In triggering a handoff by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) from a current basic service set (BSS) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the following are performed. A highest class of traffic service and quality of service (QoS) is determined for the highest class from a basic service set (BSS) beacon. Handoff is terminated and communication is retained with a current BSS when the signal to noise ratio (SNR) or received signal strength (RSS) is greater than a high threshold of the highest class. Other criteria is evaluated to determine whether a handoff is desired when the SNR or RSS is less than the high threshold.