Wireless telecommunications system, terminal device, base station and methods

A base station for use in a wireless telecommunications system comprising one or more base stations each forming a respective network node of the wireless telecommunications system and a plurality of terminal devices, wherein each of the terminal devices is operable to be established as a relay node via which each of the other terminal devices is operable to communicate with at least one of the base stations, and wherein the base station comprises:

• a transceiver operable to receive relay node establishment signalling from a first one of the terminal devices, the relay node establishment signalling providing an indication that a second one of the terminal devices should be established as a relay node via which each of the other terminal devices is operable to communicate with at least one of the base stations;
• and
• a controller operable to perform an operation to establish, on the basis of the received relay node establishment signalling, the second terminal device as a relay node via which each of the other terminal devices is operable to communicate with at least one of the base stations,
• wherein the second terminal device established as the relay node is selected by the first terminal device on the basis of a value of a operational characteristic associated with the first terminal device as determined by the first terminal device and a value of the operational characteristic associated with each of the other terminal devices as received by the first terminal device from each of the other terminal devices, and
• wherein the indication comprises an identification of the second terminal device.

A method of operating a first terminal device for use in a wireless telecommunications system comprising one or more base stations each forming a respective network node of the wireless telecommunications system and a plurality of terminal devices, wherein each of the terminal devices is operable to be established as a relay node via which each of the other terminal devices is operable to communicate with at least one of the base stations, the method comprising:

• determining a value of an operational characteristic associated with the first terminal device;
• and
• controlling a transceiver unit of the first terminal device to receive, from each of the other terminal devices, signalling indicative of a value of the operational characteristic associated with that terminal device,
• wherein the transceiver unit is controlled to transmit relay node establishment signalling to a first one of the base stations to provide the first one of the base stations with an indication that a second terminal device should be established as a relay node via which each of the other terminal devices is operable to communicate with at least one of the base stations,
• wherein the second terminal device is selected by the first terminal device on the basis of the determined value of the operational characteristic associated with the first terminal device and the values of the operational characteristic associated with the other terminal devices as received by the transceiver unit from the other terminal devices, and
• wherein the indication comprises an identification of the second terminal device.