It is described a method for controlling a modulation and coding scheme for a transmission between a base station and a user equipment, wherein the modulation and coding scheme is selectable based on a first modulation and coding scheme table including entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a first maximum modulation order or based on a second modulation and coding scheme table including entries corresponding to a plurality of modulation and coding schemes with a second maximum modulation order. The method comprises selecting, by the base station, the first modulation and coding scheme table or the second modulation and coding scheme table, and controlling, by the base station, the modulation and coding scheme for the transmission between the base station and the user equipment based on the selected modulation and coding scheme table.