A method for determining attenuation settings across carriers in a return link bandwidth of a user terminal comprises determining a first attenuation setting for a user terminal at a first transmission frequency, where the first attenuation setting is based on a first signal quality metric value of a first message sent from the user terminal at the first transmission frequency. The method also comprises determining a second attenuation setting for the user terminal at a second transmission frequency, where the second attenuation setting is based on a second signal quality metric value of a second message sent from the user terminal at the second transmission frequency. The method also comprises determining the attenuation settings across the carriers in the return link bandwidth of the user terminal based on the first attenuation setting and the second attenuation setting.