In a radio access network, the reverse link rate of an access terminal is controlled and stabilized by determining a number of connections in one or more sectors in which the access terminal has a connection and setting a rate limit based on at least one of the determined number of connections. The number of connections can be determined for each sector in which the access terminal has a connection or for some subset of these sectors. If the number of connections is determined for more than one sector, the radio access network may limit the reverse link rate based on the sector having the greatest number of connections.