Telecommunications apparatuses and methods

1. A relay node in a mobile telecommunications system including a base station and the relay node, the relay node comprising:

a transceiver; and

control circuitry configured to:

receive a relay request from a first terminal without receiving another relay request from a second terminal, the relay request requesting to relay communications between the first terminal and the second terminal;

identify a resource pool for terminal-to-terminal relaying;

forward the relay request received from the first terminal to the base station;

allocate, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, first resources from the resource pool for the first terminal to communicate via the relay node for device-to-device (D2D) communication with the second terminal;

allocate, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, second resources from the resource pool for the second terminal to communicate via the relay node for the D2D communication with the first terminal;

notify the first terminal of the allocated first resources;

notify the second terminal of the allocated second resources; and

relay messages, over the first and second resources, between the first terminal and the second terminal for the D2D communication.

2. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry identifies the resource pool by:

requesting, via the transceiver, a resource pool allocation from the base station; and

receiving, via the transceiver, an allocation of the resource pool from the base station.

3. The relay node of claim 2 , wherein the requesting the resource pool allocation is responsive to receiving the relay request from the first terminal.

4. The relay node of claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to release the allocated resource pool by transmitting, via the transceiver, a resource pool release message to the base station.

5. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry identifies a pre-allocated resource pool.

6. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the D2D communication is one of a unicast, a groupcast or a broadcast communication.

7. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry allocates the first resources upon at least one of:

a request from the first terminal;

a request from the second terminal;

receiving instructions from the base station; and

a determination by the control circuitry.

8. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry allocates the second resources upon at least one of:

a request from the first terminal;

a request from the second terminal;

receiving instructions from a base station; and

a determination by the control circuitry.

9. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry allocates at least one of the first resources and the second resources based on one or more of:

a resource allocation request from one of the first terminal and the second terminal;

a determination by the control circuitry to operate as the terminal-to-terminal relay for the D2D communication; and

a notification from the base station and/or from one of the first and second terminals that the relay node has been selected for relaying the D2D communication.

10. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry notifies the first terminal and the second terminal by:

broadcasting the first resources to a group of terminals comprising the first terminal; and

broadcasting the second resources to a group of terminals comprising the second terminal.

11. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the first resources are for one or both of resources for the first terminal to transmit signals to the relay node and resources for the relay node to transmit signals to the first terminal.

12. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the second resources are for one or both of resources for the second terminal to transmit signals to the relay node and resources for the relay node to transmit signals to the second terminal.

13. The relay node of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to release the first and second resources upon at least one of:

a determination that the relay node will no longer operate as a terminal-to-terminal relay for the D2D communication; and

a termination of the D2D communication.

14. A method of operating a relay node in a mobile telecommunications system including a base station and the relay node, the method comprising:

receiving a relay request from a first terminal without receiving another relay request from a second terminal, the relay request requesting to relay communications between the first terminal and the second terminal;

identifying a resource pool for terminal-to-terminal relaying;

forwarding the relay request received from the first terminal to the base station;

allocating, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, first resources from the resource pool for the first terminal to communicate via the relay node for device-to-device (D2D) communication with the second terminal;

allocating, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, second resources from the resource pool for the second terminal to communicate via the relay node for the D2D communication with the first terminal;

notifying the first terminal of the allocated first resources;

notifying the second terminal of the allocated second resources; and

relaying messages, over the first and second resources, between the first terminal and the second terminal for the D2D communication.

15. Integrated circuitry for a relay node in a mobile telecommunications system including a base station and the relay node, the integrated circuitry comprising:

transceiver circuitry; and

control circuitry configured with the transceiver circuitry to:

receive a relay request from a first terminal without receiving another relay request from a second terminal, the relay request requesting to relay communications between the first terminal and the second terminal;

identify a resource pool for terminal-to-terminal relaying;

forward the relay request received from the first terminal to the base station;

allocate, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, first resources from the resource pool for the first terminal to communicate via the relay node for device-to-device (D2D) communication with the second terminal;

allocate, after forwarding the relay request and without receiving the another relay request, second resources from the resource pool for the second terminal to communicate via the relay node for the D2D communication with the first terminal;

notify the first terminal of the allocated first resources;

notify the second terminal of the allocated second resources; and

relay messages, over the first and second resources, between the first terminal and the second terminal for the D2D communication.

16. The integrated circuitry of claim 15 , wherein the control circuitry identifies the resource pool by:

requesting, via the transceiver, a resource pool allocation from the base station; and

receiving, via the transceiver, an allocation of the resource pool from the base station.

17. The integrated circuitry of claim 16 , wherein the requesting the resource pool allocation is responsive to receiving the relay request from the first terminal.

18. The integrated circuitry of claim 16 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to release the allocated resource pool by transmitting, via the transceiver, a resource pool release message to the base station.

19. The integrated circuitry of claim 15 , wherein the control circuitry identifies a pre-allocated resource pool.

20. The integrated circuitry of claim 15 , wherein the D2D communication is one of a unicast, a groupcast or a broadcast communication.