Abstract: A communication device locates a wireless service provider in a multi-service provider environment using a stored list of preferred service providers, the list has a plurality of uniquely identified sublists, each sublist is associated with a different geographic area and identifies a more preferred service provider and a less preferred service provider. Information received from an initial service provider is used to select a sublist from the plurality of sublists. A preferred service provider is selected by registering with an available service provider having a highest preference of available service providers as specified in the selected sublist.

Abstract: A method and system for providing OTA during the service origination call, wherein the mobile station performs an authentication procedure in response to a re-authentication message received, using shared secret data known to the mobile station and the system infrastructure and data in the re-authentication message to compute an authentication response. The response is transmitted to the base station, which compares it with an internally generated authentication response, and, if they match, privacy activation procedures, such as message encryption or voice masks, are initiated.

Abstract: In certain wireless communication systems, including at least some CDMA cellular systems, short messages can be delivered to mobile stations in a broadcast fashion using a common forward (downlink) channel sometimes referred to as the Paging Channel. Economy in the use of the Paging Channel can be achieved by using so-called slotted mode reception. In accordance with this mode, the infrastructure directs messages to a given mobile station only during time slots allocated to the particular group of mobile stations to which the given station belongs. These time slots recur according to a paging slot cycle having a specified length (expressed as a number of slots), or slot cycle index. Disclosed here is a further cycle, referred to as the Broadcast Paging Cycle, for use in implementing a service for broadcasting short messages (to many mobile stations). The Broadcast Paging Cycle has an index that is larger than, and incommensurable with, the paging slot cycle index.