A system and method is provided for fast call set-up in a wireless communication system. A base station sets up a call from a mobile station by sending null frames to the mobile station on a forward traffic channel instead of sending a base station acknowledgement order. The mobile station sends a traffic channel preamble to the base station on a reverse traffic channel instead of sending a mobile station acknowledgment order. The fast call set-up procedure of the present invention reduces the call set-up time from approximately two (2) to three (3) seconds to approximately two hundred milliseconds (200 msec) to three hundred milliseconds (300 msec).