Patent ID: 6980803

Claim:
A method of operating a code division multiple access communication system having a source base station and a destination base station where a specified mobile station establishes a connection with the source base station, the method comprising: initiating a handover of the connection involving the specified mobile station to the destination base station; establishing a start position of a synchronization search window for the specified mobile station at a statistically-ascertained search window time position based on search window start time positions for other mobile stations which previously initiated handover from the source base station to the destination base station, the statistically-ascertained search window start time position for the specified mobile station being an average search window start time position for other mobile stations which previously initiated handover from the source base station to the destination base station; maintaining a filter which calculates a filter output value of the average search window start time position for the specified mobile station, wherein maintaining the filter comprises: using a search window start time position found for a last mobile station which initiated handover from the source base station to the destination base station prior to the specified mobile station; and using an output value of the filter prior to the filter being updated with the search window start time position found for the last mobile station which initiated handover from the source base station to the destination base station prior to the specified mobile station.