SAP) are introduced to allow interaction between the protocol layers of the architecture. Also, data SAPs are introduced between the protocol layers. The layer separation idea extracts the functionalities of the architecture and grouped into MAC CPS-H (common part sublayer-high) and MAC CPS-L (common part sublayer-low). Further, a new concept of “control information base” (CIB) is introduced.