A technique for adjusting a phase relationship among modulation symbols is disclosed. A method embodiment of this technique comprises the steps of applying to a sequence of modulation symbols a phase ramp that continuously increases over the duration of the symbol sequence, and applying a compensation phase to each modulation symbol to introduce a phase offset between two subsequent modulation symbols. The joint application of the phase ramp and the compensation phase can be used to establish a saw tooth-like phase characteristic over the sequence of modulation symbols. In one embodiment, the phase ramp is applied in the context of impressing a frequency shift on the modulation symbols.