CPC H04W 76/23 (2018.02) [H04W 36/0016 (2013.01); H04W 36/30 (2013.01); H04W 76/14 (2018.02); H04W 88/04 (2013.01); H04W 8/005 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
1. A communication method, comprising:
transmitting, by transmitter circuitry of an infrastructure equipment forming part of a mobile communications network, signals to one or more communications devices via a wireless access interface within a radio coverage area of the infrastructure equipment;
receiving, by receiver circuitry of the infrastructure equipment, signals from the one or more communications devices via the wireless access interface; and
controlling, by controller circuitry of the infrastructure equipment, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to transmit or to receive data, represented by the signals, via the wireless access interface by:
receiving a first indication of a received signal quality of a beacon signal received by an out-of-coverage communications device that is out-of-coverage of the infrastructure equipment, the beacon signal having been transmitted by one or more in-coverage communications devices of one or more the communications devices which can act as a relay node for the out-of-coverage communications device;
receiving a second indication of a received signal quality of a beacon signal transmitted by an out-of-coverage communications device to the one or more of the in-coverage communications devices;
selecting one in-coverage communications device to act as a target communications device for the out-of-coverage communications device; and
transmitting an indication to the selected target communications device to instruct the selected target communications device to act as a relay node for the out-of-coverage communications device via between the out-of-coverage communications device and the selected target communications device.
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