Method and apparatus for out-of-band transmission of broadcast service option in a wireless communication system

Method and apparatus for providing an overhead information for a broadcast service in a wireless communication system via an out-of-band transmission. The mobile station is able to contact the content server directly using the out-of-band signaling over a packet data service option. The out-of-band communication allows the content server to update the information without transmitting via an intermediate infrastructure element. In one embodiment, the overhead information includes a service option number corresponding to a set of broadcast parameters, such as those identifying a protocol stack for processing broadcast content.