A composite signal includes a high power beacon signal and low power corresponding wideband synchronization signal and is communicated over a time interval exceeding a single OFDM transmission time interval. A base station transmits one or more different such composite broadcast signals in a recurring timing structure. Each different potential beacon signal, e.g., a single tone signal, is paired with a unique wideband synchronization signal. A wideband synchronization signal includes at least some predetermined null tones and at least some predetermined non-null tones. For a given wideband synchronization signal, the predetermined null tones carry predetermined modulation symbol values, A wireless terminal receives a composite signal, identifies a beacon, determines a corresponding known wideband synchronization signal, compares received to known wideband synchronization signals, and determines at least one of a timing adjustment, frequency adjustment and channel estimation.