A receiver (200) receives (402) a first signal including a sync portion (308) having a carrier acquisition segment (302) and a timing synchronization pattern (304), and a processing system (216) of the receiver calculates (404) a first plurality of squared magnitude Fourier transforms at a first plurality of frequencies on the carrier acquisition segment. The processing system derives (406) an initial carrier frequency error estimate by locating a peak in the first plurality of squared magnitude Fourier transforms, and corrects (408) the sync portion according to the initial carrier frequency error estimate, thereby producing a carrier-corrected sync portion. The processing system then removes (410) the timing synchronization pattern from the carrier-corrected sync portion, thereby producing a second signal having a residual carrier error.