Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and method for modem-assisted video telephony. As one example, a user equipment (UE) utilizes a modem to perform video telephony (VT) communication with a remote device through a wireless network. The UE determines a network metric indicative of congestion in the wireless network based on modem information obtained from the modem, independent of feedback information received from the remote device. The UE dynamically adjusts a data rate of the VT communication by an amount proportional to a quantity based on the network metric.