A remote communications terminal accesses a terrestrial network or information source via a SATCOM link with an earth station hub linked to the network or information source. Information throughput adaptation (ITA) is employed on the SATCOM link to maximize information throughput over the SATCOM link while ensuring acceptable signal quality under varying rain fading conditions. Sufficient power margin is built into the SATCOM link such that, under severe rain fading conditions, the lowest system throughput rate still provides acceptable signal quality. Under lesser rain fading conditions, the data throughput rate is increased via more bandwidth efficient modulation and coding schemes permitted by the higher signal quality which results from greater power margin. The earth station hub and remote terminals monitor the signal quality and communicate to adaptively adjust the modulation and coding used on the forward and return links to maximize information throughput under varying rain fading conditions.