Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate indicating a type of waveform utilized for uplink transmission in a wireless communication environment. An access terminal can select a type of waveform from a set of possible waveform types. Moreover, a reference signal can be generated based upon the selected type of waveform. For instance, a sequence employed to yield the reference signal can be generated and/or chosen as a function of the selected type of waveform. According to another illustration, a tone location and/or a symbol location of the reference signal can be based upon the selected type of waveform. Further, the reference signal can be sent as part of the uplink transmission to the base station from the access terminal. The base station can detect the selected type of waveform utilized by the access terminal for the uplink transmission based upon parameter(s) recognized from the reference signal.