A communications system includes a plurality of different types of small coverage area base stations, e.g., femto cell base stations, WiFi access points and Bluetooth access points within a macro cell. Different user equipment (UE) devices, e.g., different smartphones, include different capabilities. In order for UE devices and small coverage area base stations with compatible capabilities to efficiently discover one another, the various small coverage area base stations and various UE devices utilize the macro cell communications band and macro cell communication protocol to coordinate device discovery and exchange discovery information and control information which allows a UE device to access a compatible small coverage area base station and subsequently communicate user data, e.g., traffic data, with the UE device.