A mobile terminal for use in a mobile communications network includes a wireless access interface that provides a shared communications channel for communicating data to/from the mobile communications network, the shared channel divided in time into units of communications resource. The mobile terminal is configured to receive control information with a short identification number in association with an identification number allocated to the mobile terminal by the mobile communications network, the short identification number allocated to the mobile terminal by the mobile communications network for one super-frame including plural of the units of communications resource of the shared channel, the short identification number allocated to the mobile terminal as one member of a group of mobile terminals, and to receive a resource allocation message including the short identification number to identify the mobile terminal and to allocate units of the communications resource to the mobile terminal in one super-frame.