Methods and systems at a user equipment, low power access node and first access node operating in a wireless network having a plurality of access nodes comprising a first access node and at least one low power access node having lower transmit power than the first access node, wherein the user equipment receives stronger downlink signals from the first access node than from the at least one low power access node, the method at the user equipment determining, by the user equipment, whether a low power access node is better for uplink data transmission than the first access node; and if the low power access node is better for uplink data transmission, sending from the user equipment to the low power access node, a random access preamble directed to the first access node.