An apparatus and method to provide uplink interference control in a WiMAX communication system includes a step 302 of receiving a downlink channel quality indication from an MS. A next step 304 selecting a modulation product ratio modification parameter in response to the channel quality indication. A next step 306 includes modifying a modulation product ratio by the modification parameter. A next step 308 includes mapping the modified modulation product ratio against a table of modulation coding schemes. A next step 312 includes applying the mapped modulation coding scheme.