Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate selecting an uplink carrier for random access within a wireless environment having multiple carriers. Selection of an uplink carrier for random access can be randomly selected from a set of available uplink carriers. Additionally, the uplink carrier for random access can be selected based upon which uplink carrier is paired with an anchor carrier. Further, the uplink carrier for random access can be identified based upon a bandwidth related to the user equipment (UE). Reference signals can also be employed in order to identify an uplink carrier to perform random access.