A new method makes the most efficient use of the scarce spectral bandwidth in a wireless discrete multitone spread spectrum communications system by updating the spectral and/or spatial spreading weights at a rate that is determined by the measured quality of the link. Low quality links require more frequent updates of the spreading weights than do higher quality links. Spreading weights and despreading weights for a station are adaptively updated, depending on the error in received signals. If the error value is less than a threshold error value, then the method maintains the existing spreading weights as the current spreading weights to apply to an outgoing data signal. Alternately, if the error value is greater than the threshold error value, then the method adaptively calculates updated despreading weights at the base station from the first spread signal and calculates updated spreading weights as the current spreading weights from the updated despreading weights to apply to the outgoing data signal.