A system and method of operating a device in a wireless communication network including a plurality of user equipment UEs and a BS, including a first device generating a signaling message defining resource elements (REs) as an encoded time slot (TS) and subcarrier pairing. A subset of the REs is encoded, such as to create a discovery signal configured to enable discovery of the first UE by a second UE or the BS. The UE is configured to engage in device-to-device communications, including device centric UEs operable in 5G networks.