System(s) and method(s) are provided that facilitate a flexible channel quality indicator (CQI) reporting directives or policies. A CQI reporting directive delivers an improved tradeoff between reporting accuracy and overhead by establishing subband-specific reporting periods, reporting repetitions, or power requirements. The CQI reporting directive is based at least in part on channel conditions, traffic requirements, and scheduling techniques. Automated optimization and negotiation of a CQI reporting directive based on communication performance is also incorporated.