A method and apparatus of wireless communication are disclosed. The wireless communication performs pilot signal transmissions using a first precoding matrix for user equipment specific pilot signals, the pilot signal transmissions having a first transmission rank. The wireless communication also performs data transmissions using a second precoding matrix for data when the data transmissions have a second transmission rank less than the first transmission rank, in which the second precoding matrix includes a transformed version of the first precoding matrix. Alternatively, the wireless communication can perform data transmissions using at least two precoding matrices for data when the data transmissions have a second transmission rank less than or equal to the first transmission rank. Accordingly, the precoding matrix used for data is a transformed version of the precoding matrix used for user equipment specific pilot signals.
