Rate adaptation

A medium access control (MAC) device comprising:

• memory that stores N sets of transmission parameters and N−1 count values, each count value being associated with one of said N sets of transmission parameters, wherein N is an integer greater than one;
• a queue module that stores a plurality of frames;
• and
• a control module that receives a first frame of said plurality of frames from said queue module and selectively transmits said first frame using a first transmission parameter set of a first one of said N sets of transmission parameters until at least one of successful transmission occurs, a number of unsuccessful transmissions is equal to one of said N−1 count values associated with said first transmission parameter set, and a predetermined period expires, and
• wherein said control module selectively transmits said first frame using a second transmission parameter set of a second one of said N sets of transmission parameters when transmission of said first frame is unsuccessful using said first transmission parameter set,
• wherein each of said first transmission parameter set and said second transmission parameter set comprises M transmission parameters, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.