In some embodiments, the request made by the wireless device to operate in the wireless network using the first communication protocol may be accepted at least one of the plurality of wireless devices ceases operating in the wireless network using the first communication protocol and the value associated with data rate for the set of wireless devices no longer exceeds the threshold value.
In some embodiments, the request may be received from a wireless device that has recently entered the area serviced by the wireless network. The requesting wireless device may have services already in use and may have been connected to the wireless network in another sector serviced by a different access node using the first communication protocol. Alternatively, the request may be received from a wireless device that has recently been powered on or is requesting to establish a new service (e.g., high definition video streaming service) requested by the user of the wireless device and requiring operation in the wireless network using the first communication protocol.