Selective use of antenna diversity in MTC devices

A wireless device includes a first antenna and a second antenna that may be used to communicate with a wireless network. The wireless device initiates a traffic call with a wireless network and activates a first antenna to be used to communicate with the wireless network upon initiating the traffic call. The wireless device selectively activates a second antenna, when initiating the traffic call, based at least in part on a usage of the second antenna during a previous traffic call. For example, the wireless device may maintain the second antenna in an inactive state if the second antenna was deactivated during the previous traffic call and/or remained inactive for at least a threshold duration.