A wireless communication device, such as a wireless router or access point, transmits and receives signals according any one of several standard or proprietary wireless protocols and automatically adapts its transmission rate according to the condition of a link or channel over which it is sending and receiving signals. A packet delay value is used to calculate the maximum number of packet retransmissions that are acceptable given a particular application. The packet retransmission value is used to calculate a maximum acceptable packet loss value which is then compared against actual packet losses to determine whether or not to change the packet transmission rate. If it is determined that the actual packet losses are less than the maximum acceptable value, then the packet transmission rate can be changed to a higher rate and if it is determined that the actual packet losses are greater than the maximum acceptable value, then the packet transmission rate can be changed to be a lower rate.