Abstract: A Level-1 (L1) signaling flag is mapped to unused (invalid) bit sequences in Part 1 of the HS-SCCH—that is, Part 1 bit encodings that are not defined in the UTRAN specifications—and a corresponding L1 command is encoded in Part 2. This allows UE to detect early that the HS-SCCH is pure L1 signaling, and the UE may avoid wasting power by not processing an accompanying HS-PDSCH. Alternatively, in CPC HS-SCCH-less mode, the UE may blind decode the HS PDSCH. In one embodiment, a general DRX mode is defined and controlled via L1 signaling. In one embodiment, a UE acknowledgement improves the L1 signaling accuracy. In one embodiment, a L1 signal and UE acknowledgement protocol are utilized to “ping” a UE.