Systems and methods relating to Listen before Talk (LBT) procedures suitable for, e.g., License Assisted Access (LAA) to an unlicensed frequency spectrum or Long Term Evolution Unlicensed (LTE-U) are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of operation of a node of a cellular communications network comprises performing a LBT procedure for an observed channel in an unlicensed frequency spectrum. The LBT procedure defers at least one Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) slot such that the LBT procedure concludes at or near a desired starting point for a transmission. The at least one CCA slot comprises at least one of a first CCA slot of the LBT procedure, one or more intermediate CCA slots of the LBT procedure, and a final CCA slot of the LBT procedure. The method further comprises performing the transmission on the observed channel upon completion of the LBT procedure.