An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) includes processing circuitry configured to decode a master information block (MIB) using a set of physical broadcast channel (PBCH) symbols received within a downlink frame to obtain system frame number (SFN) information. The downlink frame includes multiple copies of the PBCH symbols within at least three subframes of the downlink frame. A system information block (SIB) may be decoded based on the SFN information, to obtain uplink channel configuration information. Random access channel (RACH) procedure may be performed with a base station (BS) based on the uplink channel configuration information, to obtain an uplink resource assignment. A connection setup completion message can be encoded for transmission to the BS using the uplink resource assignment. The set of PBCH symbols can include a set of four legacy PBCH symbols.