Patent ID: 7925260

Claim:
A method for performing measurements, comprising: transmitting a control message from a microcell base station to a microcell mobile station, for increasing a duration for the microcell mobile station to reside in a camping state on a control channel of the microcell mobile station, wherein the control message sets a camping state delay timer to have a delay duration not less than an estimated measurement duration, wherein the transmitting transmits a second control message from the microcell base station to the microcell mobile station, to reset the camping state delay timer, to begin the delay duration before reselecting another control channel, where the delay duration causes a periodic scanning of another control channel to be suspended for a desired measurement duration by forcing the microcell mobile station temporarily out of the camping state; turning off a transmitter of the microcell base station; retuning a receiver of the microcell base station to a frequency to be monitored; measuring a signal strength on that frequency; retuning the receiver back to an assigned frequency; and turning on the transmitter.