Methods for service acquisition in device-to-device operation

1. A radio network node capable of assisting device-to-device operation, characterized in that the radio network node comprises one or more processors being operable to:

group physical identities being used or expected to be used by wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node into one or more groups, where at least one of the groups is mapped to one or more service types associated with device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by the wireless communication devices; and

send grouping information that indicates the physical identities and the service type(s) for each of one or more of the groups;

receive a service registration from one of the wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node, the service registration indicating one or more of the device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by that wireless communication device; and

include the service types of the device-to-device services indicated by the service registration in at least one of the groups.

2. The radio network node of claim 1 , further comprising a memory wherein said memory is containing instructions executable by said one or more processors.

3. The radio network node of claim 1 , wherein the radio network node is further operable to:

receive service information from a core network node, the service information indicating one or more of the device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by one of the wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node; and

include the service types of the device-to-device services indicated by the service information in at least one of the groups.

4. The radio network node of claim 1 , wherein the radio network node sends the grouping information in a broadcast message to the wireless communication devices or in a configuration message to a particular wireless communication device.

5. A wireless communication device capable of device-to-device operation, characterized in that the wireless communication device comprises one or more processors being operable to:

receive grouping information from a radio network node, the grouping information indicating a plurality of service types associated with device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered, wherein the grouping information comprises one or more groups and each group includes a plurality of physical identities and one or more of the service types that map to the physical identities in that group; and

use the grouping information in connection with device-to-device operation;

determine one or more of the service types being offered by the wireless communication device;

use the grouping information to select one of the physical identities, wherein the selected physical identity maps to the service types being offered by the wireless communication device;

set the selected physical identity as an identifier of the wireless communication device; and

transmit the selected physical identity for receipt by a second wireless communication device, the physical identity indicating to the second wireless communication device which service types are being offered by the wireless communication device.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 5 , further comprising a memory wherein said memory is containing instructions executable by said one or more processors.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 5 , wherein the wireless communication device determines the one or more of the service types being offered by the wireless communication device based on one or more of stored data or higher layer data indicating device-to-device capabilities of the wireless communication device.

8. A method in a radio network node for assisting device-to-device operation, the method comprising:

grouping physical identities being used or expected to be used by wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node into one or more groups, where at least one of the groups is mapped to one or more service types associated with device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by the wireless communication devices; and

sending grouping information that indicates the physical identities and the service type(s) for each of one or more of the groups;

receiving a service registration from one of the wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node, the service registration indicating one or more of the device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by that wireless communication device; and

including the service types of the device-to-device services indicated by the service registration in at least one of the groups.

9. The method of any of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving service information from a core network node, the service information indicating one or more of the device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered by one of the wireless communication devices under the control of the radio network node; and

including the service types of the device-to-device services indicated by the service information in at least one of the groups.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the grouping information is sent in a broadcast message to the wireless communication devices or in a configuration message to a particular wireless communication device.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the grouping information is sent to a second radio network node.

12. A method in a wireless communication device for device-to-device operation, the method comprising:

receiving grouping information from a radio network node, the grouping information indicating a plurality of service types associated with device-to-device services being offered or expected to be offered, wherein the grouping information comprises one or more groups and each group includes a plurality of physical identities and one or more of the service types that map to the physical identities in that group; and

using the grouping information in connection with device-to-device operation;

determining one or more of the service types being offered by the wireless communication device;

using the grouping information to select one of the physical identities, wherein the selected physical identity maps to the service types being offered by the wireless communication device;

setting the selected physical identity as an identifier of the wireless communication device; and

transmitting the selected physical identity for receipt by a second wireless communication device, the physical identity indicating to the second wireless communication device which service types are being offered by the wireless communication device.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more of the service types being offered by the wireless communication device are determined based on one or more of stored data or higher layer data indicating device-to-device capabilities of the wireless communication device.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein using the grouping information in connection with device-to-device operation comprises:

determining a desired device-to-device service that the wireless communication device desires to use;

using the grouping information to determine one or more desired physical identities, wherein the desired physical identities map to the service type of the desired device-to-device service;

selecting a second wireless communication device as a candidate to participate in the desired device-to-device service if the physical identity of the second wireless communication device corresponds to one of the desired physical identities; and

sending the second wireless communication device a request to participate in the desired device-to-device service.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining a desired device-to-device service that the wireless communication device desires to use;

using the grouping information to determine one or more desired physical identities, wherein the desired physical identities map to the service type of the desired device-to-device service;

determining to read higher layer information transmitted by a second wireless communication device if the physical identity of the second wireless communication device corresponds to one of the desired physical identities, wherein the higher layer corresponds to a layer higher than the physical layer;

determining not to read the higher layer information transmitted by the second wireless communication device if the physical identity of the second wireless communication device does not correspond to one of the desired physical identities; and

if the higher layer information is read, determining whether the second wireless communication device offers the desired device-to-device service based on the higher layer information.