User equipment in a wireless communication system monitors scheduling information and locally detects a change in link data rate of the uplink channel based on the monitored scheduling information. In this way, a change in link data rate can be detected directly without significant delay. This direct or early detection of a rate change is then combined with an appropriate system reaction. The information of the detected change in link data rate is preferably utilized for adapting the application data rate of an IP application running in the user equipment. As an alternative, or as a complement, data packets are classified based on relative importance and selected for transfer of information over the uplink channel based on the classification of data packets and in dependence on the detected change in link data rate.