This disclosure provides methods, devices and systems for configuring tones for a distributed resource unit (RU) across a channel bandwidth to improve frequency diversity and available transmit power. A distributed RU may include a set of tones that may be allocated across a bandwidth that is greater than a bandwidth of the aggregate quantity of tones. The set of tones may include a set of data tones grouped into contiguous groups of one or more data tones and a set of non-contiguous pilot tones. The data tones may be mapped to useful tones over a center portion of a half-bandwidth of the channel. The pilot tones may be mapped near edge tones at edges of the channel bandwidth or near direct current tones at a center of the channel bandwidth. A system bandwidth may include one or more channel bandwidths associated with distributed RUs.