A method of synchronizing data in a communications system includes generating a composite signal comprising a serial stream of data partitioned in one or more frames, and transmitting the composite signal to a receiver. Multiphase clock signals are generated. The composite signal received at the receiver is compared with each of the multiphase clock signals until either sustained coincidence therebetween is achieved or sustained non-coincidence is achieved, thereby synchronizing the receiver to bit boundaries in the composite signal and to one or more of the clock phase signals. One or more bit templates at the receiver is correlated with one or more corresponding bit templates in the composite signal received at the receiver to determine where frames start in the composite signal, thereby synchronizing the receiver to the one or more frames in the composite signal.
