In a media access control (MAC) processor, a programmable controller is configured to execute machine readable instructions for implementing MAC functions corresponding to data received by a communication device. A tightly coupled memory is associated with the programmable controller. A system memory is coupled to the programmable controller via a system bus, and a hardware processor is coupled to the system bus and the tightly coupled memory. The hardware processor is configured to implement MAC functions on data received in a communication frame, store, in the tightly coupled memory, processed data corresponding to data in the communication frame that indicates a structure of downlink data in the communication frame, and store, in the system memory, processed data corresponding to other data in the communication frame.