A method includes transmitting a RAN profile indexing message from a cell to a user equipment (UE) within the cell's radio coverage, the RAN profile indexing message comprising a plurality of sets of RAN parameters corresponding to a plurality of physical layer configurations, and a plurality of indices corresponding to the plurality of sets of RAN parameters. The method also includes transmitting a downlink control information message to the UE indicating a resource block allocated for the UE, and an index corresponding to one of the plurality of sets of RAN parameters. The method further includes performing a RAN profile indexing operation to define the plurality of sets of RAN parameters corresponding to a plurality of physical layer configurations, and assigning the plurality of indices to the plurality of sets of RAN parameters.