A method for reliably transmitting signaling information is provided. One type
of signaling information is transmitted over a primary control channel. The signaling
information that is to be transmitted over the primary control channel is defined
as a set of particular information. Other signaling information are conveyed over
a secondary control channel. Prior to transmission, the information to be conveyed
over the secondary channel is scrambled in accordance with a particular scrambling
procedure that indicates the information that is to be sent over the primary control
channel. The scrambling is thus used to encode the information content of the primary
control channel into the information of the secondary control channel thereby further
protecting the integrity of the information being conveyed over both control channels.