A terminal communicates with a first wireless network and obtains a list of cells in a second wireless network to measure. The terminal operates in a compressed mode and receives multiple transmission gap pattern sequences for different measurement purposes, e.g., RSSI measurements, BSIC identification, and BSIC re-confirmation. The terminal utilizes each transmission gap for its designated purpose or an alternate purpose. For each transmission gap, the designated purpose for the transmission gap is ascertained, and whether the transmission gap is usable for an alternate purpose is also determined based on at least one criterion. The transmission gap is used for the alternate purpose if the at least one criterion is satisfied and is used for the designated purpose otherwise. For example, a transmission gap designated for RSSI measurement may be used for BSIC identification, a transmission gap designed for BSIC identification or BSIC re-confirmation may be used for RSSI measurement, and so on.