Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, the method comprising: a first network device generating and sending a paging message to a second network device, the paging message being used to page a terminal device, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network NTN cell and / or a terrestrial network TN cell. By adopting the above technical solution, the network device can determine a reasonable paging area based on the type or capability information of the terminal device, thereby avoiding sending a paging message in an area not supported by the terminal device, and effectively reducing the overhead of the paging signaling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] When a terminal device is in the radio resource control (RRC)_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state, the connection between the terminal device and the access network device is disconnected. If the network needs to send data to the terminal device at this time, it will contact the terminal device via a paging message. After receiving the paging message, the terminal device will establish a connection with the access network device to transmit data.

[0003] In the existing paging mechanism, for a terminal device in the RRC_idle state, the core network device will send a paging message to all access network devices included in the tracking area (TA) list of the terminal device based on the TA list of the terminal device, and these access network devices will page the terminal device in the cell they manage. Similarly, for a terminal device in the RRC_inactive state, when downlink data of the terminal device arrives, the core network device will directly send the data to the anchor access network device of the terminal device, and then the anchor access network device will send a paging message to all access network devices included in the radio access network notification area (RNA) information of the terminal device based on the RNA, and these access network devices will page the terminal device in the cell they manage.

[0004] In a mixed deployment scenario of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and terrestrial networks (TN), NTN cells and TN cells may have the same cell configuration parameters, such as the same tracking area code (TAC) or radio access network area code (RANAC). In this scenario, the existing paging mechanism cannot distinguish between NTN cells and TN cells, but instead performs indiscriminate paging in cells included in the TA or RNA, which may result in unnecessary paging signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0005] A communication method and apparatus in an embodiment of the present application are used to provide a paging mechanism in a hybrid deployment scenario of an NTN network and a TN network, so as to reduce paging signaling overhead and improve paging efficiency.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a first network device or by a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) configured on the first network device. The following description of the present application will be described using the first network device executing the method as an example. The method may include: the first network device generating a paging message, the paging message being used to paging a terminal device, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell and / or a terrestrial network (TN) cell; and the first network device sending the paging message to a second network device.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the network equipment can determine a reasonable paging area based on the paging range, which can be determined based on the type information or capability information of the terminal device, thereby avoiding sending paging messages in areas not supported by the terminal device and effectively reducing the overhead of paging signaling.

[0008] In a possible design of the first aspect, when the paging range indicated by the first indication information includes the NTN cell, the first indication information may also indicate that the paging range includes one or more of the high-orbit GEO satellite cell, the low-orbit LEO satellite cell and the high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

[0009] In one possible design of the first aspect, the method may further include: the first network device obtaining capability information of the terminal device, where the capability information is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells. In this way, when the first network device initiates paging for the terminal device, it can determine a reasonable paging area based on the capability information of the terminal device.

[0010] In a possible design of the first aspect, if the terminal device supports NTN cells, the capability information can also be used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells, and HAPS cells.

[0011] In a possible design of the first aspect, the first network device may also send a second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the area to which the paging configuration information applies includes NTN cells and / or TN cells, and the paging configuration information may be tracking area TA information or wireless access network notification area RNA information.

[0012] By adopting the above technical solution, the network configures the area range applicable to the corresponding paging configuration information for the terminal device, so that when the terminal device moves out of the area range applicable to the paging configuration information, the terminal device can promptly trigger the tracking area update (TAU) or the radio access network notification area update (RNAU), so that the network can promptly obtain the location information of the terminal device and perform corresponding location management.

[0013] In a possible design of the first aspect, when the first indication information indicates that the area range to which the paging configuration information applies includes an NTN cell, the second indication information may also indicate that the area range to which the paging configuration information applies includes one or more of a GEO satellite cell, a LEO satellite cell, and a HAPS cell.

[0014] In a possible design of the first aspect, the first network device may be a core network device, and the second network device may be an access network device; or, the first network device and the second network device may both be access network devices.

[0015] It can be seen that the embodiments of the present application are applicable to scenarios where core network equipment initiates paging (ie, CN paging) and scenarios where access network equipment initiates paging (ie, RAN paging).

[0016] In a possible design of the first aspect, if the first network device and the second network device are both access network devices, the method may also include: the first network device receives a context request message from the second network device, where the context request message is used to request a user context of the terminal device; the first network device sends a context response message to the second network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device; wherein the first network device is an anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that pages to the terminal device.

[0017] With this technical solution, when the second network device pages the terminal device, the second network device can obtain the capability information of the terminal device in the above manner to learn about the terminal device's support for NTN and TN, thereby facilitating the second network device to better provide services to the terminal device.

[0018] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a second network device or by a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) that can be configured on the second network device. In the following description of the present application, the method executed by the second network device will be used as an example. The method may include: the second network device receiving a paging message from a first network device, the paging message being used to page a terminal device, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell and / or a terrestrial network (TN) cell; and the second network device determining, based on the first indication information, a cell to which the terminal device needs to be paged.

[0019] In a possible design of the second aspect, when the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information may also indicate that the paging range includes one or more of the high-orbit GEO satellite cell, the low-orbit LEO satellite cell and the high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

[0020] In a possible design of the second aspect, the first network device may be a core network device, and the second network device may be an access network device; or, the first network device and the second network device may both be access network devices.

[0021] In a possible design of the second aspect, if the first network device and the second network device can both be access network devices, the method may further include: the second network device sends a context request message to the first network device, the context request message is used to request the user context of the terminal device, and the second network device receives a context response message from the first network device, the context response message including capability information of the terminal device; wherein the first network device is the anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that pages to the terminal device.

[0022] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device having the function of implementing the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or having the function of implementing the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect. The device can be a network device or a chip included in the network device.

[0023] The functions of the above-mentioned communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules, units or means corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0024] In one possible design, the structure of the device may include a processing module and a transceiver module, wherein the processing module is configured to support the device in performing the corresponding function of the first network device in the first aspect or any one of the designs of the first aspect, or to perform the corresponding function of the second network device in the second aspect or any one of the designs of the second aspect. The transceiver module is used to support communication between the device and other communication devices. For example, when the device is the first network device, it can send a paging message to the second network device. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the processing module and stores program instructions and data necessary for the device. As an example, the processing module may be a processor, the communication module may be a transceiver, and the storage module may be a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be provided separately from the processor, which is not limited in this application.

[0025] In another possible design, the structure of the device includes a processor and may also include a memory. The processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute computer program instructions stored in the memory, so that the device performs the method in the above-mentioned first aspect, or any possible design of the first aspect, or performs the method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect. Optionally, the device also includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. When the device is a network device or a terminal device, the communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; when the device is a chip included in the network device, the communication interface can be the input / output interface of the chip. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit, and the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, comprising: a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store programs or instructions, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip system implements the method of the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or implements the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0027] Optionally, the chip system further includes an interface circuit for interacting code instructions with the processor.

[0028] Optionally, there may be one or more processors in the chip system, and the processor may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

[0029] Optionally, the memory in the chip system may be one or more memories. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be provided separately from the processor, which is not limited in this application. For example, the memory may be a non-transient processor, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or provided on different chips. This application does not specifically limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the computer executes the method of the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or executes the method of the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or executes the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system including a first network device, a second network device, and at least one terminal device. Optionally, the communication system may further include a core network device.

[0033] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned second to seventh aspects and various possible designs in the second to seventh aspects can be referred to the corresponding description in the first aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system applicable to embodiments of the present application;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a hybrid deployment scenario of NTN and TN applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 3 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a core network device initiates paging (i.e., CN paging) in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which an access network device initiates paging (i.e., RAN paging) in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a specific example provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 8 Another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 9 This is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), LTE system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) system or NR system, or applied to future communication systems or other similar communication systems.

[0045] Please refer to Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application, wherein the network architecture includes a core network device 110, a wireless access network device 120, and at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 The terminal devices 130 and 140 shown in FIG.

[0046] The terminal device is connected to the radio access network device wirelessly, and the radio access network device is connected to the core network device wirelessly or by wire. The core network device and the radio access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device can be integrated into the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some radio access network devices can be integrated into a single physical device.

[0047] It should be understood that Figure 1 The communication system shown in FIG is only a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other types of network devices, such as wireless relay devices or wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 Not shown. Figure 1 Only one terminal device is shown, but it should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of core network devices, wireless access network devices, terminal devices, and wireless backhaul devices included in the communication system.

[0048] The wireless access network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may correspond to different devices in different communication systems. For example, in a 5G system, it corresponds to an access network device in 5G, such as gNB, and in a 4G system, it corresponds to an access network device in 4G, such as eNB.

[0049] The wireless access network device and the terminal device, as well as the terminal devices and the terminal devices, can communicate through the licensed spectrum (licensed spectrum), can also communicate through the unlicensed spectrum (unlicensed spectrum), or can also communicate through the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum at the same time. The wireless access network device and the terminal device, as well as the terminal devices and the terminal devices, can communicate through the spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can also communicate through the spectrum above 6 GHz, and can also communicate using the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used between the wireless access network device and the terminal device.

[0050] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to scenarios where NTN and TN are deployed in a hybrid manner, wherein the NTN may include a satellite communication system, a high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication system, or other non-terrestrial communication systems.

[0051] Please refer to Figure 2 , is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which NTN and TN are mixed and deployed, applicable to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2In the example, there is a TN cell 1 and an NTN cell 2 under the coverage of the base station gNB, and the TAC or RANAC of the TN cell 1 and the NTN cell 2 are the same. Among them, the NTN cell 2 is a cell formed by the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite receiving and forwarding the signal of the base station gNB, that is, the LEO satellite provides service coverage in a transparent forwarding form. It can be understood that Figure 2 In the figure, NTN is used as a transparent forwarding LEO satellite for illustration, but the present invention is not limited to this scenario.

[0052] For UE1 that only supports TN, the UE1 can access Figure 2 TN cell 1 shown in the figure cannot be accessed Figure 2 As shown in the NTN cell 2; and for UE2 that can support TN cells and NTN cells, the UE2 can access Figure 2 The TN cell 1 shown in the figure can also be accessed Figure 2 NTN cell 2 shown in .

[0053] It should be noted that Figure 2 The NTN in the figure is specifically described by taking a satellite communication system as an example, but it should be understood that this is only an illustration.

[0054] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of communication network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0055] Some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0056] 1) The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (for example, on airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal device can communicate with the core network via the radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios. Terminal devices may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile stations, and remote stations. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology, device form, or name used by the terminal devices.

[0057] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices or smart wearable devices, etc., which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0058] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can also be a vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit that is built into the vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle can implement the method of the present application through the built-in vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit.

[0059] 2) The radio access network device involved in the embodiments of this application is a device used in a network to connect a terminal device to a wireless network. The radio access network device may be a node in a radio access network, also referred to as a base station or a RAN node. In this application, a radio access network device refers to a radio access network device deployed on the ground. In the following description, the radio access network device may be referred to simply as an access network device.

[0060] The access network device may include an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutionary Node B) in an LTE system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario, or may also include a next generation node B (gNB) in a 5G system or an NR system, or may also include a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a base band pool BBU pool, or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, etc., or may also include a cloud radio access network (CNA). The embodiments of the present application are not limited to the centralized unit (CU) and / or distributed unit (DU) in the CloudRAN system.

[0061] For example, in one network architecture, a network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or an access network device that includes both a CU node and a DU node. Furthermore, a CU node can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)-C. PDCP-C is primarily responsible for encryption, decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and PDCP-U. SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for encryption, decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission of the data plane. The CU-CP and CU-UP can be connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the CU, connecting to the core network via the Ng interface and connecting to the DU via F1-C (control plane). The CU-UP is connected to the DU via the F1-U (user plane). Of course, another possible implementation is to also include the PDCP-C in the CU-UP.

[0062] 3) The core network device involved in the embodiments of the present application refers to the device in the core network (CN) that provides service support for the terminal device. At present, some examples of core network devices include: access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc. Among them, the AMF entity is responsible for the access management and mobility management of the terminal device; the SMF entity is responsible for session management, such as user session establishment, etc.; the UPF entity is a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to the external network. It should be noted that the entities in this application can also be called network elements or functional entities, that is, the AMF entity can also be called AMF network element or AMF functional entity, and the SMF entity can also be called SMF network element or SMF functional entity. In the description below in this application, the core network device may refer to AMF.

[0063] 4) The satellites involved in the embodiments of this application refer to network devices located on satellites. For ease of explanation, "network devices on satellites" may be referred to as "satellites." The satellites may be low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, high-Earth orbit (GEO) satellites, or other network devices located high in the sky.

[0064] Generally speaking, satellites in satellite communication systems can be divided into three categories based on their orbital altitude: high-orbit satellites, low-orbit (LEO) satellites, and medium-orbit satellites. High-orbit satellites, also known as geostationary satellites, operate at the same speed as the Earth's rotation. Therefore, they remain stationary relative to the ground, and accordingly, the satellite cells formed by these satellites are also stationary. Low-orbit satellites, also known as low-Earth-orbit satellites, move at a faster speed relative to the ground. Therefore, the satellite cells formed by these satellites can move with the satellites. Medium-orbit satellites are satellites located at an orbital altitude between high-orbit and low-orbit satellites.

[0065] In one possible implementation, a satellite can receive signals from wireless access network devices and forward them to the ground, forming a satellite cell, thereby providing service coverage to terminal devices on the ground. In this case, the satellite acts as a relay node or transponder, so this scenario can also be called a transparent satellite forwarding method. As another implementation method, the satellite can generate cell information itself. For example, in this case, the satellite can include network devices with similar functions such as DU, base station, or IAB. Therefore, this scenario can be called a regenerative satellite method.

[0066] 5) It should be noted that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "Multiple" means two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be understood as one or more, for example, one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then the included ones may be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is similar. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the previous and subsequent associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0067] Based on the above introduction Figure 1 and Figure 2 For the system architecture shown, please refer to Figure 3 , is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0068] Step S301: A first network device generates a paging message, where the paging message is used to page a terminal device. The paging message includes first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that a paging range includes an NTN cell and / or a TN cell.

[0069] The paging range refers to the range within which paging messages are sent to terminal devices, and may also be referred to as the paging area range. It is understood that the first indication information may indicate three possible paging ranges, namely, a paging range including only NTN cells, a paging range including only TN cells, and a paging range including both NTN cells and TN cells.

[0070] When the first indication information indicates that the paging range only includes NTN cells, the first indication information may further indicate that the paging range only includes one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells and HAPS cells, that is, used to indicate which type of NTN cells the paging range includes.

[0071] It should be noted that the first indication information can be a public land mobile network (PLMN) identification (ID) level, that is, indicating the paging area under each PLMN ID, or a tracking area code (TAC) level, or a radio access network area code (RANAC) level, or a frequency level, or at least one of the cell level, which is not limited in this application.

[0072] Furthermore, the first indication information may be indicated implicitly. For example, the first indication information may be NTN frequency band information. That is, when the paging message includes NTN frequency band information, it indicates that the paging range includes NTN cells. Alternatively, the first indication information may be indicated explicitly. For example, in one example, it may be assumed that the terminal device supports TN cells. Based on this, the first indication information may be a flag bit occupying one bit in the paging message. When the value of the flag bit is 1, it indicates that the paging range includes NTN cells, that is, the paging range includes both NTN cells and TN cells. When the value of the flag bit is 0, it indicates that the paging range does not include NTN cells, that is, the paging range only includes TN cells. For another example, the first indication information may be a flag bit occupying two bits in the paging message. When the value of the flag bit is "01", it indicates that the paging range only includes TN cells. When the value of the flag bit is "10", it indicates that the paging range only includes NTN cells. When the value of the flag bit is "11", it indicates that the paging range includes both NTN cells and TN cells. It is understood that the first indication information may also have other indication modes, which are not listed here one by one.

[0073] Step S302: The first network device sends a paging message to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device can receive the paging message from the first network device.

[0074] Step S303: The second network device determines a cell that needs to page the terminal device according to the first indication information.

[0075] Specifically, when the first indication information indicates that the paging range only includes NTN cells, the second network device can determine that the cell that needs to page the terminal device is the NTN cell managed by the second network device, and then the second network device can send paging messages only in the NTN cell it manages, and not in the TN cell it manages, to page the terminal device, thereby achieving the purpose of saving paging signaling resources.

[0076] When the first indication information indicates that the paging range only includes TN cells, the second network device can determine that the cell that needs to page the terminal device is the TN cell managed by the second network device, and then the second network device can send paging messages only in the TN cell it manages, and not in the NTN cell it manages, to page the terminal device, thereby achieving the purpose of saving paging signaling resources.

[0077] When the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes both NTN cells and TN cells, the second network device may determine that the cells requiring paging of the terminal device include both the NTN cells and TN cells managed by the second network device. The second network device may then send a paging message to both the NTN cells and TN cells managed by the second network device to page the terminal device. Accordingly, upon receiving the paging message, the terminal device may send an RRC connection establishment / recovery request to the second network device to access the second network device.

[0078] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, there is no specific limitation on the number of NTN cells and TN cells managed by the second network device. The second network device can manage one or more NTN cells, one or more TN cells, or one or more NTN cells and one or more TN cells at the same time. This application does not limit this.

[0079] Optionally, the first network device may further obtain capability information of the terminal device, which is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells. If the terminal device supports NTN cells, the capability information may also be used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells, and HAPS. The capability information may include capability indication information, terminal device type information, frequency information, frequency band information, etc. supported by the terminal device.

[0080] In a specific implementation, the first network device may obtain the capability information of the terminal device by receiving the capability information of the terminal device reported by the terminal device, or by receiving the capability information of the terminal device from other network devices. For example, the first network device may receive the capability information of the terminal device sent by a core network device, or the first network device may receive the capability information of the terminal device sent by other access network devices. It is understood that the first network device may also obtain the capability information of the terminal device through other methods, which are not limited in this application.

[0081] By adopting the above technical solution, the network device can determine a reasonable and accurate paging area based on the type information or capability information of the terminal device, thereby avoiding sending paging messages in areas not supported by the terminal device and effectively reducing the overhead of paging signaling.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the first network device may be a core network device, and the second network device may be an access network device. Figure 4As shown, this embodiment corresponds to the scenario where the terminal device is in the RRC_IDLE state and the core network device initiates paging (i.e., CN paging). In this scenario, the access network device refers to the access network device located in the TA information of the terminal device. Optionally, the TA information can also be called a TA list, which can include at least one TAC, or at least one PLMN ID and at least one TAC under the PLMN ID.

[0083] Specifically, in Figure 4 In this example, the core network device is AMF, the access network device is gNB1, UE1 only supports TN cells, UE2 can support NTN cells and TN cells, and both UE1 and UE2 are in RRC_idle state. In this way, when downlink data of UE1 arrives, AMF can send a paging message to each access network device included in UE1's TA list. The paging message is specifically a CN paging message. Figure 4 Taking the example of gNB1 sending a paging message (i.e., gNB1 here refers to one of the access network devices in UE1's TA information) as an example, the first indication information in the paging message may indicate that the paging range only includes TN cells. For example, the first indication information may be a two-bit flag in the paging message. The AMF sets the flag bit to "01" to indicate that the paging range only includes TN cells. Consequently, gNB1 can page UE1 only in the TN cells it manages. If UE1 receives the paging message, it may send an RRC connection establishment request to gNB1 to access gNB1.

[0084] When the downlink data of UE2 arrives, AMF can send a paging message to each access network device included in the TA information of UE2. The paging message is specifically a CN paging message. Figure 4 Taking the example of gNB1 sending a paging message (gNB1 here refers to one of the access network devices in UE2's TA information) as an example, the first indication information in the paging message may indicate that the paging range includes both NTN and TN cells. For example, the first indication information may be a two-bit flag in the paging message. The AMF sets this flag to "11" to indicate that the paging range includes both NTN and TN cells. Consequently, gNB1 can page UE2 in both its managed NTN and TN cells. If UE2 receives the paging message, it can send an RRC connection establishment request to gNB1 to access gNB1.

[0085] Optionally, before downlink data from UE1 or UE2 arrives, the AMF may further configure corresponding TA information for UE1 and UE2, respectively. This TA information may also be referred to as a TA list, which can be understood as a type of paging configuration information. The TA list may include at least one TAC, or at least one PLMN ID and at least one TAC under the PLMN ID.

[0086] In another possible implementation, the first network device and the second network device may both be access network devices. Figure 5 As shown, this embodiment corresponds to the scenario where the terminal device is in the RRC_inactive state and the access network device initiates paging (i.e., RANpaging). That is, in this scenario, the first network device can be a first access network device, and the second network device can be a second access network device. It should be noted that the first access network device here refers to the serving access network device (i.e., service node) before the terminal device enters the RRC_inactive state from the RRC_connected state (CONNECTED). The serving access network device can also be referred to as the anchor access network device or source network device of the terminal device, and the second access network device refers to the access network device located in the RNA area of ​​the terminal device.

[0087] Specifically, in Figure 5 In the example, UE1 and UE2 are both in RRC_inactive state. The first access network device is the anchor gNB1 of UE1 and UE2, and the second access network device is the target gNB2 or target gNB3. UE1 only supports TN cells, while UE2 can support NTN cells and TN cells. In this way, when the downlink data of UE1 arrives, the core network device (such as AMF) can directly send the downlink data to the anchor gNB1, and then the anchor gNB1 can send a paging message to other access network devices in the RNA area of ​​UE1. The paging message is specifically a RAN paging message. Figure 5 Taking the example of the target gNB2 sending a paging message (i.e., the target gNB2 here refers to one of the access network devices located in the RNA area of ​​UE1) as an example, the first indication information in the paging message may indicate that the paging range only includes TN cells. In this way, the target gNB2 can page the UE1 only in the TN cells it manages. If the UE1 receives the paging message sent by the target gNB2, it can send an RRC connection restoration request to the target gNB2 to access the target gNB2. Optionally, the anchor gNB1 can also page the UE1 in the TN cells it manages. If the UE1 receives the paging message sent by the anchor gNB1, it can also send an RRC connection restoration request to the anchor gNB1 to access the anchor gNB1.

[0088] Similarly, when the downlink data of UE2 arrives, the core network equipment (such as AMF) can directly send the downlink data to the anchor gNB1, and then the anchor gNB1 can send a paging message to other access network devices located in the RNA area of ​​UE2. The paging message is specifically a RAN paging message. Figure 5 Taking the example of the target gNB3 sending a paging message (i.e., the target gNB3 here refers to one of the access network devices located in the RNA area of ​​UE2), the first indication information in the paging message may indicate that the paging range includes both NTN cells and TN cells. In this way, the target gNB3 can page the UE2 in both the NTN cells and TN cells it manages. If UE2 receives the paging message sent by the target gNB3, it can send an RRC connection restoration request to the target gNB3 to access the target gNB3. Optionally, the anchor gNB1 can also page the UE2 in both the NTN cells and TN cells it manages. If UE2 receives the paging message sent by the anchor gNB1, it can also send an RRC connection restoration request to the anchor gNB1 to access the anchor gNB1.

[0089] Optionally, before the downlink data of UE1 or UE2 arrives, the anchor point gNB1 can also configure corresponding RNA information for UE1 and UE2 respectively. The RNA information can also be called RNA area information or RNA area, and can also be understood as a paging configuration information.

[0090] It should be noted that Figure 5 The target gNB2 shown in the figure refers to a gNB in ​​the RNA area corresponding to UE1, and the target gNB3 refers to a gNB in ​​the RNA area corresponding to UE2. The names are only used as a reference. The target gNB2 and the target gNB3 can be the same gNB or different gNBs, which is not limited in this application.

[0091] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the first network device may also send a second indication message to the terminal device, where the second indication message indicates that the area to which the paging configuration information applies includes NTN cells and / or TN cells. The paging configuration information may include TA information or RNA information. Specifically, for a UE in the RRC_IDLE state, the first network device is a core network device, and its paging configuration information is TA information; for a UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state, when the first network device is an access network device, its paging configuration information is RNA information.

[0092] Furthermore, when the second indication information indicates that the area to which the paging configuration information applies includes an NTN cell, the second indication information may further indicate that the area to which the paging configuration information applies includes one or more of a GEO satellite cell, a LEO satellite cell, and a HAPS cell. Similarly, the second indication information may be at least one of a PLMN ID level, a TAC level, a RANAC level, a frequency level, or a cell level, which is not limited in this application.

[0093] It can be seen that by configuring the terminal device with the applicable area range of the corresponding paging configuration information through the network device, when the terminal device moves out of the applicable area range of the paging configuration information, the terminal device can promptly trigger the tracking area update (TAU) or the radio access network notification area update (RNAU), so that the network can promptly obtain the location information of the terminal device and perform corresponding location management.

[0094] Optionally, when the first network device and the second network device are both access network devices, that is, in the RAN paging scenario, the terminal device is in the RRC_inactive state, the first network device may also receive a context request message from the second network device, where the context request message is used to request the user context of the terminal device, wherein the first network device refers to the anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that pages to the terminal device. Accordingly, the first network device may send a context response message to the second network device, where the context response message includes at least one of the user context of the terminal device, the capability information of the terminal device, and the paging configuration information of the terminal device. The capability information of the terminal device is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells. The capability information of the terminal device can also be used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells, and HAPS cells. Optionally, the context response message may also include the first indication information and / or second indication information described above in this application.

[0095] Please refer to Figure 6 , which is a specific example of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. In this example, which belongs to the RAN paging scenario, that is, the UE is in the RRC_Inactive state, the anchor gNB1 is the gNB that the UE last accessed before entering the RRC_Inactive state from the RRC_Connected state, and the target gNB2 is the gNB that pages the UE within the UE's RNA.

[0096] Specifically, in step S600, the UE may report its capability information to the anchor gNB1 to notify the anchor gNB1 that it supports NTN cells and TN cells.

[0097] In step S601, the anchor gNB1 may configure the UE to enter the RRC_Inactive state and send paging configuration information to the UE. Optionally, the anchor gNB1 may also indicate the applicable area of ​​the paging configuration information. Here, the paging configuration information specifically refers to RNA information, and the applicable area of ​​the paging configuration information may include NTN cells and / or TN cells.

[0098] Optionally, the terminal device may assume by default that the RNA information includes NTN cells and TN cells. Alternatively, the anchor gNB1 may further send a second indication message to the UE, where the second indication message indicates that the applicable area of ​​the RNA information includes only NTN cells, or only TN cells, or both NTN cells and TN cells. In this specific example, the second indication message indicates that the applicable area of ​​the paging configuration information includes only NTN cells. In this way, when the UE moves outside the range of the NTN cell indicated in the configured RNA information, the terminal device may perform the RNAU process.

[0099] In step S602, when downlink data arrives for the UE, anchor gNB1 may send a paging message to target gNB2. This paging message includes first indication information to indicate that the paging range only includes NTN cells. This paging message is specifically a RAN paging message. It should be noted that target gNB2 here refers to one of the gNBs within the RNA region corresponding to the UE. However, it should be understood that when downlink data arrives for the UE, anchor gNB1 may send the paging message to each gNB within the RNA region corresponding to the UE.

[0100] The target gNB2 can then page the UE in the NTN cell it manages.

[0101] In step S603, after the target gNB2 pages the UE, the UE may send an RRC connection recovery request to the target gNB2 to request the restoration of the RRC connection and enter the RRC_connected state.

[0102] In step S604, the target gNB2 may send a context request message to the anchor gNB1 to request the user context of the UE.

[0103] In step S605, the anchor gNB1 may send a context response message to the target gNB2. The context response message includes the user context of the UE, and one or more of the UE's capability information, the UE's RNA information, the first indication information, and the second indication information.

[0104] The present application also provides a communication device, please refer to Figure 7 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 includes a transceiver module 710 and a processing module 720. The communication device can be used to implement the functions of the network device (such as the first network device or the second network device) in any of the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device can be a network device or a chip or circuit included in the network device.

[0105] For example, when the communication device executes Figure 3 In the method embodiment shown in , when the operation or step corresponds to the first network device, the processing module 720 is used to generate a paging message, which is used to page the terminal device. The paging message includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network NTN cell and / or a terrestrial network TN cell; the transceiver module 710 is used to send a paging message to the second network device.

[0106] In one possible design, when the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information may also indicate that the paging range includes one or more of the high-orbit GEO satellite cell, the low-orbit LEO satellite cell and the high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

[0107] In one possible design, the transceiver module 710 is further used to obtain capability information of the terminal device, and the capability information is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells.

[0108] In one possible design, if the terminal device supports NTN cells, the capability information may also be used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells, and HAPS cells.

[0109] In one possible design, the transceiver module 710 is also used to send a second indication information to the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the area to which the paging configuration information applies includes NTN cells and / or TN cells, and the paging configuration information can be tracking area TA information or wireless access network notification area RNA information.

[0110] In one possible design, when the first indication information indicates that the area scope to which the paging configuration information applies includes NTN cells, the second indication information may also indicate that the area scope to which the paging configuration information applies includes one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells, and HAPS cells.

[0111] In one possible design, the communication device may be a core network device, and the second network device may be an access network device; or, the communication device and the second network device may both be access network devices.

[0112] In one possible design, if the communication device and the second network device are both access network devices, the transceiver module 710 is also used to receive a context request message from the second network device, where the context request message is used to request the user context of the terminal device; the transceiver module 710 is also used to send a context response message to the second network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device; wherein the communication device is an anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that is paged to the terminal device.

[0113] When the communication device executes Figure 3 In the method embodiment shown in , when the operation or step corresponds to the second network device, the transceiver module 710 is used to receive a paging message from the first network device, where the paging message is used to page the terminal device. The paging message includes first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network NTN cell and / or a terrestrial network TN cell; the processing module 720 is used to determine the cell that needs to page the terminal device based on the first indication information.

[0114] In one possible design, when the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information may also indicate that the paging range includes one or more of the high-orbit GEO satellite cell, the low-orbit LEO satellite cell and the high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

[0115] In one possible design, the first network device may be a core network device, and the communication device may be an access network device; or, the first network device and the communication device may both be access network devices.

[0116] In one possible design, if the first network device and the communication device are both access network devices, the transceiver module 710 is also used to send a context request message to the first network device, where the context request message is used to request the user context of the terminal device; the transceiver module 710 is also used to receive a context response message from the first network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device; wherein the first network device is an anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the communication device is another access network device that is paged to the terminal device.

[0117] The processing module 720 involved in the communication device can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit components, and the transceiver module 710 can be implemented by at least one transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components or communication interfaces. The operations and / or functions of each module in the communication device are respectively to achieve Figure 3 、 Figure 4 、 Figure 5 or Figure 6For the sake of brevity, the corresponding process of the method shown in FIG. is not repeated here. Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage module, which can be used to store data and / or instructions. The transceiver module 710 and / or the processing module 720 can read the data and / or instructions in the storage module, thereby enabling the communication device to implement the corresponding method. The storage module can be implemented, for example, by at least one memory.

[0118] The above-mentioned storage module, processing module and transceiver module may exist separately, or all or part of the modules may be integrated, for example, the storage module and the processing module are integrated, or the processing module and the transceiver module are integrated.

[0119] Please refer to Figure 8 , is another schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 can be used to implement the functions of the network devices involved in the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, when the first network device in the above-mentioned method embodiments is a core network device and the second network device is an access network device, the functions of the first network device can be implemented. The communication device 800 can be a core network device, or a chip or circuit configured within the core network device.

[0120] The communication device 800 includes one or more processors 801, which can support the communication device 800 to implement the method executed by the first network device in the above method embodiment. The processor 801 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, the processor 801 can be a central processing unit (CPU) or a baseband processor. The baseband processor can be used to process communication data, and the CPU can be used to control the communication device (e.g., the first network device or chip), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. The communication device 800 can also include a transceiver unit 805 to implement signal input (reception) and output (transmission).

[0121] For example, the communication device 800 may be a chip, the transceiver unit 805 may be the input and / or output circuit of the chip, or the transceiver unit 805 may be the communication interface of the chip, and the chip may be a component of a network device or other wireless communication device.

[0122] The communication device 800 may include one or more memories 802, on which a program 804 is stored. The program 804 can be executed by the processor 801 to generate instructions 803, so that the processor 801 performs the method described in the above method embodiment according to the instructions 803. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 802. Optionally, the processor 1301 may also read data stored in the memory 802. The data may be stored at the same storage address as the program 804, or the data may be stored at a different storage address than the program 804.

[0123] The processor 801 and the memory 802 may be provided separately or integrated together, for example, integrated on a single board or a system on chip (SOC).

[0124] The communication device 800 may further include a transceiver unit 805 and an antenna 806. The transceiver unit 805 may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, and is configured to implement the transceiver function of the communication device through the antenna 806.

[0125] Please refer to Figure 9 , is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be specifically an access network device, such as a base station, configured to implement the functions of the network devices involved in any of the above method embodiments, for example, when the first network device in the above method embodiment is a core network device and the second network device is an access network device, the functions of the second network device, or when the first network device and the second network device in the above method embodiment are both access network devices, the functions of the first network device or the second network device.

[0126] The network device includes: one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 901 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also called digital unit, DU) 902. The RRU 901 can be called a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and may include at least one antenna 9011 and a radio frequency unit 9012. The RRU 901 part is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals. The BBU 902 part is mainly used for baseband processing, controlling the base station, etc. The RRU 901 and BBU 902 can be physically set together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station.

[0127] The BBU 902 is the control center of the base station, which can also be called a processing unit. It is mainly used to perform baseband processing functions such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spread spectrum, etc. For example, the BBU (processing unit) 902 can be used to control the base station to execute the operation process of the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0128] In one example, the BBU 902 may be composed of one or more single boards, and multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network with a single access indication (such as an LTE network), or may respectively support wireless access networks with different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 902 may also include a memory 9021 and a processor 9022, and the memory 9021 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 9022 is used to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to perform the sending operation in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The memory 9021 and the processor 9022 may serve one or more single boards. That is, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. Alternatively, multiple single boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may also be provided on each single board.

[0129] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, including: a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip system implements the method of the corresponding terminal device or the method of the corresponding network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0130] Optionally, there may be one or more processors in the chip system. The processor may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

[0131] Optionally, the memory in the chip system may be one or more memories. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be provided separately from the processor, which is not limited in this application. For example, the memory may be a non-transient processor, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or provided on different chips. This application does not specifically limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0132] Exemplarily, the chip system can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a SoC, a CPU, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips.

[0133] It should be understood that each step in the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in a processor or by software instructions. The method steps disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

[0134] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer executes the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0135] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer executes the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0136] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes a first network device, a second network device and at least one terminal device. Optionally, the communication system may also include a core network device. The first network device, the second network device and the terminal device included in the communication system can cooperate with each other to implement any of the above method embodiments. Moreover, the specific implementation of the first network device and the second network device included in the communication system can refer to the above in Figure 7 、 Figure 8 and Figure 9 Related description of the communication device.

[0137] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or may be other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0138] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0139] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0140] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0141] It should be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the various embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description. The size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes or steps does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process or step should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0142] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0143] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0144] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0145] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0146] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0147] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0148] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0149] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first network device generates a paging message, where the paging message is used to page the terminal device. The paging message includes first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network NTN cell and / or a terrestrial network TN cell. The first network device sends the paging message to the second network device, the first network device is a core network device, and the second network device is an access network device; or, the first network device and the second network device are both access network devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information further indicates that the paging range includes one or more of a high-orbit GEO satellite cell, a low-orbit LEO satellite cell and a high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device obtains capability information of the terminal device, where the capability information is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that If the terminal device supports NTN cells, the capability information is further used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells and HAPS cells.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that If the first network device and the second network device are both access network devices, the method further includes: The first network device receives a context request message from the second network device, where the context request message is used to request a user context of the terminal device, the first network device is an anchor access network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that pages the terminal device; The first network device sends a context response message to the second network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second network device receives a paging message from the first network device, where the paging message is used to page the terminal device, the paging message includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell and / or a terrestrial network (TN) cell, the first network device is a core network device, and the second network device is an access network device; or, both the first network device and the second network device are access network devices; The second network device determines, based on the first indication information, a cell in which the terminal device needs to be paged.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that When the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information further indicates that the paging range includes one or more of a high-orbit GEO satellite cell, a low-orbit LEO satellite cell and a high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that If the first network device and the second network device are both access network devices, the method further includes: The second network device sends a context request message to the first network device, where the context request message is used to request a user context of the terminal device, the first network device is an anchor network device of the terminal device, and the second network device is another access network device that pages the terminal device; The second network device receives a context response message from the first network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a processing module, configured to generate a paging message, wherein the paging message is used to page a terminal device, wherein the paging message includes first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that a paging range includes a non-terrestrial network NTN cell and / or a terrestrial network TN cell; The transceiver module is used to send the paging message to the second network device, the communication device is a core network device, and the second network device is an access network device; or, the communication device and the second network device are both access network devices.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that When the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information further indicates that the paging range includes one or more of a high-orbit GEO satellite cell, a low-orbit LEO satellite cell and a high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

11. The device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The processing module is further configured to: Acquire capability information of the terminal device, where the capability information is used to determine whether the terminal device supports NTN cells and / or TN cells.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that If the terminal device supports NTN cells, the capability information is further used to determine whether the terminal device supports one or more of GEO satellite cells, LEO satellite cells and HAPS cells.

13. The device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that If the communication device and the second network device are both access network devices, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a context request message from the second network device, the context request message being used to request a user context of the terminal device, the communication device being an anchor network device of the terminal device, and the second network device being another access network device that pages the terminal device; The transceiver module is further configured to send a context response message to the second network device, wherein the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: a transceiver module, configured to receive a paging message from a first network device, the paging message being used to page a terminal device, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information indicating that a paging range includes a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell and / or a terrestrial network (TN) cell, the first network device being a core network device, and the communication device being an access network device; or, both the first network device and the communication device being access network devices; A processing module is used to determine the cell where the terminal device needs to be paged based on the first indication information.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that When the first indication information indicates that the paging range includes the NTN cell, the first indication information further indicates that the paging range includes one or more of a high-orbit GEO satellite cell, a low-orbit LEO satellite cell and a high-altitude platform HAPS cell.

16. The device according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that If both the first network device and the communication device are access network devices, the transceiver module is further configured to send a context request message to the first network device, where the context request message is used to request a user context of the terminal device, the first network device is an anchor network device of the terminal device, and the communication device is another access network device that pages the terminal device; The transceiver module is further configured to receive a context response message from the first network device, where the context response message includes capability information of the terminal device.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The apparatus includes at least one processor coupled to at least one memory; The at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the at least one memory, so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Used to store instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 to be implemented, or enable the method according to any one of claims 6 to 8 to be implemented.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: including a processor and an interface circuit; The interface circuit is used to exchange code instructions with the processor; The processor is configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or the processor is configured to execute the code instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

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