A mobile will in one of four states after it is powered on.
Initialization State
In the Initialization State, the mobile tunes to the first preferred RF frequency channel and attempts to decode the Pilot Channel. If a pilot is not found, the mobile tries to decode a pilot on another RF channel or frequency band.
Idle State
In the Idle State, the mobile decodes the Page Channel, receives additional information about the base station, and then may stay in this state and monitor the Channel for pages or other Messages or the mobile may change the Page Channel to monitor. This is called an idle handoff. The mobile enters the Access State if the mobile needs to communicate with the base station.
System Access State
The mobile will enter the Mobile System Access State if it receives a Page Message, originates a call, registers, or needs to send some other message to the base station. Upon successfully accessing the base station for either a Page Response or Origination, the mobile
will be directed to enter the Traffic Channel State. Receiving an acknowledgment to any other order or message while in the System Access State will cause the mobile to re -enter the Idle State.
Traffic Channel State
In the Traffic Channel State, the mobile communicates with the base station using the Forward and Reverse Traffic Channels.