A method for handover in a wireless communication system including a plurality of base stations each supporting a corresponding coverage area, wherein a mobile station can transition from the coverage area supported by a first base station, referred to as serving base station, to a coverage area supported by a second base station, referred to as target base station, the method comprising: designating, by each of said plurality of base stations, a portion of CDMA codes from a predetermined set of CDMA codes as being allocatable CDMA codes for avoiding a collision probability on a random access channel associated with random, subscriber-selected CDMA codes and a distinct portion of CDMA codes as open codes randomly selectable by any mobile station; each of said plurality of base stations broadcasting in the corresponding coverage area an Uplink Channel Descriptor, UCD, that includes a usage type map for the CDMA codes, wherein said usage type map explicitly labels a group of one or more CDMA codes reserved for pre-allocation corresponding to said portion of allocatable CDMA codes; during a handover condition, a target base station allocates a non-contention initial ranging opportunity using a pre-allocated CDMA code that uniquely identifies the mobile station to the target base station; transmitting, by the mobile station to the target base station over a random access channel, the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access allocated by the target base station; receiving, by the target base station from the mobile station over the random access channel, the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access; generating, by the target base station, a feedback message comprising an adjustment based on the receiving of the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access by the target base station; transmitting, by the target base station to the mobile station, the feedback message; receiving, by the mobile station from the target base station, the feedback message; and synchronizing the mobile station with the target base station using the adjustment received in the feedback message. designating, by each of said plurality of base stations, a portion of CDMA codes from a predetermined set of CDMA codes as being allocatable CDMA codes for avoiding a collision probability on a random access channel associated with random, subscriber-selected CDMA codes and a distinct portion of CDMA codes as open codes randomly selectable by any mobile station; each of said plurality of base stations broadcasting in the corresponding coverage area an Uplink Channel Descriptor, UCD, that includes a usage type map for the CDMA codes, wherein said usage type map explicitly labels a group of one or more CDMA codes reserved for pre-allocation corresponding to said portion of allocatable CDMA codes; during a handover condition, a target base station allocates a non-contention initial ranging opportunity using a pre-allocated CDMA code that uniquely identifies the mobile station to the target base station; transmitting, by the mobile station to the target base station over a random access channel, the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access allocated by the target base station; receiving, by the target base station from the mobile station over the random access channel, the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access; generating, by the target base station, a feedback message comprising an adjustment based on the receiving of the pre-allocated CDMA code for initial access by the target base station; transmitting, by the target base station to the mobile station, the feedback message; receiving, by the mobile station from the target base station, the feedback message; and synchronizing the mobile station with the target base station using the adjustment received in the feedback message.