A method and apparatus are provided. The method includes, but is not limited to, receiving a universal synchronization signal (USS) including a universal primary synchronization signal (UPSS) and a universal secondary synchronization signal (USSS), wherein the USS is coded using a mother code which is extended to m resource blocks (RBs) and n orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and a code cover of m RBs and n symbols is applied to the mother code, determining a cell identity based on the USS, determining a frame timing based on the USS, and connecting a user equipment to a network using the cell identity and the frame timing.