Even after associating with a network, the radio NIC will continue to scan for beacons. This has several benefits. Firstly, by continuing to scan for other networks, the station has options for alternative networks if the current access point's signal becomes too weak to continue communication. Secondly, as it still receives beacon frames from the currently associated access point, the device is able to use the timestamps in those beacons to update its internal clock. Beacons from the currently associated access point also inform stations of imminent configuration changes, such as data rate changes.