Method and device for free switching in cellular

Method and apparatus for an idle state handoff in a cellular system includes the steps of transmitting by a current base station to a mobile telephone information regarding a frequency assignment of the neighboring base stations and a list of the neighboring base stations. A pilot signal is detected from the neighboring base stations by the mobile telephone, and it is then determined whether the detected neighboring base station is included in the list of the neighboring base stations. If the detected neighboring base station is not included in the list, it recognized as a handoff failure. If the detected neighboring base station is included in the list of the neighboring base stations, a determination as to whether the detected pilot signal is a dummy pilot signal by referring to the frequency assignment information. A frequency corresponding to the neighboring base station must be determined if the pilot signal is a dummy signal in order to perform the idle state handoff. Detection of the paging channel from the decided handoff frequency is performed. An apparatus of the present invention includes a mobile telephone for detecting pilot signals of the neighboring base stations and for deciding the frequency for handoff by referencing a list of the neighboring base stations and the frequency assignment information supplied by the current base station. The mobile telephone is switched in an idle state from the current base station to a neighboring base station having a decided handoff frequency.