Patent ID: 8437303

Claim:
A method comprising: a) transmitting, by a base station configured to communicate employing a plurality of carriers, at least one control message to a wireless device, said at least one control message configured to cause configuration of said plurality of carriers, said plurality of carriers configured to transmit symbols in a sequential series of frames, said plurality of carriers comprising: i) at least one prime carrier; and ii) at least one non-prime carrier; b) transmitting in each frame in said sequential series of frames, by said base station, identifying said each frame in said sequential series of frames on a prime carrier in said at least one prime carrier: i) the n most significant bits of a system frame number employing a plurality of subcarriers substantially in the center of the frequency band of said prime carrier on the first subframe of said frame in an information element in a control block on a physical broadcast channel, each frame in said sequential series of frames assigned a system frame number, communications on said prime carrier configured to employ said system frame number, said system frame number represented by m bits; and ii) the (m-n) least significant bits of said system frame number implicitly by encoding control blocks in said physical broadcast channel over 2^(m-n) frames, sequential position of said encoded control blocks determining the (m-n) least significant bits; and c) transmitting and receiving, by said base station employing a communication interface, a first plurality of packets in a plurality of frames in said sequential series of frames on a non-prime carrier in said at least one non-prime carrier, said communication interface employing, at least in part, said system frame number transmitted in each frame in said sequential series of frames of said prime carrier, wherein said non-prime carrier is configured to operate without broadcasting said system frame number on said non-prime carrier.