In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request to establish at least a portion of a media session between a session exchange device and a network entity based on at least a portion of a session description. The session exchange device and the network entity being associated with a media over internet protocol (MoIP) network. The method includes receiving an indicator at the session exchange device that the portion of the session description is not associated with a predefined data-transfer-rate value. A request for a user-defined data-transfer-rate value is sent in response to the indicator.