An approach for selecting communications channels to be used by a communication system includes evaluating for the presence of one or more signals both a particular communications channel currently being used by the communication system and one or more other communications channels. For the particular communications channel currently being used by the communication system, signals that use a different communications protocol than the communication system are evaluated. For the one or more other communications channels, both signals that use the same communications protocol as the communication system and signals that use a different communications protocol than the communication system are evaluated. The approach may include the use of metrics and classification of device types to determine one or more communications channels to be used by the communication system.