This paper introduces a new channel selection metric and its implementation for wireless networks. It is demonstrated that channel utilization and channel quality are two essential performance factors for wireless networks. Then, we define Non-Utilized Outage Capacity (NUOC) as a cross-layer channel metric which provides an intelligent adaptivity between these two performance factors. We also determine steps required for implementation of this new channel selection metric which includes measurement, decision and execution. The proposed mechanism in this paper is easy to implement in IEEE 802.11 standard which makes it very desirable and practical for these networks. Our simulation results show that our new scheme provides better performance compared to other well-known schemes. © 2013 IEEE.