A wireless communication network limits the service areas within the network by transmitting time registration flag information in each of a plurality of network service areas. The flag information indicates whether registration for a given broadcast service currently is required for mobile stations in the service area that desire access to the broadcast service. Thus, the transmitted flag information may be used to prompt for such registrations and detecting whether any registrations are timely received in response to such prompting permits the network to timely deactivate one or more broadcast services. Each service area controls one or more service zones, each of which may include multiple member service areas and, preferably, the network activates a requested broadcast service per service zone and deactivates that service per service area. The timing of such deactivations may be made compatible with mobile stations that do not recognize transmitted registration flag information.