Communication method and device

Abstract

The present invention provides a communication method and apparatus, belonging to the field of communication technology. The communication method, executed by a terminal device, comprises: determining whether stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; if the stored slice information is valid, using the slice information for cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, sending a first message to the network device, the first message explicitly or implicitly instructing the terminal device to request the slice information. The technical solution of the present invention enables the terminal device to obtain the corresponding slice information more quickly.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In a layered coverage scenario, each cell within a tracking area (TA) may support different slices, and the association between the slice grouping or access category and the slices in each cell may be different. Cell reselection by the terminal equipment (UE) within a TA does not trigger the tracking area update (TAU) process, so the UE cannot obtain the association between the slice grouping and / or access category and the slices in the new cell from the core network, which is not conducive to reselecting to a cell that supports the slices it wants. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a communication method and device that can enable terminal devices to obtain corresponding slice information more quickly.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

[0005] In one aspect, a communication method is provided, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising:

[0006] Determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device;

[0007] If the stored slice information is valid, use the slice information for cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, send a first message to the network device, and the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request slice information.

[0008] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0009] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0010] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0011] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0012] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0013] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0015] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0016] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0017] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0018] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0019] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0020] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0021] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0022] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication method, applied to a network device, the method comprising:

[0023] receiving a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates requesting slice information;

[0024] The slice information corresponding to the first message is sent to the terminal device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the present invention further comprises:

[0026] Setting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information and broadcasting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0027] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0028] In some embodiments, sending the slice information to the terminal device includes:

[0029] The slice information is sent to the terminal device through dedicated signaling or broadcast system messages.

[0030] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, which is applied to a terminal device. The device includes a transceiver and a processor.

[0031] The processor is configured to determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; if the stored slice information is valid, the processor is configured to use the slice information to perform cell selection or reselection; or

[0032] If the stored slice information is invalid, the transceiver is used to send a first message to the network device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request slice information.

[0033] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0034] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0035] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0036] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0037] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0038] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0040] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0041] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0042] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0043] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0044] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0045] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0046] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0047] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, which is applied to a network device. The device includes a transceiver and a processor.

[0048] The transceiver is used to receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information; and send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device.

[0049] In some embodiments, the transceiver is further configured to set a valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information, and broadcast the valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0050] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0051] In some embodiments, the transceiver is specifically used to send the slice information to the terminal device via dedicated signaling or broadcast system messages.

[0052] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor; when the processor executes the program, the communication method described above is implemented.

[0053] In some embodiments, the communication device is applied to a terminal device, and the processor is used to determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; if the stored slice information is valid, use the slice information for cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, send a first message to the network device, and the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates that the terminal device requests slice information.

[0054] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0055] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0056] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0057] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0058] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0059] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0061] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0062] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0063] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0064] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0065] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0066] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0068] In some embodiments, the communication device is applied to a network device, and the processor is used to receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information; and send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device.

[0069] In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to set a valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information, and broadcast the valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0070] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0071] In some embodiments, the processor is specifically used to send the slice information to the terminal device via dedicated signaling or a broadcast system message.

[0072] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the steps in the communication method described above are implemented.

[0073] The embodiments of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0074] In the above scheme, the terminal device first determines whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information. If the stored slice information is valid, the cell selection or reselection can be performed directly based on the stored slice information. The slice information can be obtained quickly, reducing the system information load. There is no need to obtain slice information in each cell, which is conducive to cell selection or reselection. If the stored slice information is invalid, the slice information is obtained again through the network device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] Figure 1A schematic diagram of a related technical network device sending slice information to a terminal device;

[0076] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a layered coverage scenario;

[0077] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a communication method on a terminal device side according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a communication method for a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction between a terminal device and a network device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0080] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0081] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantages to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention clearer, they will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0083] In existing technologies, slice-related information may be broadcast in the cell's system information. Terminal devices in idle / inactive states will consider this slice information during the cell selection / reselection process to reside on a cell that supports the desired slice. Slice information may include a slice identifier ID (SST+SD, a total of 32 bits) or a slice index, or a slice group (slice group ID / index, the ID size is not determined), or slice-related UAC (unified access control) information.

[0084] Explicitly broadcasting the slice ID in the system information will not only increase the system information load, but also cause some security issues. If the slice group ID / index or slice UAC is broadcast, the UE and the core network need to negotiate in advance the mapping relationship between the slice group and the slice, or the association relationship between the access category and the slice. This negotiation is usually sent by the core network (CN) to the UE during the registration process. Figure 1As shown, the radio access network (RAN) sends the broadcast slice grouping / access category information to the UE. After receiving the UE's initial setup message (Initial UE Setup Message), the CN sends a Registration Accept message to the UE, carrying the association between the slice grouping / access category and the slice.

[0085] The association between slice groups or access categories and slices is useful to the UE in the following ways: For example, the UE obtains the slice group supported by the cell, slice group 1, from the broadcast system information of cell 1. The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices obtained from the core network indicates that slice group 1 corresponds to slice#1 and slice#2. Then the UE knows that cell 1 supports slice#1 and slice#2. If the UE wants to initiate a service for slice#1, it will prioritize cell 1 based on this information during cell selection and reselection. The same applies to access categories.

[0086] Relevant technical regulations stipulate that each TA supports a maximum of 1024 slices.

[0087] In a layered coverage scenario, each cell within a TA may support different slices, and the association between the slice grouping or access category and the slices in each cell may be different. The UE's cell reselection within a TA does not trigger the TAU process, so the UE cannot obtain the association between the slice grouping / access category and the slices in the new cell from the core network, which is not conducive to reselecting to a cell that supports the slices it wants.

[0088] like Figure 2 As shown in the figure, suppose cells 3, 4, and 5 are all in the same TA, but cells 3 and 4 use the same set of slice group and slice associations, while cell 5 uses a different set of associations. For example, for cells 3 and 4, slicegroup 1 corresponds to slice#1,2,3, and slice group 2 corresponds to slice#6. For cell 5, slice group 1 corresponds to slice#1,4, and slice group 2 corresponds to slice#2,3,5. Although cells 4 and 5 both broadcast support for slicegroup 1 and 2, because of the different associations, the UE can infer that cell 4 supports slices 1,2,3,6, and cell 5 supports slices 1,2,3,4,5.

[0089] The embodiments of the present invention provide a communication method and apparatus that enable a terminal device to obtain corresponding slice information more quickly.

[0090] The embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method, which is executed by a terminal device, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0091] Step 101: Determine whether the stored slice information is valid according to the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device;

[0092] Step 102: If the stored slice information is valid, use the slice information for cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, send a first message to the network device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request slice information.

[0093] In this embodiment, the terminal device first determines whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information. If the stored slice information is valid, the cell selection or reselection can be performed directly based on the stored slice information, and the slice information can be obtained quickly, reducing the system information load. There is no need to obtain slice information in each cell, which is conducive to cell selection or reselection. If the stored slice information is invalid, the slice information is obtained again through the network device.

[0094] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0095] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0096] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0097] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0098] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0099] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0101] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0102] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0103] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0104] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0105] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0106] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0108] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a communication method, which is executed by a network device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0109] Step 201: Receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information;

[0110] Step 202: Send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device.

[0111] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0112] Setting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information and broadcasting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0113] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0114] In some embodiments, sending the slice information to the terminal device includes:

[0115] The slice information is sent to the terminal device through dedicated signaling or broadcast system messages.

[0116] The present invention adopts schemes 1 and 2, wherein scheme 1 can increase the effective scope / mapping area of ​​slice information. For example, if the mapping relationship between slice groups and slices is the same in cell 3 and cell 4, then if the UE registers on cell 3 and obtains the association relationship from the core network, the UE can know that the mapping relationship between slice groups and slices in cell 3 and cell 4 is the same based on the effective scope / mapping area of ​​the slice information. The UE can directly know which slices cell 4 supports based on the originally stored association relationship and the slice groups broadcast by cell 4, which is beneficial for cell selection and reselection. That is, the terminal device first determines whether the slice information is valid based on the effective scope / mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the cell. If valid, it can continue to be used during the cell selection and reselection process, which can reduce the system information load and does not require the slice information to be obtained in each cell, which is beneficial for cell selection or reselection. If invalid, the relevant slice information can be requested from the RAN side. In solution 2, the UE implicitly or explicitly indicates in an uplink message (such as msg1, msg3, or msg5) that it requests slice information. The slice information includes but is not limited to the association between slice groups or access categories and slices, or the correspondence between slices and frequencies. After receiving the indication, the RAN side uses dedicated signaling or broadcast system information to send the requested slice information to the UE. The terminal device can explicitly or implicitly indicate to the RAN side that it wants to obtain slice-related information, which can be all slice information or a specific type of slice information, such as only requesting the mapping relationship between slice groups and slices, or only requesting the correspondence between slices and frequencies.

[0117] In an embodiment of the present invention, solution 1 and solution 2 can be used in combination. For example, when the UE reselects from cell 1 to cell 2, cell 2 and cell 1 are not within the same slice valid area, so after the UE arrives at cell 2, it requests the slice information of cell 2 from the RAN according to solution 2.

[0118] The terminal device can implicitly indicate the need to obtain slice information in the following ways:

[0119] (1) If the random number used for the UE ID in msg3 indicates that the terminal device is accessing for the first time, it implicitly indicates that the UE needs slice information;

[0120] (2) When msg5 contains S-NSSAI-List, it means that the UE wants to initiate a slice service, implicitly indicating that the UE needs slice information;

[0121] (3) Random access resources dedicated to requesting slice information are broadcast in the system message. If the UE accesses using these dedicated resources, it implicitly indicates that the UE wants slice information.

[0122] The terminal device can explicitly indicate the need to obtain slice information in the following ways:

[0123] An indicator (1 bit) is added to msg3 or msg5 to directly indicate whether the UE wants to obtain all slice information; or multiple different indicators are added to indicate that the UE wants to obtain different slice information. This indicator can be a bitmap, for example, the first bit indicates whether the UE wants to obtain the mapping relationship between slice groups and slices, the second bit indicates whether the UE wants to obtain the correspondence between slices and frequencies, and the third bit indicates whether the UE wants to obtain the association relationship between access categories and slices, etc.

[0124] For RAN, after receiving an implicit or explicit indication from the terminal device that it wants to obtain slice information, the corresponding slice information is sent to the terminal device through dedicated signaling or broadcast system information; RAN can set the effective scope / mapping area of ​​the slice information and broadcast it; or broadcast the effective scope / mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the indication of the core network.

[0125] In a specific example, Figure 5 As shown, RAN broadcasts slice grouping and access category information, etc., and RAN can increase the valid area of ​​​​slice information; after the UE determines that the stored slice information is invalid, it can implicitly or explicitly indicate the need to obtain slice information in msg1, msg3 or msg5; RAN sends the slice information to the terminal device through dedicated signaling, or broadcasts the slice information.

[0126] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, which is applied to a terminal device, such as Figure 6 As shown, the device includes a transceiver 11 and a processor 12.

[0127] The processor 12 is configured to determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; if the stored slice information is valid, the processor is configured to use the slice information to select or reselect a cell; or

[0128] If the stored slice information is invalid, the transceiver 11 is used to send a first message to the network device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request slice information.

[0129] In this embodiment, the terminal device first determines whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information. If the stored slice information is valid, the cell selection or reselection can be performed directly based on the stored slice information, and the slice information can be obtained quickly, reducing the system information load. There is no need to obtain slice information in each cell, which is conducive to cell selection or reselection. If the stored slice information is invalid, the slice information is obtained again through the network device.

[0130] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0131] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0132] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0133] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0134] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0135] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0136] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0137] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0138] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0139] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0140] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0141] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0142] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0144] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a communication device, which is applied to network equipment, such as Figure 6 As shown, the device includes a transceiver 11 and a processor 12.

[0145] The transceiver 11 is used to receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information; and send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device.

[0146] In some embodiments, the transceiver 11 is further configured to set a valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information, and broadcast the valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0147] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0148] In some embodiments, the transceiver 11 is specifically configured to send the slice information to the terminal device via dedicated signaling or a broadcast system message.

[0149] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a communication device, such as Figure 7 As shown, it includes a memory 21, a processor 22 and a computer program stored in the memory 21 and executable on the processor 22; when the processor 22 executes the program, the communication method described above is implemented.

[0150] In some embodiments, the communication device is applied to a terminal device, and the processor 22 is used to determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; if the stored slice information is valid, use the slice information for cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, send a first message to the network device, and the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates that the terminal device requests slice information.

[0151] In this embodiment, the terminal device first determines whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information. If the stored slice information is valid, the cell selection or reselection can be performed directly based on the stored slice information, and the slice information can be obtained quickly, reducing the system information load. There is no need to obtain slice information in each cell, which is conducive to cell selection or reselection. If the stored slice information is invalid, the slice information is obtained again through the network device.

[0152] In some embodiments, the slice information includes at least one of the following:

[0153] The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices;

[0154] The relationship between access categories and slices;

[0155] The correspondence between slices and frequencies;

[0156] The association between slice identifier and slice index.

[0157] The slice information may be one, several or all of the above information, and may also include other slice information introduced in later protocol versions.

[0158] In some embodiments, the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods:

[0159] Use dedicated random access resources;

[0160] msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number;

[0161] msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List;

[0162] msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

[0163] Among them, the first, second and third methods are implicit indication methods, and the fourth method is an explicit indication method.

[0164] In some embodiments, if there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

[0165] In some embodiments, the first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

[0166] In some embodiments, the communication device is applied to a network device, and the processor 22 is used to receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information; and send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device.

[0167] In some embodiments, the processor 22 is further configured to set a valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information, and broadcast the valid range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or

[0168] Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network.

[0169] In some embodiments, the processor 22 is specifically used to send the slice information to the terminal device via dedicated signaling or a broadcast system message.

[0170] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the steps in the communication method described above are implemented.

[0171] Computer-readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be used to store information by any method or technology. Information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage terminal devices to be detected, or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by the computer terminal devices to be detected. As defined herein, computer-readable media does not include temporary computer-readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0172] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine whether the stored slice information is valid based on the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; If the stored slice information is valid, use the slice information to perform cell selection or reselection; or, if the stored slice information is invalid, send a first message to the network device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request slice information; The slice information includes at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices; The relationship between access categories and slices; The correspondence between slices and frequencies; The association between slice identifier and slice index.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The first message explicitly or implicitly indicates the requested slice information, including at least one of the following methods: Use dedicated random access resources; msg3, which contains the terminal device identifier that carries a random number; msg5, which carries the network slice identifier list S-NSSAI-List; msg3 or msg5, which carries at least one first indication indicating whether slice information is requested.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein: If there are multiple first indications, each first indication corresponds to a type of slice information, and the first indication is used to indicate whether to request the corresponding slice information.

4. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein: The first indication is a bitmap, each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a type of slice information, and each bit is used to indicate whether to request corresponding slice information.

5. A communication method, applied to a network device, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates requesting slice information; Sending the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device; Setting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information and broadcasting the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information; or Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network; The slice information includes at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices; The relationship between access categories and slices; The correspondence between slices and frequencies; The association between slice identifier and slice index. The communication method according to claim 5 , wherein: Sending slice information to the terminal device includes: The slice information is sent to the terminal device through dedicated signaling or broadcast system messages.

7. A communication device, characterized in that: Applied to terminal equipment, the device includes a transceiver and a processor, The processor is configured to determine whether the stored slice information is valid according to the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information broadcast by the network device; If the stored slice information is valid, the processor is configured to use the slice information to perform cell selection or reselection; or If the stored slice information is invalid, the transceiver is configured to send a first message to the network device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly instructs the terminal device to request the slice information; The slice information includes at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices; The relationship between access categories and slices; The correspondence between slices and frequencies; The association between slice identifier and slice index.

8. A communication device, characterized in that: Applied to network equipment, the device includes a transceiver and a processor, The transceiver is configured to receive a first message from a terminal device, where the first message explicitly or implicitly indicates a request for slice information; and send the slice information corresponding to the first message to the terminal device; The transceiver is further configured to set a valid range or mapping area for the slice information, and broadcast the valid range or mapping area for the slice information; or Broadcast the effective range or mapping area of ​​the slice information according to the instructions of the core network; The slice information includes at least one of the following: The mapping relationship between slice groups and slices; The relationship between access categories and slices; The correspondence between slices and frequencies; The association between slice identifier and slice index.

9. A communication device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor; When the processor executes the program, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

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