Methods, systems, and devices are described for detecting a communications network or assisting in the detection of a communications network. In a method for detecting a communications network, a beacon received from a device over a wireless local area network (WLAN) may be decoded to identify an information element (IE) in the beacon. The IE may indicate an availability of another network. When the IE is empty, a sleep mode may be entered (e.g., by a user equipment (UE)). In a method for assisting a detection of a communications network, a database including information indicating an availability of at least a first network may be accessed, and a beacon may be broadcast over a WLAN. The beacon may include an IE that indicates the availability of at least the first network.