A user equipment, UE, device, comprising: a receiver component configured to receive assistance information related to a set of candidate small cells from a macro cell network device; a control component configured to determine one or more cell-selection parameters based on the assistance information, determine a UE-specific cell set that comprises a subset of the set of candidate small cells, and select a target small cell from the UE-specific cell set based on the one or more cell-selection parameters, wherein the control component is configured to determine the UE-specific cell set based on uplink measurements based on uplink signals transmitted by the UE and received by candidate small cell network devices of the set of candidate small cells, or on downlink measurements determined by the UE, and the assistance information includes the set of candidate small cells determined based on location or mobility state of the UE and/or access and load data of small cells; and a transmitter component configured to facilitate an access operation or a handover operation with the target small cell by transmitting an access request message or a handover request message in response to selection of the target small cell by the control component, wherein the transmitter component is further configured to communicate a UE generated polling signal to a plurality of candidate small cell network devices of the set of candidate small cells within a macro cell using polling resources provided in the assistance information, the receiver component is further configured to receive a polling response message from at least one of the plurality of candidate small cell network devices or a macro cell network device of the macro cell in response to the polling signal, and the control component is further configured to determine the UE-specific cell set based on the polling response message, wherein, the polling response message comprises the uplink measurements. a receiver component configured to receive assistance information related to a set of candidate small cells from a macro cell network device; a control component configured to determine one or more cell-selection parameters based on the assistance information, determine a UE-specific cell set that comprises a subset of the set of candidate small cells, and select a target small cell from the UE-specific cell set based on the one or more cell-selection parameters, wherein the control component is configured to determine the UE-specific cell set based on uplink measurements based on uplink signals transmitted by the UE and received by candidate small cell network devices of the set of candidate small cells, or on downlink measurements determined by the UE, and the assistance information includes the set of candidate small cells determined based on location or mobility state of the UE and/or access and load data of small cells; and a transmitter component configured to facilitate an access operation or a handover operation with the target small cell by transmitting an access request message or a handover request message in response to selection of the target small cell by the control component, wherein the transmitter component is further configured to communicate a UE generated polling signal to a plurality of candidate small cell network devices of the set of candidate small cells within a macro cell using polling resources provided in the assistance information, the receiver component is further configured to receive a polling response message from at least one of the plurality of candidate small cell network devices or a macro cell network device of the macro cell in response to the polling signal, and the control component is further configured to determine the UE-specific cell set based on the polling response message, wherein, the polling response message comprises the uplink measurements.