The per antenna capacity of each of the transmitter antennas in a MIMO system are individually determined from measurable information at the receiver end. Specifically, the channel capacity for each individual transmitter antenna is calculated at the receiver end as a function of measurable channel coefficients (also known as channel state information), the measurable average signal-to-noise ratio, and the number of transmitter antennas. Once the per antenna capacity of each transmitter antenna is individually determined at the receiver end, the maximum transmission rate for each data stream transmitted by each transmitter antenna is determined from that individual capacity either at the receiver end and fed back to the transmitter end, or is determined at the transmitter end from the individual transmitter antenna capacities that are fed back by the receiver end to the transmitter end. A modulation scheme that supports each maximum transmission rate is then determined based on some defined criteria.