Examples disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and software to control wireless communication policies and rules based on congestion. In one example, a method of operating a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network includes, in a LTE base station, identifying congestion data for one or more communicating wireless communication devices, and identifying that the congestion data meets a congestion criteria. The method further includes, in the LTE base station and responsive to meeting the congestion criteria, setting an explicit congestion notification (ECN) flag for a wireless communication device communication, and transferring the ECN flag for delivery to a LTE gateway. The method further provides, in the LTE gateway, receiving the ECN flag, and identifying a congestion policy for at least one wireless communication device communicating with the LTE base station.