Methods, wireless communications networks and infrastructure equipment

Circuitry for a wireless communications network comprising a plurality of infrastructure equipment each being configured to communicate with one or more others of the infrastructure equipment via a backhaul communications link, one or more of the infrastructure equipment each being configured to communicate with one or more communications devices via an access link, wherein a second of the infrastructure equipment is configured

• to communicate, with a first of the infrastructure equipment acting as a donor node connected to a core network, the core network being part of the wireless communications network, signals representing data over a first communications path via one or more others of the infrastructure equipment acting as relay nodes, the second infrastructure equipment being a child node and one of the one or more other infrastructure equipment acting as the relay nodes or the donor node being a parent node, the parent node being connected to the child node via a backhaul communications link and configured to allocate uplink communications resources to the child node, and
• to transmit, to the donor node over the first communications path, local assistance information associated with the child node, and the donor node is configured
• to determine, based on the local assistance information associated with the child node, values of a communications criterion associated with each of the first communications path and one or more other communications paths between the child node and either the donor node or a second donor node via one or more others of the infrastructure equipment acting as relay nodes, the first communications path and the one or more other communications paths being different, and the child node is configured
• to receive, from the donor node via the parent node or from the parent node, the values of the communications criterion associated with each of the first communications path and the one or more other communications paths,
• to determine that the value of the communications criterion associated with a second communications path which is one of the one or more other communications paths is superior to the value of the communications criterion associated with the first communications path, and
• to communicate with the donor node over the second communications path.

Circuitry for a infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network comprising a plurality of other infrastructure equipment, the infrastructure equipment and the plurality of other infrastructure equipment each being configured to communicate with one or more others of the infrastructure equipment via a backhaul communications link, one or more of the infrastructure equipment each being configured to communicate with one or more communications devices via an access link, wherein the infrastructure comprises transceiver circuitry and controller circuitry which are configured in combination

• to communicate, with a first of the infrastructure equipment acting as a donor node connected to a core network, the core network being part of the wireless communications network, signals representing data over a first communications path via one or more others of the infrastructure equipment acting as relay nodes, the infrastructure equipment being a child node and one of the one or more other infrastructure equipment acting as the relay nodes or the donor node being a parent node, the child node being connected to the parent node via a backhaul communications link and configured to receive uplink communications resources allocations from the parent node,
• to transmit, to the donor node over the first communications path, local assistance information associated with the child node,
• to receive, from the donor node via the parent node or from the parent node, values of the communications criterion associated with each of the first communications path and the one or more other communications paths between the child node and either the donor node or a second donor node via one or more others of the infrastructure equipment acting as relay nodes, the first communications path and the one or more other communications paths being different, the values of the communications criterion being determined by the donor node based on the local assistance information associated with the child node,
• to determine that the value of the communications criterion associated with a second communications path which is one of the one or more other communications paths is superior to the value of the communications criterion associated with the first communications path, and
• to communicate with the donor node over the second communications path.