A wireless communication system is configured for adaptive modulation of a transmitted symbol. The specific modulation and/or coding is uniquely identified and data related thereto is embedded within the transmitted symbol. A receiver extracts pilot signals form the transmitted symbol and performs a correlation analysis to identify the particular modulation/coding used for that particular transmitted symbol. This permits adaptive modulation on a symbol-by-symbol basis. A base station communicating with a plurality of peripheral subscribers may utilize different modulation/coding for each subscriber depending on channel conditions.