A signaling bearer quality of service profile is pre-established and configured in various nodes in an access network. This is a new quality of service class designed to meet the needs of signaling bearers in multimedia sessions. A message requesting a bearer to support a communication between a mobile terminal and an access point to a packet data network is generated. That message includes a signaling quality of service indicator, which when detected, causes a bearer to be established between the mobile terminal and the access point in accordance with the pre-established signaling quality of service profile. The pre-established signaling quality of service profile typically includes low delay and low bit error rates in addition to high priority and accommodation of bursty traffic patterns. A signaling usage indicator may also employed to implement a standard set of minimum signaling bearer capabilities.