Abstract: A system and method for providing a simple, but effective technique for communicating overhead messages in a wireless communication system providing access to a decentralized network, while achieving bandwidth savings as well as minimizing power consumption. In one embodiment, a wireless base station which is connected to a decentralized network transmits a sequence of signatures for overhead messages to a mobile unit. The mobile unit wakes up receives the signatures and compares them to signatures stored at the mobile unit. If the signatures received by the mobile unit are different from the signatures stored at the mobile unit, the mobile unit stays awake to receive the overhead messages to be transmitted by the wireless base station. If the signatures received by the mobile unit are the same as the signatures stored at the mobile unit, the mobile unit may go back to sleep.