A receiver receives and front-end processes a plurality of component carrier signals, each carrier spaced apart in frequency. The digitized, baseband component carrier signals are inspected to determine estimates of timing offsets between the carriers. A control unit selects a first component carrier signal having data scheduled to the receiver. If data is scheduled to the receiver on other component carrier signals, the control unit generates timing and frequency offset adjustment control signals to time- and frequency-align each other component carrier signal having relevant data, to the first component carrier signal. All the relevant component carrier signals are then combined, and a single OFDM symbol, spanning all the relevant component carriers, is presented to an FFT for symbol detection.