Technology to improve resource allocation for inter-cell device-to-device (D2D) discovery and timing synchronization between user equipments (UEs) connected to asynchronous network deployments is disclosed. Also, transmission rules are provided for networks wherein discovery-resource pools are allocated in a frequency-division-multiplexing (FDM) manner. In the first sub-frame of a transmission-resource pool, there may be overlap between resources that are allocated for a discovery-resource pool and resources that are allocated for D2D synchronization signals (D2DSSs). Non-overlapping PRBs in the discovery-resource pool can be allocated for WAN transmission or D2D-discovery transmission. In scenarios where discovery-resource pools are allocated using FDM, a measurement such as reference signal received power (RSRP) or path loss can be made for a UE. The measurement can be compared to a threshold value to determine whether the UE will transmit a D2DSS.