METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR CONNECTION SETUP IN DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION

Example method, apparatus, and computer program product embodiments are disclosed to enable out-of-band short-range communication carrier transport switching for connection setup in device-to-device communication. example embodiments of the invention include a method comprising the steps of participating, by a first device, in a wireless network managed by at least one of an access point device or a group owner device; and exchanging, by the first device, information with a second device over a wireless out-of-band short-range carrier, the exchanged information comprising in-band communication connection parameters for enabling the second device to join the wireless network and authentication information recognizable by the at least one of an access point device or a group owner device managing the wireless network.