A system and method for wireless communication over multi-rate channels are disclosed. One embodiment of the system includes a first multi-band wireless station that is capable of using a first frequency band and a second frequency band for wireless communication; and a second multi-band wireless station that is capable of using the first frequency band and the second frequency band for wireless communication. One or more of the first and second stations is configured to monitor a status of the second frequency band. The status includes the availability of the second frequency band for communication between the first and second stations. The first and second stations can share the monitored status with each other via the first frequency band.