Two types of access probe messages are defined: a first when a mobile station has not yet been assigned a media access code index (MAC ID), and a second when a mobile station already has a MAC ID assigned by the base stations in the active set. Base stations can differentiate between the first and second types of access probes according to the scrambling sequence used. In the second type, while different MAC IDs are used by each of the mobile stations in the sector, they are all scrambled according to a similar scrambling sequence defined specifically for these second types of access probes. The rake receivers used in such networks are configured to repeat the rake finger processing after CP removal, DFT, de-channelizing, and IDFT, thereby reducing their complexity.