In order to minimize the control signaling overhead associated with transmitting CQI data from mobile stations to base stations in wireless communication networks supporting MU-MIMO, the CQI during MU-MIMO operation is estimated based on SU-MIMO CQI data, mobile station geometry data, and mobile station PMI (Precoding Matrix Index) data. More particularly, the base station maintains and updates a knowledge pool that correlates geometry data and learned impact of interfering precoder data to degradation of CQI values responsive to switching from SU-MIMO operation to MU-MIMO operations. Then, when the base station switches from SU-MIMO operation to MU-MIMO operation, it consults the knowledge pool to predict the degradation in CQI and subtracts them from the known, pre-switching SU-MIMO CQI feedback data for each relevant mobile station to predict the post-switching MU-MIMO CQIs for that mobile station.