Voice paging protocol

The present invention provides a voice paging protocol and provides a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving a selective call message that includes an indicator signal indicative of at least one receiver and a data signal destined for the receiver. The method first transmits the indicator signal (722) and delays for a predetermined time interval. Subsequently, the method transmits (706) at least a portion of the first indicator signal and a message signal for the receiver a first time. Thus ,the present invention provides indicator signal time diversity before transmission of the actual message. The method may use an alert signal (e.g., a single bit) (100) indicative of a receiver as well as an address (202, 204) corresponding to the receiver. The present invention supports several types of group messaging, which may be used in simultaneously which individual message transmission by setting and transmitting additional alert signals (412, 416), address signals (414, 418, 420), and message signals (408) (which may be interleaved and pseudo-randomly distributed in a voice data section of a frame, (for example). Alternative steps may be taken to transmit messages to receiver groups. For instance, for receiver groups without a common address, the method may set and transmit individual alert bits (108) corresponding to receivers in the group, set and transmit each address (228, 238) for each receiver in the group, then transmit the message signal destined for each receiver in the group.