Systems and methods providing for dynamic switching between the various waveforms on the downlink are described. Embodiments of a dynamic downlink waveform switching implementation may, for example, support utilization of one or more multiple carrier (MC) waveform (e.g., OFDMA) or other high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) waveform and one or more SC (SC) waveform (e.g., discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM)) or other low PAPR waveform. Dynamic selection of a downlink waveform may be made by an access point based upon various metrics, including relative distance to a served an access terminal and the preference of downlink waveform indicated by a served an access terminal. A downlink waveform selection indication may be signaled from the access point to the served an access terminal using downlink control information (DCI).