Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for automatic data rate control in wireless communication systems, such as wireless LANs. A data rate controller adapts a transmission rate of said data based on a signal quality and a transmit power level. The data rate controller can also adapt the transmission rate based on one or more of amplifier non-linearities, anticipated signal quality for a next frame transmission, regulatory emission limits and data rate advice. The data rate advice will decrease a data rate if a current signal quality is below a minimum required signal quality for a given data rate and increase a data rate if a current signal quality is above a minimum required signal quality for a given data rate. A probation mechanism allows a higher rate to be evaluated before switching to the higher rate permanently. A retry balance mechanism forces a rate fallback when a number of failed transmission exceeds a predefined threshold.