The present invention provides method and apparatus for facilitating base station selection/handover by a user terminal in a distributed (e.g., cellular-type) wireless communication system. In accordance with one aspect, hysteresis is adaptively determined as a function of the variance of receive signal strength fluctuations. In turn, an adaptive hysteresis factor can be obtained and used for a subsequent handover decision, for example, based on a cost function that takes into account the hysteresis. In accordance with another aspect, base station selection depends on a number of criteria, such as received signal strength, base station load, and estimated distance between a receiving user terminal and one or more base stations.