A synchronization signal design is described for narrowband Internet of Things Communications. The synchronization signals facilitate time and frequency synchronization between an eNB and UEs. In one example, operations include generating an NB-Iot Secondary Synchronization Signal (N-SSS) using a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, scrambling the ZC sequence using a scrambling sequence, and transmitting the resulting scrambled NB-Iot Secondary Synchronization Signal (N-SSS) by the eNB in a periodic manner, wherein, the eNB has a cell identifier and the cell is identified by a combination of the root of the ZC sequence and the scrambling sequence.