A method for a base station to receive a reference signal sequence from one or more devices within a cell of the base station in a multiple cell environment includes providing the one or more devices with information about the reference signal sequence, wherein the reference signal sequence is defined by a cyclic shift of a sequence within a sequence group identified by a group index (u), wherein the group index (u) is defined according to the cell in the multiple cell environment, wherein the sequence is given by a cyclic extension of a Zadoff Chu (ZC) sequence having an index (q) and a length (NZCRS), and wherein the index (q) is given by using the group index (u) and the length (NZCRS), and receiving the reference signal sequence from one or more of the one or more devices.