A method of operating a communications device comprises determining that the communications device can transmit data via communications resources of an unlicensed channel of a wireless access interface, which is shared in time with at least one of an infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network and one or more other communications devices which can also transmit in the unlicensed channel. The transmission of the data by the communications device is arranged in time according to a fixed frame period (FFP) including a channel occupancy time (COT) for transmitting the data and an idle period. The communications device can transmit the data on the unlicensed channel by detecting that none of the infrastructure equipment and the one or more other communications devices are transmitting on the unlicensed channel as part of a contentious channel access phase. The method includes determining that one or more portions of a channel occupancy time of a fixed frame period are unused by the communications device transmitting at least part of the data. The method includes releasing the one or more portions of the unlicensed channel providing communications resources unused for use by at least one of the infrastructure equipment and the one or more other communications devices to transmit signals. An arrangement is thereby provided in which communications resources of an unlicensed channel which is shared in time and which are unused can be released by a communications device or infrastructure equipment.