Uplink synchronization may be achieved without adjusting for timing advance by using longer/larger cyclic prefix durations to compensate for differences in propagation delays, including the cell round-trip delays and environment based multipath delays. In this way, timing advance reference signaling may be omitted from the uplink transmissions. In some embodiments, the cyclic prefix duration is determined based on a characteristic of a base station's coverage area, such as a coverage area size or coverage area type. For example, a longer cyclic prefix length may be used when a base station has a larger coverage area than when the base station has a smaller coverage area. As another example, a different cyclic prefix length may be used for different coverage types.