Terminal device, method and system for coordinating relay node access in a wireless telecommunications system

A method of operating a terminal device for use with a wireless telecommunications system, the method comprising:

• selecting a first relay node from a plurality of relay nodes of the telecommunications system;
• exchanging, by the terminal device with a base station of the telecommunications system via the first relay node, signals including a signal indicating a reselection threshold value that is a threshold for signal quality of a relay node and is a fixed dB set by the base station;
• comparing a first signal characteristic with the reselection threshold value, the first signal characteristic associated with the first relay node;
• in a case that the first signal characteristic is greater than the reselection threshold value, exchanging signals with the base station via the first relay node;
• and
• in a case that the first signal characteristic is less than the reselection threshold value,
• selecting a second relay node from the plurality of relay nodes having a second signal characteristic which is greater than the first signal characteristic, and
• exchanging the signals with the base station via the second relay node.

Circuitry for a user equipment (UE) for use with a wireless telecommunications system, the circuitry comprising:

• transceiver circuitry;
• and
• controller circuitry configured to:
• select a first UE from a plurality of other UEs of the telecommunications system;
• control the transceiver circuitry to exchange signals with a base station of the telecommunications system via the first UE, the signals including a signal indicating a reselection threshold value that is a threshold for signal quality of a UE and is a fixed dB set by the base station;
• compare a first signal characteristic with the reselection threshold value, the first signal characteristic associated with the first UE;
• in a case that the first signal characteristic is greater than the reselection threshold value, control the transceiver circuitry to exchange signals with the base station via the first UE;
• and
• in a case that the first signal characteristic is less than the reselection threshold value,
• select a second UE from the plurality of other UEs having a second signal characteristic which is greater than the first signal characteristic, and
• control the transceiver circuitry to exchange the signals with the base station via the second UE.