A radio communication apparatus and method employs frequency hopping in a predetermined pattern based on a hopping carrier table. An intermittent receiving section activates a carrier frequency designating section every constant cycle to give a command for receiving the control channels of opposing radio base stations. In the case in which a hopping order in a hopping carrier table is skipped by n to carry out switching every intermittent receiving cycle in an intermittent receiving operation, an intermittent receiving cycle is set in such a manner that the n and a total number m of hopping carrier frequencies in the hopping carrier table have a prime relationship with each other. The electric field strength of a carrier frequency in a spare carrier list is measured by the intermittent receiving operation and an interference counter of a spare carrier is increased or decreased corresponding to a frequency at which the electric field strength exceeds or does not exceed a predetermined threshold. A carrier frequency deleted from a hopping pattern and placed in the spare carrier list is set to have the worst value as the initialized value of its interference counter.