nfigured differently in one of the following configurations: Fully configured component carrier: a standalone carrier for which all control channels including synchronization, broadcast, unicast, and multicast control channels are configured. A fully configured carrier is supported by all the mobile stations regardless of multi-carrier capability. Partially configured component carrier: a carrier configured for downlink-only transmission in TDD or a downlink carrier without paired uplink in FDD mode. The partially-configured carriers may be used only in conjunction with a primary carrier and cannot operate as a standalone to provide service to mobile stations. If a partially-configured carrier is used for downlink unicast traffic, the uplink feedback channels are then provided by the primary carrier. The uplink control channels corresponding to the secondary partially-configured carriers are located in distinct non-overlapping control regions in the uplink of the primary carrier following the uplink control region of the primary carrier where their location is signaled through an AAI_SCD MAC control message. The MS uses these control channels to send HARQ ACK/ NACK and channel quality measurements corresponding to data transmission over a downlink-only secondary carrier. Only an FDD primary carrier may be used to provide uplink feedback channels for partially-configured carriers. A partially-configured carrier may be used for multicast and broadcast services. In this case, it would not need feedback channels on the primary carrier. A primary component carrier is fully-configured, while a secondary carrier may be fully or partially-configured depending on the deployment scenarios. The information about component carrier configuration (fully or partially- configured) is carried through the primary advanced preamble of the corresponding carrier. A secondary carrier for an MS, if fully-configured, may be used as a primary carrier for other mobile stations; therefore, the designation of a carrier component as primary 