diff --git a/packages/serve-sim/Sources/StreamingPolicy/WebRTCBitratePolicy.swift b/packages/serve-sim/Sources/StreamingPolicy/WebRTCBitratePolicy.swift
index 386db654e..80ca5c0db 100644
--- a/packages/serve-sim/Sources/StreamingPolicy/WebRTCBitratePolicy.swift
+++ b/packages/serve-sim/Sources/StreamingPolicy/WebRTCBitratePolicy.swift
@@ -1,9 +1,22 @@
 public struct WebRTCBitratePolicy: Equatable, Sendable {
+    /// Below this the stream is not worth keeping alive at any resolution.
+    public static let absoluteMinimumBitsPerSecond = 250_000
+
     public let minimumBitsPerSecond: Int
     public let maximumBitsPerSecond: Int
 
+    /// The estimator starts at the target (the owner passes the maximum as the
+    /// starting estimate), so ramp-up stays instant on healthy paths. The
+    /// minimum only bounds how far congestion control may back off: at 10% of
+    /// target it can shrink into what a constrained path actually carries.
+    /// The previous minimum was 90% of target, which pinned the estimator into
+    /// a band the path sometimes could not carry — sustained overshoot, loss,
+    /// recovery keyframes, and freezes instead of a quality dip.
     public init(targetBitsPerSecond: Int) {
-        minimumBitsPerSecond = targetBitsPerSecond * 9 / 10
+        minimumBitsPerSecond = min(
+            targetBitsPerSecond,
+            max(Self.absoluteMinimumBitsPerSecond, targetBitsPerSecond / 10)
+        )
         maximumBitsPerSecond = targetBitsPerSecond
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/serve-sim/Tests/StreamingPolicyTests/WebRTCBitratePolicyTests.swift b/packages/serve-sim/Tests/StreamingPolicyTests/WebRTCBitratePolicyTests.swift
index a9e012267..83a147ba6 100644
--- a/packages/serve-sim/Tests/StreamingPolicyTests/WebRTCBitratePolicyTests.swift
+++ b/packages/serve-sim/Tests/StreamingPolicyTests/WebRTCBitratePolicyTests.swift
@@ -2,10 +2,31 @@ import XCTest
 @testable import StreamingPolicy
 
 final class WebRTCBitratePolicyTests: XCTestCase {
-    func testKeepsAdaptiveBandwidthBetweenNinetyPercentAndConfiguredTarget() {
+    func testLeavesCongestionControlRoomBelowTheConfiguredTarget() {
         let policy = WebRTCBitratePolicy(targetBitsPerSecond: 6_000_000)
 
-        XCTAssertEqual(policy.minimumBitsPerSecond, 5_400_000)
+        // 10% of target: under congestion the estimator may back off to a
+        // survivable rate instead of overrunning a path that cannot carry
+        // 90% of target — the old floor turned every real dip into loss,
+        // recovery keyframes, and freezes.
+        XCTAssertEqual(policy.minimumBitsPerSecond, 600_000)
         XCTAssertEqual(policy.maximumBitsPerSecond, 6_000_000)
     }
+
+    func testMinimumNeverDropsBelowASurvivableAbsoluteFloor() {
+        let policy = WebRTCBitratePolicy(targetBitsPerSecond: 1_000_000)
+
+        // 10% would be 100 kbps — below what keeps the stream alive.
+        XCTAssertEqual(policy.minimumBitsPerSecond, 250_000)
+        XCTAssertEqual(policy.maximumBitsPerSecond, 1_000_000)
+    }
+
+    func testMinimumIsClampedToTinyConfiguredTargets() {
+        let policy = WebRTCBitratePolicy(targetBitsPerSecond: 100_000)
+
+        // The CLI accepts targets down to 100 kbps; the minimum must never
+        // exceed the maximum.
+        XCTAssertEqual(policy.minimumBitsPerSecond, 100_000)
+        XCTAssertEqual(policy.maximumBitsPerSecond, 100_000)
+    }
 }