A mobile station (106) in a code division multiple access (CDMA) communication system (100) implements scanning of pilot channels on a different frequency by reserving a periodic frame on the forward channel to allow the mobile station (106) to change frequencies and scan for other pilot channels. To preserve some aspects of voice quality, both the base station (102) and mobile station (106) voice encode speech at a maximum of half rate and transmit the information as secondary traffic prior to the frame where the mobile station (106) scans the alternate frequency. To maximize the trade-off between voice quality and frequency of the scan, the base station (102) indicates to the mobile station (106) the period between other frequency scans via messaging. To ensure compatibility, this method can be negotiated via known service configuration negotiation techniques.