A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for congestion control are provided. The apparatus measures respective signal qualities in at least two regions of a resource block, compares the respective signal qualities to each other, and determines a network congestion level based on the comparison. In an aspect, the apparatus may further decide whether to use resources respectively included in the at least two regions based on the network congestion level. Alternatively, the apparatus may further identify at least one MTC device or UE to refrain from using resources respectively included in the at least two regions when the network congestion level is above a threshold, and transmit a congestion control signal to the at least one identified MTC device or identified UE when the network congestion level is above the threshold.