A repeater terminal usually functions as a mobile terminal served by a base station for radio communication. The repeater terminal receives a control channel at a time interval from the base station. The repeater terminal, when operating as a relaying station for another mobile terminal, sends out the control channel thus received to the other mobile terminal at a time interval longer than the interval at which it receives the control channel from the base station. The mobile terminal carries out intermittent reception at the longer time interval in timed with the control channel sent out from the repeater terminal, thereby reducing its electric power consumption.