A method (400) and user equipment (106) monitor a radio link for a wireless communication terminal for an enhanced control channel. A processor (304) may acquire signaling configuring the user equipment to monitor for a first type of control channel, where the first type of control channel can be demodulated based on a first type of reference signal. The processor may receive a second type of reference signal in at least one or more resource block set, where the second type of reference signal can be distinct from the first type of reference signal. The processor may estimate a synchronization condition based on the received second type of reference signal and at least one attribute of the control channel. The processor may send an output from a current layer to a higher layer based on the estimated synchronization condition.