A communication system comprises a downlink indicator channel (DL1) for the transmission of a indicator signal (302) indicating that a data packet (202) is scheduled to be transmitted on a downlink data channel (DLz) from a primary station to a secondary station. In operation, on detection of the indicator signal, the secondary station transmits a status signal, for example a negative acknowledgement signal (204), on an uplink channel (UL) to the primary station immediately before transmission of a positive (206) or negative acknowledgement signal to indicate the status of the received data packet. By providing the primary station with two chances to detect the case where the secondary station fails to detect the indicator signal, peak power requirements of the uplink channel can be reduced, thereby reducing system interference levels.