In a time division duplex (TDD) communication system, an unconnected base station that is not directly connected to a core network transmits uplink backhaul signals to a connected base station when the unconnected base station is transmitting downlink signals to one or more user equipment (UE) devices and receives downlink backhaul signals from the connected base station when receiving uplink signals from one or more UE devices. After determining the transmission schedule of the connected base station, the unconnected base station selects a transmission schedule that is orthogonal to the connected base station transmission schedule. Depending on the particular implementation, the unconnected base station may be a repeater base station, a relay base station, or a self-backhauled base station.