A user equipment, UE, device, adapted to access a radio channel in a single frequency network in which multiple base stations transmit the same data simultaneously using the same resources_such that data received by the UE device from the multiple base stations of the single frequency network appear to the UE device as being received from a single cell, wherein the UE device is configured to: receive from a first plurality of base stations a set of random access parameters common to the plurality of base stations of the single frequency network; transmit a random access preamble; receive a plurality of responses to the random access preamble the plurality of responses having been transmitted simultaneously using the same resources including exactly the same time slot from a second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network, wherein the second plurality of base stations are the same as or a subset of the first plurality of base stations; and transmit a scheduled transmission in response to the plurality of responses, wherein the UE device is arranged to determine an actual timing alignment value by receiving a timing alignment value from each of the second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network in response to the random access preamble and to determine the actual timing alignment value from the multiple received timing alignment values, wherein each of the received timing alignment values is received in an encoded state such that timing alignment values received from differing base stations of the second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network are encoded orthogonally with respect to each other and the UE device is configured to decode each of the received encoded timing alignment values using codes preconfigured in the UE device. receive from a first plurality of base stations a set of random access parameters common to the plurality of base stations of the single frequency network; transmit a random access preamble; receive a plurality of responses to the random access preamble the plurality of responses having been transmitted simultaneously using the same resources including exactly the same time slot from a second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network, wherein the second plurality of base stations are the same as or a subset of the first plurality of base stations; and transmit a scheduled transmission in response to the plurality of responses, wherein the UE device is arranged to determine an actual timing alignment value by receiving a timing alignment value from each of the second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network in response to the random access preamble and to determine the actual timing alignment value from the multiple received timing alignment values, wherein each of the received timing alignment values is received in an encoded state such that timing alignment values received from differing base stations of the second plurality of base stations of the single frequency network are encoded orthogonally with respect to each other and the UE device is configured to decode each of the received encoded timing alignment values using codes preconfigured in the UE device.