Determination of variable code rates for a rate control sequence. A rate control sequence governs symbols that are to be encoded and/or decoded. A different rate control value may be used to control code rates of individual symbols in a signal. The determination of the variable code rates may be performed based on a number of parameters including a communication system's operating conditions and/or the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a communication channel. The variable code rates may also adaptively change, in real time (if desired), in response to the communication system's operating conditions including a communication channel's SNR. The variable code rate functionality may also be adaptively tailored to match the SNR of a communication receiver's communication channel within a multi-receiver communication system; those receivers in a beam spot (higher SNR) may operate using a higher code rate than those receivers further away from the spot (lower SNR).