A base station may be configured so that it operates in accordance with certain MAP transmission rules that may enable mobile stations to save battery power in certain situations. Upon receiving a MAP message, a mobile station may determine whether there is a burst allocated for the mobile station in the current frame by determining the value of at least one of the following: an idle users bit in the SUB-MAP pointer information element (IE), and a sleep users bit in the SUB-MAP pointer IE. The mobile station may discontinue processing of the MAP message and power down one or more components of the mobile station if there is not a burst allocated for the mobile station in the current frame.