Various schemes are provided that facilitate a communication handoff from a current base station to a target base station. One feature provides for reducing the search space that a base station searches by providing it with the position/location and/or velocity of an access terminal with which it attempts to communicate. Having the position and/or velocity of the access terminal, a current or target base station is able to reduce its search space (e.g., direction, frequency range, and/or time window) for the access terminal. Another feature provides for selectively and gradually increasing the power of a pilot signal originating from the access terminal during the handoff acquisition period to a target base station. By increasing the pilot signal power, the base station has a better chance of acquiring the signal and do so more quickly.