Methods, systems, and devices are described for implementing timing advances in which a propagation delay may exceed a time period of a portion of a radio frame. In some examples, a transmitter may identify a timing advance indicating a time to initiate wireless uplink transmission of a subframe. Such a timing advance may compensate for a propagation delay between the transmitter and a receiver of the wireless uplink transmission. The timing advance may be applied as an integer component and a fractional component in relation to a duration of the subframe, to adjust the time to initiate the wireless uplink transmission of the subframe. The integer component may be used to adjust one or more subframe characteristics, and the fractional component that may be used to adjust the time to initiate the wireless uplink transmission of the subframe.