A wireless terminal supports both peer to peer communications and access node based communications. The wireless terminal considers and evaluates communications link alternatives and selects between (i) communication using a peer to peer link and (ii) communications using a link, with a base station serving as an access node, Received signals corresponding to each of the link alternatives are used in performing link quality determinations. In one example, a received user beacon sisal :from a peer wireless terminal is the received signal used for the peer to peer link evaluation and a: base station beacon signal is the received signal used for the access node link evaluation. A link is selected as a function of quality determination, predicted data throughput, link maintenance energy requirements, and/or least cost routing determination information.