A method for operating a wireless system, the method comprising: selecting, by a first central controller, a pattern for muting resource channel elements, REs, of a first type of control channel of the first central controller, the pattern for muting REs corresponding to a common reference signal, CRS, pattern of a second central controller; identifying, by the first central controller for a first set of user equipments, UEs, in a serving area of the first central controller, a set of subframes including the first type of control channel, the set of subframes having REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; muting the REs in the first type of control channel which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; characterized by frequency-division multiplexing the first type of control channel with data channels; transmitting, by the first central controller to the first set of UEs, the first type of control channel with the overlapped REs in the identified set of subframes muted; wherein at least one of the data channels has data REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted and wherein the method further comprises transmitting data information by the first central controller on the data REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; and transmitting on the first type of control channel at least one of resource assignment control information and an acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment, ACK/NACK, response for a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH; wherein the pattern for muting REs on the first type of control channel when the first type of control channel is used for transmitting the resource assignment control information is selected independently from the pattern for muting REs selected on the first type of control channel when the first type of control channel is used for transmitting the ACK/NACK response for the PUSCH. selecting, by a first central controller, a pattern for muting resource channel elements, REs, of a first type of control channel of the first central controller, the pattern for muting REs corresponding to a common reference signal, CRS, pattern of a second central controller; identifying, by the first central controller for a first set of user equipments, UEs, in a serving area of the first central controller, a set of subframes including the first type of control channel, the set of subframes having REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; muting the REs in the first type of control channel which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; characterized by frequency-division multiplexing the first type of control channel with data channels; transmitting, by the first central controller to the first set of UEs, the first type of control channel with the overlapped REs in the identified set of subframes muted; wherein at least one of the data channels has data REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted and wherein the method further comprises transmitting data information by the first central controller on the data REs which, according to the pattern for muting REs, should be muted; and transmitting on the first type of control channel at least one of resource assignment control information and an acknowledgment/negative acknowledgment, ACK/NACK, response for a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH; wherein the pattern for muting REs on the first type of control channel when the first type of control channel is used for transmitting the resource assignment control information is selected independently from the pattern for muting REs selected on the first type of control channel when the first type of control channel is used for transmitting the ACK/NACK response for the PUSCH.