A method of receiving data at a communications device from a wireless communications network, the method specifically adapted for: receiving data symbols transmitted from the wireless communications network at the communications device via a wireless access interface, the wireless access interface providing a plurality of communications resource elements across a system bandwidth, which are divided in time into a plurality of time divided radio frames, the wireless access interface providing within the system bandwidth, a first section of communications resource elements within a first frequency bandwidth for allocation to machine type communication, MTC, devices to receive signals representing the data transmitted by the infrastructure equipment within the first frequency bandwidth forming a virtual carrier, the MTC devices each having a receiver bandwidth which is greater than or equal to the first frequency bandwidth but less than the system bandwidth, wherein receiving the data symbols comprises receiving the data symbols from a first subset of resource elements in one or more of the radio frames, and receiving common reference symbols from a second subset of resource elements in each radio frame (704, 704'), the second subset of resource elements being separate from the first subset of resource elements, the common reference symbols having been transmitted with a first transmission power and the data symbols having been transmitted via the virtual carrier with a second transmission power, the second transmission power being greater than the first transmission power, and wherein the method further comprises receiving specific reference symbols which have been transmitted via the resource elements of said virtual carrier at the second transmission power; characterized by, determining a difference in power between the second transmission power and the first transmission power, and if the difference in power exceeds a threshold, generating channel estimates using only the specific reference symbols received from the virtual carrier. receiving data symbols transmitted from the wireless communications network at the communications device via a wireless access interface, the wireless access interface providing a plurality of communications resource elements across a system bandwidth, which are divided in time into a plurality of time divided radio frames, the wireless access interface providing within the system bandwidth, a first section of communications resource elements within a first frequency bandwidth for allocation to machine type communication, MTC, devices to receive signals representing the data transmitted by the infrastructure equipment within the first frequency bandwidth forming a virtual carrier, the MTC devices each having a receiver bandwidth which is greater than or equal to the first frequency bandwidth but less than the system bandwidth, wherein receiving the data symbols comprises receiving the data symbols from a first subset of resource elements in one or more of the radio frames, and receiving common reference symbols from a second subset of resource elements in each radio frame (704, 704'), the second subset of resource elements being separate from the first subset of resource elements, the common reference symbols having been transmitted with a first transmission power and the data symbols having been transmitted via the virtual carrier with a second transmission power, the second transmission power being greater than the first transmission power, and wherein the method further comprises receiving specific reference symbols which have been transmitted via the resource elements of said virtual carrier at the second transmission power; characterized by, determining a difference in power between the second transmission power and the first transmission power, and if the difference in power exceeds a threshold, generating channel estimates using only the specific reference symbols received from the virtual carrier.