A wireless communications system for providing an indication of a communications parameter, the wireless communications system comprising: one or more base stations, each of which includes a transmitter configured to provide a wireless access interface for communicating data to terminals, the wireless access interface providing a plurality of communications resource elements, the communications resource elements being assembled in a plurality of time divided radio frames, a first subset of the resource elements in each radio frame carrying at least one synchronisation signal, the synchronisation signals for a base station being associated with a first identity number, the first identity number being a first physical-layer cell identity, and a second subset of the resource elements in each radio frame carrying reference signals comprising reference symbols, the second subset being divided, into a plurality of discrete configurations, including a first configuration and a second configuration, the reference symbols in the first configuration having at least one property that varies according to the first identity number, and the reference symbols in the second configuration having at least one property that varies according to a second identity number, the second identity number being different from the first identity number and being a second physical-layer cell identity, the system further comprising: at least one terminal having a receiver for receiving at least some of the communications resource elements of the wireless access interface and a processor for processing at least some of the received communications resource elements; wherein, in operation, the processor determines the values of the at least one property of the reference symbols present in the received communications resource elements; the value of the communications parameter being inferred from the at least one property of the reference symbols in the second configuration. one or more base stations, each of which includes a transmitter configured to provide a wireless access interface for communicating data to terminals, the wireless access interface providing a plurality of communications resource elements, the communications resource elements being assembled in a plurality of time divided radio frames, a first subset of the resource elements in each radio frame carrying at least one synchronisation signal, the synchronisation signals for a base station being associated with a first identity number, the first identity number being a first physical-layer cell identity, and a second subset of the resource elements in each radio frame carrying reference signals comprising reference symbols, the second subset being divided, into a plurality of discrete configurations, including a first configuration and a second configuration, the reference symbols in the first configuration having at least one property that varies according to the first identity number, and the reference symbols in the second configuration having at least one property that varies according to a second identity number, the second identity number being different from the first identity number and being a second physical-layer cell identity, the system further comprising: at least one terminal having a receiver for receiving at least some of the communications resource elements of the wireless access interface and a processor for processing at least some of the received communications resource elements; wherein, in operation, the processor determines the values of the at least one property of the reference symbols present in the received communications resource elements; the value of the communications parameter being inferred from the at least one property of the reference symbols in the second configuration. at least one terminal having a receiver for receiving at least some of the communications resource elements of the wireless access interface and a processor for processing at least some of the received communications resource elements; wherein, in operation, the processor determines the values of the at least one property of the reference symbols present in the received communications resource elements; the value of the communications parameter being inferred from the at least one property of the reference symbols in the second configuration.