Efficient apparatus and method for Zadoff-Chu (“Chu”) sequence generation avoids additional processing and hardware complexity of conventional quadratic generating formula followed by Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) with a reference signal generator that produces both a Zadoff-Chu sequence and its DFT. In the wireless communication system (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) system), Chu sequences are extensively used, especially in the uplink (UL). Because of the single carrier operating mode, transmitting a Chu sequence in principle involves a succession of generating that sequence, performing a DFT operation and then an IFFT operation. Assuming that the sequence length is N, the initial sequence generation requires 2N multiplications and the DFT requires more than N log 2(N) multiplications. Given the frequent processing of Chu sequences, this would represent a complexity burden. The invention makes it possible to perform the sequence generation and DFT steps without any multiplication operation, except for possibly calculating certain initial parameters.