Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication device. The method includes: a central unit determines a first transmission mode of a first service, where the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint transmission mode; the central unit instructs a distributed unit to use the first transmission mode to transmit a first data packet of the first service. The reliability of the first service data transmission can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Multicast and broadcast service (MBS) is a service for multiple terminal devices, such as live broadcast services, some public security services, bulk software update services, etc.

[0003] MBS services come from a data server. First, the data server sends MBS service data to a core network device, then the core network device sends the MBS service data to an access network device, and the access network device sends the MBS service data to the terminal devices receiving the MBS service.

[0004] When the access network device sends MBS service data to a terminal device, there are two transmission methods: the first transmission method is the point to multi-point (PTM) transmission method, that is, the access network device simultaneously sends MBS service data to multiple terminal devices through group scheduling; the second transmission method is the point to point (PTP) transmission method, that is, the access network device sends the MBS service technology to each terminal device through dedicated scheduling.

[0005] The fifth (5 th generation, 5G) mobile communication system introduces an access network architecture with separation of a centralized unit and a distributed unit. Among them, the access network device includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). How to implement MBS service data transmission under the access network architecture with separation of the centralized unit and the distributed unit is a technical problem that those skilled in the art need to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can improve the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a centralized unit or a module (such as a chip) configured in (or for) the centralized unit. Hereinafter, an example will be given with this method being executed by the centralized unit.

[0008] The method includes: the centralized unit determines a first transmission method for a first service, where the first transmission method is a point-to-point transmission method or a point-to-multipoint transmission method; the centralized unit instructs the distributed unit to use the first transmission method to transmit a first data packet of the first service.

[0009] According to the above solution, after the centralized unit determines the transmission mode of the first service and notifies the distributed unit, the dynamic switching of the transmission mode of the first service can be realized, so as to improve the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0010] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the centralized unit determines the first transmission mode of the first service, including: the centralized unit determines the first transmission mode of the first service according to the first auxiliary information from the terminal device or the second auxiliary information from the core network, where the second auxiliary information includes whether the terminal device is interested in the first service or the location information of the terminal device, and the first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: whether the terminal device is interested in the first service, the location information of the terminal device, the measurement report of the terminal device, and the packet reception status feedback information of the terminal device, where the packet reception status feedback information of the terminal device is used to indicate the reception status of at least one packet of the first service by the terminal device.

[0011] According to the above solution, it can be realized that the CU can dynamically switch the transmission mode of the first service according to the actual situation of the terminal device, and the reliability of the MBS data transmission can be improved. Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the packet reception status feedback information of the terminal device is the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) feedback information.

[0012] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the centralized unit instructs the distributed unit to transmit the first packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode, including: the centralized unit sends the first indication information to the distributed unit, and the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first packet by using the first transmission mode.

[0013] According to the above solution, the CU can determine the transmission mode of the first service according to the actual situation of the terminal device and then notify the DU through the indication information, so as to realize the dynamic switching of the transmission mode of the first service, and the reliability of the MBS data transmission can be improved.

[0014] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode, including: the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first packet to the first terminal device by using the first transmission mode.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first indication information is carried in the packet header corresponding to the data packet of the first service, or the first indication information is carried in the control signaling, where the control signaling is the signaling or control protocol data unit of the first interface, and the first interface is the interface between the centralized unit and the distributed unit.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the centralized unit instructs the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode, including: the centralized unit transmits the first data packet to the distributed unit through the first transmission channel, where when the first transmission mode is the point-to-point transmission mode, the first transmission channel corresponds to one terminal device; when the first transmission mode is the point-to-multipoint transmission mode, the first transmission channel corresponds to multiple terminal devices.

[0017] According to the above solution, the CU can determine the transmission mode of the first service according to the actual situation of the terminal device and then notify the DU of the transmission mode of the corresponding first service through the transmission channel for transmitting the data packet, so as to realize the dynamic switching of the transmission mode of the first service and improve the reliability of MBS data transmission.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first service includes multiple data packets, and the first data packet is at least one of the multiple data packets.

[0019] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a distributed unit or a module (such as a chip) configured in (or for) the distributed unit. Hereinafter, an example will be given with this method being executed by the distributed unit.

[0020] The method includes: the distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode according to the auxiliary information from the terminal device or according to the indication of the centralized unit, where the first transmission mode is the point-to-point transmission mode or the point-to-multipoint transmission mode; the distributed unit transmits the first data packet by using the first transmission mode.

[0021] According to the above solution, after the distributed unit determines the transmission mode of the first service and then notifies the distributed unit, the dynamic switching of the transmission mode of the first service can be realized to improve the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the distributed unit determines to use a first transmission manner to transmit a first data packet of a first service according to auxiliary information from a terminal device or according to an indication of a centralized unit, including: the distributed unit determines whether it has received the indication of the centralized unit; in the case that the distributed unit has received the indication of the centralized unit, the distributed unit determines to use the first transmission manner to transmit the first data packet according to the indication of the centralized unit.

[0023] According to the above solution, it is stipulated that the priority of the transmission manner of the first service determined by the centralized unit is higher than that of the transmission manner of the first service determined by the distributed unit. When the distributed unit receives the indication of the centralized unit, it determines the transmission manner of the first service according to the indication of the centralized unit, which can realize the dynamic switching of the transmission manner of the first service to improve the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the distributed unit determines to use a first transmission manner to transmit a first data packet of a first service according to auxiliary information from a terminal device or according to an indication of a centralized unit, including: the distributed unit determines to use the first transmission manner to transmit the first data packet according to the determination manner with a higher priority among the priority of a first determination manner and the priority of a second determination manner, where the first determination manner is to determine the transmission manner of the first service according to the auxiliary information from the terminal device, and the second determination manner is to determine the transmission manner of the first service according to the indication of the distributed unit.

[0025] According to the above solution, it is stipulated that the priority of the transmission manner of the first service determined by the centralized unit is higher than that of the transmission manner of the first service determined by the distributed unit. When the distributed unit receives the indication of the centralized unit, it determines the transmission manner of the first service according to the indication of the centralized unit, which can realize the dynamic switching of the transmission manner of the first service to improve the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the distributed unit determines to use a first transmission manner to transmit a first data packet of a first service according to an indication of a centralized unit, including: the distributed unit receives first indication information from the centralized unit, and the first indication information is used to indicate the distributed unit to use the first transmission manner to transmit the first data packet.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet using the first transmission method, including: the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet to a first terminal device using the first transmission method.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first indication information is carried in the packet header corresponding to the data packet of the first service, or the first indication information is carried in control signaling, where the control signaling is signaling or a control protocol data unit of a first interface, and the first interface is an interface between the centralized unit and the distributed unit.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet of the first service using the first transmission method according to an indication of the centralized unit, including: the distributed unit receives the first data packet from the distributed unit through a first tunnel; where when the first tunnel is a dedicated tunnel corresponding to a terminal device, the first transmission method is a point-to-point transmission method; when the first tunnel is a shared tunnel corresponding to multiple terminal devices, the first transmission method is a point-to-multipoint transmission method.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first service includes multiple data packets, and the first data packet is at least one of the multiple data packets.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the auxiliary information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following: the channel state information of the terminal device, the beam information of the terminal device, and the location information of the terminal device.

[0032] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) configured in (or for) the terminal device. Hereinafter, an example will be given where this method is executed by the terminal device.

[0033] The method includes: the terminal device receives a data packet of a first service from a network device; in a case where the transmission method of the first service changes, the terminal device sends feedback information on the packet reception status of the terminal device to the network device.

[0034] According to the above solution, the terminal device timely feeds back the reception situation of the data packet, so that the network device can dynamically switch the transmission method of the first service according to the feedback information of the terminal device, or can retransmit the data packet in time when there is packet loss after switching, improving the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0035] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the packet reception status feedback information of the terminal device is packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) feedback information.

[0036] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device receives second indication information from the network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the transmission manner of the first service has changed.

[0037] According to the above solution, the terminal device determines that the transmission manner of the first service has changed according to the indication of the network device, and thus timely feedbacks the reception situation of the packet, so that the packet can be retransmitted in time when there is a packet loss after the handover, improving the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0038] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device determines that the transmission manner of the first service has changed according to a first radio network temporary identity (RNTI), where the first RNTI is a temporary identity adopted by scheduling information corresponding to a packet of the first service, or the terminal device determines that the transmission manner of the packet of the MBS has changed according to a logical channel number, where the logical channel number is carried in a packet header corresponding to the packet of the first service.

[0039] According to the above solution, the terminal device determines that the transmission manner of the first service has changed according to the RNTI, and thus timely feedbacks the reception situation of the packet, so that the packet can be retransmitted in time when there is a packet loss after the handover, improving the reliability of the first service data transmission.

[0040] Fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including various modules or units for executing the methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect.

[0041] Fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the above first aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0042] In one implementation manner, the communication device is a centralized unit. When the communication device is a centralized unit, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0043] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a central unit. When the communication device is a chip configured in a central unit, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0044] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including various modules or units for performing the methods in the second aspect and any possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the above-mentioned second aspect and any possible implementation manners of the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0047] In one implementation, the communication device is a distributed unit. When the communication device is a distributed unit, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0048] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a distributed unit. When the communication device is a chip configured in a distributed unit, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0049] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, including various modules or units for performing the methods in the third aspect and any possible implementation manners of the third aspect.

[0051] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the above-mentioned third aspect and any possible implementation manners of the third aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0052] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device. When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0053] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0054] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0055] In a tenth aspect, a processor is provided, including: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the methods in the first aspect to the third aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0056] In a specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver. The signal output by the output circuit may be output to, for example, but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Moreover, the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, and this circuit is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times respectively. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manners of the processor and various circuits.

[0057] In an eleventh aspect, a processing device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, and may receive a signal through a receiver and transmit a signal through a transmitter to execute the methods in the first aspect to the third aspect and any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0058] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0059] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory is separately arranged from the processor.

[0060] In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or separately arranged on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the memory and the setting manner of the memory and the processor.

[0061] It should be understood that the relevant data interaction process, such as sending an indication message, may be a process of outputting an indication message from the processor, and receiving capability information may be a process of the processor receiving input capability information. Specifically, the data output by the processor may be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor may come from the receiver. Among them, the transmitter and the receiver may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0062] The processing device in the eleventh aspect described above may be one or more chips. The processor in the processing device may be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory. The memory may be integrated in the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0063] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instruction). When the computer program is run, it causes a computer to execute the methods in the first aspect to the third aspect and any possible implementation manners in the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0064] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instruction). When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the methods in the first aspect to the third aspect and any possible implementation manners in the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0065] In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a communication system, which includes the aforementioned central unit and distributed unit, or includes a terminal device and a network device. Optionally, the network device includes a central unit and / or a distributed unit. Description of the Drawings

[0066] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0067] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack of a radio access network device applicable to...;

[0068] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] Figure 5 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0071] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a CU-DU interface tunnel provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0072] Figure 7 is another schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0073] Figure 8 It is a schematic block diagram of an example of the communication device of the present application;

[0074] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of an example of the terminal device of the present application;

[0075] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of an example of the communication device of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0076] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the fifth-generation (5G) communication system, the new radio (NR) access technology, and future communication systems.

[0077] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the wireless communication system 100 applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0078] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 may include at least one access network device, such as Figure 1 the access network device 110 shown. The wireless communication system 100 may further include at least one terminal device, such as Figure 1 the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 shown. The access network device 110 may send MBS service data to the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130, and may use the PTM transmission mode to transmit the MBS service data, or may use the PTP transmission mode to transmit the MBS service data, and may also switch the transmission mode of the MBS service data according to the situation, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0079] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a mobile internet device (MID), 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, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc.

[0080] It should be understood that the specific form of the terminal device is not limited in the present application.

[0081] The network device in the embodiments of this application is a device with wireless transceiver functions. The device includes, but is not limited to: evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission and reception point (TRP or transmission point, TP), etc. It can also be a gNB in a 5G system such as NR, or a transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or it can also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DU), etc. The network device can be an access network device gNB in a 5G (such as new radio (NR)) system, and the gNB can include a CU and a DU. The gNB can also include an active antenna unit (AAU for short). The CU implements some functions of the gNB, and the DU implements some functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC), and the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. For example Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of the protocol stack of the radio access network device provided by this application, but this application is not limited thereto. The AAU can implement some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and related functions of active antennas. Since the information in the RRC layer will ultimately become the information in the PHY layer, or is transformed from the information in the PHY layer, therefore, in this architecture, high-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or sent by the DU + AAU. It can be understood that the access network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, DU node, and AAU node. In addition, the CU can be classified as an access network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU can be classified as an access network device in the core network (CN), and this application does not make any restrictions on this.

[0082] For ease of understanding the embodiments of this application, the following explains some terms in the embodiments of this application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0083] 1) The point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission mode, or it can also be called the group scheduling mode or multicast transmission mode, refers to a transmission mode in which a certain service sends data to multiple terminal devices simultaneously through a network device. When using PTM transmission, for the same data, multiple terminal devices receive it simultaneously during the transmission process of the network device (such as a base station). Currently, PTM is mainly divided into two types: multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network (MBSFN) and single cell point to multipoint service (SC-PTM). Among them, the MBSFN mode means that multiple synchronized cells (such as multiple base stations) in the MBSFN area simultaneously transmit the same information to multiple terminal devices. In the view of the terminal device, the received data is a single superimposed data, which can improve the strength of the received signal and eliminate interference between cells at the same time. The SC-PTM mode means that the MBS service is only transmitted through one cell (such as one base station), and one network device performs group scheduling on multiple terminal devices at the same time.

[0084] 2) Sending using the PTM transmission mode means that when a device sends a transport block (TB) corresponding to a protocol data unit (PDU), it scrambles the PDU using a group radio network temporary identifier (G-RNTI), or scrambles the downlink control information (DCI) corresponding to the PDU, and at the same time one or more devices receive the same PDU according to the same G-RNTI; or transmitting the PDU using the PTM transmission mode may mean telling multiple devices the location of the same PDU in a semi-static manner, and multiple devices can receive the PDU simultaneously; or transmitting the PDU using the PTM transmission mode may mean that the PDU is transmitted in a radio bearer established for multicast transmission or in a channel specifically designed for multicast.

[0085] Receiving using the PTM mode means that when using the PTM transmission mode for sending, one of the multiple receiving devices receives the PDU according to the G-RNTI; or one of the multiple receiving devices receives the PDU through a radio bearer established for multicast transmission or on a channel used for multicast transmission.

[0086] In this application, multicast is a specific form of multi-cast, so multi-cast can also be referred to as multicast.

[0087] 3) Sending using the PTP transmission mode means that when a device sends a TB corresponding to a PDU, it scrambles the PDU using a cell network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), or scrambles the DCI corresponding to the PDU, and at the same time only one device receives the same PDU according to the C-RNTI; or transmitting the PDU using the PTP transmission mode may mean that the PDU is transmitted in a radio bearer established for unicast transmission or in a channel specifically designed for unicast.

[0088] Receiving using the PTP mode means that when using the PTP transmission mode for sending, the one receiving device receives the PDU according to the C-RNTI; or the one device receives through a radio bearer established for unicast transmission or on a channel used for unicast transmission.

[0089] The following details the information transmission method provided by the embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0090] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the multimedia broadcast service (MBS) is taken as an example for illustration. The communication method provided by the present application can also be applied to data transmission of other services, and the present application does not limit this.

[0091] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the present application.

[0092] S310, the CU determines the first transmission mode of the MBS.

[0093] Wherein, the first transmission mode is the transmission mode used by the DU to transmit the MBS data packet, and the first transmission mode is a point-to-point (PTP) transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission mode. That is to say, it is determined by the CU whether the MBS data packet sent by the DU to the terminal device adopts the PTM transmission mode or the PTP transmission mode.

[0094] Optionally, the CU determines the first transmission mode according to the first auxiliary information from the terminal device. The first auxiliary information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following items 1 to 5:

[0095] 1. The measurement report of the terminal device

[0096] For example, the measurement report of the terminal device includes channel state information (CSI). The terminal device measures the reference signal sent by the access network device to obtain the CSI and feeds it back to the access network device. The CU can determine the transmission mode used when sending the MBS data packet according to the CSI fed back by the M terminal devices that need to receive the MBS data packet. For example, when the CSI fed back by N of the M terminal devices indicates that the channel quality is good (for example, the channel quality is good when the CSI is higher than a preset threshold, but the present application is not limited to this), the CU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packet to the N terminal devices to save air interface resources, where 0 ≤ N ≤ M. When the CSI fed back by L of the M terminal devices indicates that the channel quality is poor, in order to ensure the reliability of the transmission, the CU can decide to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packet to the L terminal devices respectively, where 0 ≤ L ≤ M, but the present application is not limited to this.

[0097] 2. The beam information of the terminal device

[0098] For example, the terminal device sends beam information of the terminal device to the access network device. Specifically, it can be the information of the receiving beam of the terminal device. The CU can obtain the beam information reported by M terminal devices that need to receive MBS data packets. Among them, the receiving beams of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices can be covered by a downlink beam. The CU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the N terminal devices to save radio resources. When L terminal devices among the M terminal devices cannot be covered by a common downlink beam with other terminal devices, the CU can determine to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the L terminal devices respectively to improve the reliability of the MBS, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0099] 3. Location information of the terminal device

[0100] For example, the CU divides regions according to the location information of multiple terminal devices. The CU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to multiple terminal devices in the same region. When only one terminal device is included in a certain region, the CU can determine to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the terminal device, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0101] For another example, the CU can use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the terminal device at the cell edge to improve the reliability of the MBS, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0102] 4. Indication information A from the terminal device, and the indication information A is used to indicate whether the terminal device wants to receive the MBS data packet.

[0103] Or rather, the indication information A is used to indicate whether the terminal device is interested in the MBS service. If the indication information A indicates that the terminal device is interested in the MBS, it means that the terminal device hopes to receive the MBS data packet. If the indication information A indicates that the terminal device is not interested in the MBS, it means that the terminal device does not hope to receive the MBS data packet.

[0104] For example, the terminal device sends indication information A to the access network device. After the CU obtains the indication information A of the terminal device, it determines the transmission mode for sending MBS according to whether the terminal device will receive the data packets of the MBS. For example, when multiple terminal devices indicate that they wish to receive the data packets of the MBS, the CU may determine to use the PTM transmission mode (i.e., the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the data packets of the MBS to the multiple terminal devices. For example, when only one terminal device within the coverage area indicates that it will receive the data packets of the MBS, it may be determined to use the PTP transmission mode (i.e., the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the data packets of the MBS to the terminal device, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0105] 5. The third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate whether the data packets of the MBS sent by the access network device have been successfully received. This third indication information may also be referred to as data packet reception status feedback information.

[0106] For example, the terminal device may send to the CU whether it has successfully received the data packets of the MBS sent by the access network device (for example, sent by the DU in the access network). When the terminal device indicates that it has not successfully received a certain data packet, the data packet may be resent to the terminal device using the PTP transmission mode (i.e., the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode). Alternatively, when the CU determines that the number of data packets of the MBS not successfully received by the terminal device is greater than or equal to a certain preset threshold based on the third indication information, the CU may determine to use the PTP transmission mode to transmit the subsequent MBS data packets to be transmitted, so as to improve the reliability of MBS data packet transmission, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0107] Optionally, the third indication information may be carried in the status report of the PDCP sent by the terminal device.

[0108] Optionally, the first auxiliary information is RRC layer information or PDCP layer information.

[0109] For example, the first auxiliary information includes the CSI of the terminal device, and the CSI of the terminal device may be the CSI obtained by the RRC layer in the CU. For another example, the first auxiliary information includes the location information of the terminal device, and the location information of the terminal device may be the location information of the terminal device obtained by the RRC layer.

[0110] The first auxiliary information may include, but is not limited to, multiple items among the above 1 to 6. For example, the first reference information includes the CSI of the terminal device and the location information of the terminal device. When a certain area divided by the CU according to the location information of the terminal device contains multiple terminal devices, and the CSI fed back by one of the multiple terminal devices (such as terminal device A) indicates that the channel quality of the terminal device A is poor, the CU may determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the data packet of the MBS to other terminal devices except the terminal device A among the multiple terminal devices, and use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the data packet of the MBS to the terminal device A, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0111] For another example, the first reference information includes the CSI of the terminal device, the beam information of the terminal device, and the third indication information from the terminal device. The CU determines that the terminal device B and other terminal devices are within the coverage range of the same downlink beam according to the beam information of the terminal device, and can use the PTM transmission mode to send the data packet of the MBS to the terminal device B and other terminal devices through the downlink beam. When the CSI fed back by the terminal device B indicates that the channel quality of the terminal device B is poor and the CU determines through the third indication information that the number of data packets not successfully received by the terminal device B is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the CU determines to use the PTM transmission mode to send the subsequent data packet of the MBS to the terminal device B, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0112] Optionally, the CU determines the first transmission mode of the MBS according to the second auxiliary information from the core network. The second auxiliary information includes whether the terminal device is interested in the MBS or the location information of the terminal device.

[0113] In one implementation, the terminal device reports the location information of the terminal and the indication information indicating whether the terminal is interested in the MBS service to the core network device. Therefore, the core network has a better understanding of the situation of the terminal device. Therefore, the core network can send the above two pieces of information to the CU as auxiliary information for the CU to refer to when making a decision; or optionally, after the core network makes a decision on the transmission mode of the DU to transmit the MBS data packet based on the above information, it can send the decision result to the CU.

[0114] S320, the CU sends the first indication information to the DU, and the first indication information is used to instruct the DU to use the first transmission mode to send the data packet of the MBS.

[0115] Correspondingly, the DU receives the first indication information from the CU.

[0116] After the CU determines the transmission mode for sending the MBS data packet in S310, in S320, the CU notifies the DU to send the MBS data packet using the first transmission mode through the first indication information.

[0117] Optionally, the first indication information includes an identifier of the first transmission mode.

[0118] Optionally, the first indication information further includes first information, which is used to indicate one or more terminal devices that receive the MBS data packet.

[0119] That is to say, the first indication information is specifically used to instruct the DU to send the MBS data packet to the one or more terminal devices using the first transmission mode. Since there are multiple terminal devices receiving the MBS service, the CU can instruct the DU to use the first transmission mode to send the MBS data packet to some of the multiple terminal devices, and use other transmission modes to send the MBS data packet to other terminal devices.

[0120] In one implementation, the first information includes identifiers of the one or more terminal devices (or includes indexes, numbers, etc. used to indicate terminal devices).

[0121] For example, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode, that is, the first indication information includes an identifier of the PTP transmission mode. The DU determines to send the MBS data packet using the PTP transmission mode according to the identifier of the PTP transmission mode, and the first information in the first indication information can include identifiers of M terminal devices. Combining with the identifier of the PTP transmission mode, the CU instructs the DU to use the PTP transmission mode to send the MBS data packet to the M terminal devices respectively, where M≥1, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0122] For another example, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode, that is, the first indication information includes an identifier of the PTM transmission mode. The DU determines to send the MBS data packet using the PTM transmission mode according to the identifier of the PTM transmission mode, and the first information in the first indication information can include identifiers of N terminal devices. Combining with the identifier of the PTM transmission mode, the CU instructs the DU to use the PTM transmission mode to send the MBS data packet to the N terminal devices respectively, where N≥1, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0123] In another implementation, the first information is a bit string (or called a bitmap). Among them, each bit in the bit string corresponds to a terminal device.

[0124] For example, the first indication information includes an identifier of the PTP transmission mode. One or more bit positions in the bit string of the first information being "1" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the one or more bit positions set to "1" using the PTP transmission mode. Alternatively, a bit position of "0" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position set to "0" using the PTP transmission mode, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0125] For another example, the first indication information includes an identifier of the PTM transmission mode. One or more bit positions in the bit string of the first information being "1" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the one or more bit positions set to "1" using the PTM transmission mode. Alternatively, a bit position of "0" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position set to "0" using the PTM transmission mode, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0126] For another example, the first information in the first indication information is used to indicate both the transmission mode and the terminal device corresponding to the transmission mode. For example, the bit string of the first information contains 16 bits, and each bit corresponds to a terminal device. Specifically, a bit position of "1" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position using the PTP transmission mode, and a bit position of "0" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position using the PTM transmission mode. Or vice versa, a bit position of "0" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position using the PTP transmission mode, and a bit position of "1" indicates that the data packet of the MBS is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the bit position using the PTM transmission mode. For example, the 16-bit bit string in the first indication information sent from the CU to the DU is "11000000 0000 0000". The first and second bit positions in the bit string being "1" indicates that the terminal devices corresponding to the first two bit positions use the PTP transmission mode, and the terminal devices corresponding to the other bit positions use the PTM transmission mode, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0127] Optionally, the first indication information further includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate one or more data packets of the MBS. The first indication information is specifically used to indicate that the one or more data packets are sent using the first transmission mode.

[0128] In one implementation, the second information indicates the number (index) (or referred to as identity (ID) or sequence number (SN)) of a data packet of the MBS and the number K of data packets, indicating that starting from the data packet corresponding to the number indicated by the second information, K consecutive data packets are sent using the first transmission mode.

[0129] For example, the second piece of information indicates that the packet numbered 10 in the MBS data packets, and indicates that the number of data packets is K = 20, which means that the CU instructs the DU to use the first transmission method to send 10 consecutive data packets starting from the packet numbered 10. The DU determines the data packets to be sent using the first transmission method according to the first piece of indication information, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0130] In another implementation manner, the second piece of information indicates the numbers of two MBS data packets, where one of the numbers of the two MBS data packets is the number of the starting packet among the data packets sent using the first transmission method, and the other is the number of the terminating packet among the data packets sent using the first transmission method.

[0131] For example, the second piece of information indicates the packet numbered 25 and the packet numbered 50 in the MBS data packets, which means that the CU instructs the DU to use the first transmission method to send the data packets numbered from 25 to 50 in the MBS data packets. In a specific implementation, it can be specified whether the data packets sent using the first transmission method include the data packets corresponding to the numbers indicated by the second piece of information, and the present application does not limit this.

[0132] Optionally, the first piece of indication information can be transmitted through the F1 interface between the CU and the DU. Optionally, the F1 interface can be a control plane interface, that is, F1-C, or the F1 interface can be a user plane interface, that is, F1-U.

[0133] In one implementation manner, the first piece of indication information can be carried in the packet header of the MBS data packet.

[0134] For example, the packet header of the MBS data packet includes a bit field carrying the first piece of indication information. After receiving the MBS data packet from the CU, the DU determines the transmission method used to send the data packet according to the first piece of indication information in the packet header. Optionally, the first piece of indication information includes the first piece of information, and the first piece of information indicates one or more terminal devices. The DU determines to use the first transmission method to send the data packet to the one or more terminal devices according to the first piece of information. Optionally, the first piece of indication information includes the second piece of information, and the DU determines multiple MBS data packets to be sent using the first transmission according to the second piece of information, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0135] In another implementation manner, the first piece of indication information can be carried in the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunnelling protocol user plane (GTP-U) packet header corresponding to the MBS data packet or the packet header of the tunnel protocol data packet on the F1 interface. After receiving the data packet, the DU can determine which transmission method to use to transmit the data packet according to the indication information in the above-mentioned packet header corresponding to the data packet.

[0136] In another implementation manner, the first indication information may be carried in a dedicated data packet or interface control signaling between the CU and the DU. The dedicated data packet is used to carry the indication information and may be a control protocol data unit (PDU). Additionally, the interface control signaling may be F1-U signaling or F1-C signaling.

[0137] Optionally, the MBS data packet is transmitted from the CU to the DU through the F1-U interface shared by multiple terminal devices. For example Figure 4 In the shown network architecture, in this illustration, it is assumed that there are two RLC entities responsible for data packets transmitted using the PTP transmission mode and the PTM transmission mode respectively. When the DU decides to transmit a data packet using the PTP transmission mode, the data packet is placed in the corresponding RLC entity of the PTP transmission mode, and vice versa for the PTM transmission mode.

[0138] Optionally, the network architecture applicable to this application may also be that one RLC entity is responsible for transmitting data packets using both the PTP transmission mode and the PTM transmission mode. When the DU decides to transmit data packets using PTP, the data packets in the RLC entity are transmitted to the terminal device using the PTP transmission mode, and vice versa for the PTM transmission mode.

[0139] After receiving the first indication information from the CU, the DU determines to send the MBS data packet using the first transmission mode and executes S330.

[0140] S330, the DU sends the MBS data packet using the first transmission mode.

[0141] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the MBS data packet. When the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode, the DU sends the MBS data packet to each target terminal device respectively, and the target terminal device receives the MBS data packet sent by the DU to the target terminal device. The target terminal device refers to the terminal device that receives the MBS data packet corresponding to the PTP transmission mode. When the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode, the DU sends the MBS data packet, and multiple target terminal devices receive the MBS data packet. The multiple target terminals refer to the multiple terminal devices that receive the MBS data packet corresponding to the PTM transmission mode.

[0142] Optionally, the terminal device sends third indication information to the access network device. The third indication information is used to indicate whether the MBS data packet has been successfully received or not. The third indication information may also be referred to as data packet reception status feedback information.

[0143] For example, the terminal device receives a data packet from the DU in S330. When the terminal device successfully receives the data packet of the MBS (for example, after receiving the data packet, it successfully decodes the data packet to obtain the data therein, but this application is not limited thereto), the third indication information sent by the terminal device to the access network device indicates successful reception of the data packet of the MBS; when the terminal device fails to successfully receive the data packet of the MBS (for example, after receiving the data packet, it fails to successfully decode the data packet and cannot obtain the data therein, but this application is not limited thereto), the third indication information sent by the terminal device to the access network device indicates unsuccessful reception of the data packet of the MBS.

[0144] As an example and not limitation, the third indication information is carried in the PDCP status report, or the third indication information is carried in the RLC status report.

[0145] Optionally, when learning that the transmission mode of the data packet of the MBS has changed, the terminal device sends the third indication information to the access network device.

[0146] In one implementation, the network device sends second indication information to the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the data transmission mode of the MBS has changed.

[0147] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information from the network device and determines that the data transmission mode of the MBS has changed according to the second indication information.

[0148] Optionally, the second indication information may be an RRC message (such as an RRC reconfiguration message), a media access control control element (MAC CE), downlink control information (DCI), a PDCP control PDU, or an RLC control PDU.

[0149] In another implementation, the terminal device determines whether the transmission mode of the data packet of the MBS has changed according to the first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). The first RNTI is used to schedule the data packet of the first service. Specifically, the first RNTI is the RNTI used to scramble the scheduling information corresponding to the data packet of the MBS. The DU uses the first RNTI to scramble the scheduling information corresponding to the data packet of the MBS. Correspondingly, the terminal device descrambles the data of the MBS by using the first RNTI to obtain the scheduling information.

[0150] For example, the terminal device receives the data packet of the MBS from the DU in S330, and the DU scrambles the scheduling information corresponding to the data packet with the first RNTI. The terminal device compares the first RNTI with the second RNTI, where the second RNTI is the RNTI used for the scheduling information corresponding to the previously received data packet of the MBS. When the first RNTI is different from the second RNTI, it indicates that the transmission mode of the data packet of the MBS has changed. Or, the terminal device descrambles the scheduling information with different RNTIs. If the descrambling is successful, the RNTI used for the current scheduling information can be determined. Based on this RNTI, the transmission mode used for the current data packet can be determined, and further whether the transmission mode has changed can be determined. For example, when the DU uses the PTP transmission mode, the RNTI used for the scheduling information corresponding to the MBS data packet is the cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) of the terminal device. When the DU uses the PTM transmission mode, the RNTI used for the scheduling information corresponding to the MBS data packet is the common RNTI. When the scheduling information of the MBS data packet received by the terminal device uses the C-RNTI and the scheduling information of the previously received MBS data uses the common RNTI, the terminal device determines that the transmission mode of the MBS data packet has changed, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0151] Optionally, in the case where the terminal device determines that it has not successfully received the data packet of the MBS, the third indication information is sent, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the data packet of the MBS has not been successfully received.

[0152] Optionally, the third indication information includes the index (or SN, or ID) of the data packet of the MBS that has not been successfully received, or includes the index (or SN, or ID) of the data packet of the MBS that has been successfully received.

[0153] For example, when the terminal device determines that it has received the data packets numbered 1 and 3 of the MBS but has not received the data packet numbered 2, the terminal device determines that it has not successfully received the data packet numbered 2 of the MBS. At this time, the terminal device can send the third indication information, or the terminal first starts a timer. After the timer expires, if the data packet numbered 2 has not been received yet, the third indication information is sent. The third indication information includes the number 2 of the data packet, indicating that the terminal device has not successfully received the MBS data packet numbered 2. Or the third indication information includes the numbers 1 and 3, indicating that the terminal device has successfully received the MBS data packets numbered 1 and 3. When the network device receives the third indication information, it can determine that the terminal device has successfully received the MBS data packets numbered 1 and 3 but has not successfully received the MBS data packet numbered 2.

[0154] Optionally, the terminal device cannot trigger feedback within a first time interval after sending the third indication information, so as to prevent frequent feedback sending and cause resource waste.

[0155] For example, after sending the third indication information, the terminal device starts a timer (or called a timer) or a counter, and the running time of the timer or the counter is the first time interval. During the running of the timer or the counter, the terminal device cannot send the third indication information to the network device, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0156] According to the above solution, the CU can dynamically switch the transmission mode of the MBS data packet according to the actual situation of the terminal device, and the reliability of the MBS data transmission can be improved.

[0157] Figure 5 It is another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by this application.

[0158] It should be noted that Figure 5 In the embodiments shown in Figure 3 For the same or similar parts in the embodiments shown in Figure 3 In the case of no separate definition or description, reference can be made to the description in the embodiments. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0159] S510, the CU determines a first transmission mode of the MBS, and the first transmission mode is the transmission mode used by the DU to send the MBS data packet to the terminal device.

[0160] Among them, the first transmission mode is a point-to-point PTP transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint PTM transmission mode. That is to say, the CU decides whether to use the PTM transmission mode or the PTP transmission mode for the MBS data packet sent to the terminal device.

[0161] Optionally, the CU determines the first transmission mode according to the above first auxiliary information or the above second auxiliary information.

[0162] S520, the CU sends the MBS data to the DU through the first transmission channel.

[0163] Correspondingly, the DU receives the MBS data from the CU through the first transmission channel.

[0164] Among them, the first transmission channel is a transmission channel established between the CU and the DU, and can also be called a first tunnel. When the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode, the first tunnel corresponds to one terminal device. For example, the first transmission channel can be called a dedicated tunnel corresponding to the one terminal device; when the first transmission mode is a point-to-multipoint transmission mode, the first tunnel corresponds to multiple terminal devices. For example, the first transmission channel can be called a shared tunnel corresponding to the multiple terminal devices.

[0165] As shown Figure 6 in the interface between the CU and the DU, a dedicated PTP tunnel corresponding to each terminal device is established, and a shared tunnel corresponding to multiple terminal devices is established. When the CU determines that the DU uses the PTP transmission method to send MBS data packets to terminal device A, the CU sends the MBS data to the DU through the dedicated PTP tunnel corresponding to terminal device A in S520 (i.e., the first tunnel is a dedicated PTP tunnel); when the CU determines that the DU uses the PTM transmission method to send MBS data packets to multiple terminal devices, the CU sends the MBS data to the DU through the shared tunnel in S520 (i.e., the first tunnel is a shared tunnel). Correspondingly, in S520, if the DU receives the MBS data packet from the CU in the dedicated PTP tunnel corresponding to terminal device A, the DU determines that the MBS data received through the dedicated PTP tunnel needs to be sent to terminal device A using the PTP transmission method. Specifically, the DU can form the MBS data received from the dedicated PTP tunnel into an MBS data packet and send it to terminal device A using the PTP transmission method); if the DU receives the MBS data from the CU in the PTM shared tunnel, the DU determines that the MBS data received through the PTM shared tunnel needs to be sent out using the PTM transmission method. Specifically, the DU can form the MBS data received from the PTM shared tunnel into an MBS data packet and send it out using the PTM method.

[0166] S530, the DU uses the first transmission method to send the MBS data packet to the terminal device. It should be noted that Figure 7 the two RLC entities in can also be replaced by the same RLC entity. In this case, the data packets from the PTP tunnel and the shared tunnel will be placed in the same RLC entity, and the DU will then determine the specific transmission method used for the data packets in the RLC entity.

[0167] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the MBS data packet from the DU. The specific implementation of S530 can refer to Figure 3 the description of S330 in, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be elaborated here.

[0168] According to the above solution, after the CU determines the transmission method used by the DU to send MBS data packets to the terminal device according to the actual situation of the terminal device, the data packets are transmitted to the DU through the transmission channel corresponding to the determined transmission method. The DU can determine the transmission method used when sending MBS data to the terminal device through the transmission channel, which can realize the dynamic switching of the transmission method of MBS data packets by the access network according to the actual situation of the terminal device and improve the reliability of MBS data transmission.

[0169] Optionally, Figure 3Embodiments and Figure 5 The embodiments can be implemented in combination with each other. For example, after the CU determines the first transmission mode of the MBS, it sends the first indication information and the data of the MBS to the DU through the first transmission channel, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0170] Figure 7 Another schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0171] It should be noted that Figure 7 In the embodiments shown and Figure 3 In the embodiments shown, for the same or similar parts, without further definition or explanation, reference can be made to Figure 3 The description in the embodiments. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0172] S710, the DU determines the first transmission mode of the MBS.

[0173] Wherein, the first transmission mode is a point-to-point (PTP) transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission mode. That is to say, the DU decides whether to use the PTM transmission mode or the PTP transmission mode for the MBS data packet sent to the terminal device.

[0174] Optionally, the DU determines the first transmission mode according to the auxiliary information. The auxiliary information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0175] 1. The measurement report of the terminal device

[0176] For example, the measurement report of the terminal device includes channel state information (CSI). The terminal device measures the reference signal sent by the access network device to obtain the CSI and feeds it back to the access network device. The DU can determine the transmission mode used when sending the MBS data packet according to the CSI fed back by the M terminal devices that need to receive the MBS data packet. For example, when the CSI fed back by N of the M terminal devices indicates that the channel quality is good (for example, the channel quality is good can be that the CSI is higher than a preset threshold, but the present application is not limited thereto), the DU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packet to the N terminal devices to save air interface resources, where 0 ≤ N ≤ M. When the CSI fed back by L of the M terminal devices indicates that the channel quality is poor, in order to ensure the reliability of the transmission, the DU can decide to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packet to the L terminal devices respectively, where 0 ≤ L ≤ M, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0177] 2. The beam information of the terminal device

[0178] For example, the terminal device sends the beam information of the terminal device to the access network device. Specifically, it can be the information of the receiving beam of the terminal device. The DU can obtain the beam information reported by M terminal devices that need to receive MBS data packets. Among them, the receiving beams of N terminal devices among the M terminal devices can be covered by a downlink beam. The DU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the N terminal devices to save radio resources. When L terminal devices among the M terminal devices cannot be covered by a common downlink beam with other terminal devices, the DU can determine to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the L terminal devices respectively to improve the reliability of the MBS. However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0179] 3. Location information of the terminal device

[0180] For example, the DU divides the area according to the location information of multiple terminal devices. The DU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to multiple terminal devices in the same area. When only one terminal device is included in a certain area, the DU can determine to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the terminal device. However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0181] For another example, the DU can use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the MBS data packets to the terminal device at the cell edge to improve the reliability of the MBS. However, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0182] 4. Indication information B from the terminal device, and the indication information B is used to indicate whether the terminal device wants to receive the MBS data packets.

[0183] Or rather, the indication information B is used to indicate whether the terminal device is interested in the MBS service. If the indication information A indicates that the terminal device is interested in the MBS, it means that the terminal device hopes to receive the MBS data packets. If the indication information A indicates that the terminal device is not interested in the MBS, it means that the terminal device does not hope to receive the MBS data packets.

[0184] For example, the terminal device sends indication information B to the access network device. After the DU obtains the indication information B of the terminal device, it determines the transmission mode for sending the MBS according to whether the terminal device will receive the data packet of the MBS. For example, when multiple terminal devices indicate that they hope to receive the data packet of the MBS, the DU can determine to use the PTM transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTM transmission mode) to send the data packet of the MBS to the multiple terminal devices. For example, when only one terminal device within the coverage area indicates that it will receive the data packet of the MBS, it can be determined to use the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) to send the data packet of the MBS to the terminal device, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0185] 5. The third indication information from the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate whether the data packet of the MBS sent by the access network device has been successfully received. This third indication information can also be referred to as data packet reception status feedback information.

[0186] For example, the terminal device can send to the DU whether it has successfully received the data packet of the MBS sent by the access network device (for example, the DU in the access network has sent). When the terminal device indicates that it has not successfully received a certain data packet, the PTP transmission mode (that is, the first transmission mode is the PTP transmission mode) can be used to re - send the data packet to the terminal device. Or, when the DU determines that the number of data packets of the MBS that the terminal device has not successfully received is greater than or equal to a certain preset threshold according to the third indication information, the DU can determine to use the PTP transmission mode to transmit the subsequent MBS data packets to be transmitted to improve the reliability of MBS data packet transmission, but this application is not limited thereto.

[0187] Optionally, the third indication information can be carried in the status report of the RLC sent by the terminal device.

[0188] Optionally, the DU can determine the first transmission mode of the MBS according to the auxiliary information from the core network. The auxiliary information includes whether the terminal device is interested in the MBS or the location information of the terminal device.

[0189] In one implementation, the terminal device reports the location information of the terminal and the indication information of whether the terminal is interested in the MBS service to the core network device. Therefore, the core network has a better understanding of the situation of the terminal device. Therefore, the core network can send the above two pieces of information as auxiliary information to the DU for reference when the DU makes a decision; or optionally, after the core network makes a decision on the transmission mode of the DU to transmit the MBS data packet based on the above information, it can send the decision result to the DU.

[0190] Optionally, the auxiliary information is information of the RLC layer or a protocol layer below the RLC layer.

[0191] For example, the auxiliary information includes the CSI of the terminal device, and the CSI of the terminal device can be the CSI obtained by the physical layer in the DU.

[0192] S720. The DU uses this first transmission method to send the data packet of the MBS.

[0193] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the data packet of the MBS from the DU. When the first transmission method is the PTP transmission method, the DU sends the data packet of the MBS to each target terminal device respectively, and the target terminal device receives the data packet of the MBS sent by the DU to the target terminal device. The target terminal device refers to the terminal device that receives the data packet of the MBS corresponding to this PTP transmission method. When the first transmission method is the PTM transmission method, the DU sends the data packet of the MBS, and multiple target terminal devices receive the data packet of the MBS. The multiple target terminals refer to the multiple terminal devices that receive the data packet of the MBS corresponding to this PTM transmission method.

[0194] Optionally, the terminal device sends third indication information to the access network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate whether the data packet of the MBS is successfully received or not successfully received.

[0195] In one implementation, when the transmission method of the data packet of the MBS changes, the terminal device sends the third indication information to the access network device.

[0196] In another implementation, when the terminal device determines that it has not successfully received the data packet of the MBS, it sends the third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the data packet of the MBS has not been successfully received. Among them, the third indication information can be called data packet reception status feedback information.

[0197] Optionally, the third indication information includes the number index (or SN, or ID) of the data packet of the MBS that has not been successfully received, or includes the number index (or SN, or ID) of the data packet of the MBS that has been successfully received.

[0198] Optionally, the terminal device cannot trigger feedback within the first time interval after sending the third indication information.

[0199] According to the above solution, it can be realized that the DU can dynamically switch the transmission method of the MBS data packet according to the actual situation of the terminal device, and the reliability of the MBS data transmission can be improved.

[0200] The above Figure 3 shown embodiments can be combined with Figure 5 the shown embodiments for implementation.

[0201] For example, before the DU sends the data packet of the MBS, it determines whether it has received an indication from the CU. If it has received an indication from the CU, the DU determines the transmission mode for transmitting the data packet of the MBS according to the indication of the CU. Herein, the indication of the CU refers to the transmission mode for transmitting the data packet of the MBS indicated by the CU to the DU. For example, if the CU instructs the DU to use the first transmission mode to transmit the data packet of the MBS, the DU transmits the data packet of the MBS using the first transmission mode according to the indication of the CU, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0202] For another example, the DU compares the priority of the first determination method and the priority of the second determination method, and the DU determines the transmission mode for transmitting the data packet of the MBS according to the determination method with the higher priority. Herein, the first determination method is that the DU determines the transmission mode of the MBS according to the auxiliary information from the terminal device, and the second determination method is that the DU determines the transmission mode of the MBS according to the indication of the CU. When the priority of the first determination method is higher than the priority of the second determination method, the DU determines the transmission mode of the MBS according to the auxiliary information from the terminal device. When the priority of the first determination method is lower than the priority of the second determination method, the DU determines the transmission mode of the MBS according to the indication of the CU.

[0203] According to the above solution, it is possible to implement the access network to dynamically switch the transmission mode of the MBS data packet according to the actual situation of the terminal device, and improve the reliability of the MBS data transmission.

[0204] Above, in combination with Figures 2 to 7 The method provided in the embodiment of the present application has been described in detail. Hereinafter, in combination with Figures 8 to 10 The device provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail.

[0205] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 8 shown, the communication device 600 may include a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820.

[0206] In a possible design, the communication device 800 may correspond to the CU in the above method embodiment, or be configured in (or used for) a chip in the CU.

[0207] It should be understood that the communication device 800 may correspond to the CU in the methods 300 and 500 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 800 may include units for executing Figure 3 , Figure 5 The methods executed by the CU in the methods 300 and 500. And, each unit in the communication device 800 and the above other operations and / or functions respectively are for implementing Figure 3 , Figure 5 The corresponding processes of the methods 300 and 500 in.

[0208] It should also be understood that when the communication device 800 is a chip configured in (or for) the CU, the transceiver unit 800 in the communication device 800 may be an input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 810 in the communication device 800 may be a processor in the chip.

[0209] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a processing unit 810, which may be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0210] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage unit 830, which may be used to store instructions or data. The processing unit 810 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit so that the communication device implements corresponding operations. The transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 may correspond to Figure 10 the transceiver 1020 in the communication device 1000 (CU device) shown in Figure 10 and the storage unit 830 may correspond to the memory 1030 in the CU device 1000 shown in

[0211] It should be understood that the specific processes for each unit to execute the above corresponding steps have been described in detail in the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0212] It should also be understood that when the communication device 800 is a CU, the transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 may be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input / output interface), for example, it may correspond to Figure 10 the transceiver 1020 in the communication device 1000 (i.e., the CU device) shown in

[0213] In another possible design, the communication device 800 may correspond to the DU in the above method embodiments, or be a chip configured in (or for) the DU.

[0214] It should be understood that the communication device 800 may correspond to the DU in methods 300, 500, and 700 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 800 may include units for executing Figure 3 , Figure 5 , Figure 7 the methods executed by the DU in methods 300, 500, and 700. And each unit in the communication device 800 and the above other operations and / or functions are respectively for implementing Figure 3 , Figure 5 , Figure 7 the corresponding processes of methods 300, 500, and 700 in

[0215] It should also be understood that when the communication device 800 is a chip configured in (or for) the DU, the transceiver unit 800 in the communication device 800 may be an input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 810 in the communication device 800 may be a processor in the chip.

[0216] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a processing unit 810, which may be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0217] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage unit 830, which may be used to store instructions or data. The processing unit 810 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit so that the communication device implements corresponding operations. The transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 may correspond to Figure 10 the transceiver 1020 in the communication device 1000 (i.e., the DU device) shown in Figure 10 and the storage unit 830 may correspond to the memory 1030 in the DU device 1000 shown in

[0218] It should be understood that the specific processes for each unit to execute the above corresponding steps have been described in detail in the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0219] It should also be understood that when the communication device 800 is a DU, the transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 may be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input / output interface), for example, it may correspond to Figure 10 the transceiver 1020 in the communication device 1000 (i.e., the DU device) shown in

[0220] In another possible design, the communication device 800 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a chip configured in (or for) the terminal device.

[0221] It should be understood that the communication device 800 may correspond to the terminal device in the methods 300, 500, and 700 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 800 may include units for executing Figure 3 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 7 the methods executed by the DU in the methods 300, 500, and 700. Moreover, each unit in the communication device 600 and the above other operations and / or functions respectively are for implementing Figure 3 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 7 the corresponding processes of the methods 300, 500, and 700 in

[0222] It should also be understood that when the communication device 600 is a chip configured in (or used in) the CU, the transceiver unit 800 in the communication device 800 can be the input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 810 in the communication device 800 can be the processor in the chip.

[0223] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a processing unit 810, which can be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0224] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a storage unit 830, which can be used to store instructions or data. The processing unit 810 can execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication device to implement corresponding operations. The transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 in the communication device 600 can correspond to Figure 9 the transceiver 1610 in the terminal device 1600 shown in Figure 9 and the storage unit 830 can correspond to the memory in the terminal device 1600 shown in

[0225] It should be understood that the specific processes of each unit executing the above corresponding steps have been described in detail in the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0226] It should also be understood that when the communication device 800 is a terminal device, the transceiver unit 820 in the communication device 800 can be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input / output interface), for example, it can correspond to Figure 9 the transceiver 1020 in the communication device 1600 shown in

[0227] Figure 9 is a schematic structural diagram of the terminal device 1600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1600 can be applied to a system as shown in Figure 1 and execute the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. As shown in the figure, the terminal device 1600 includes a processor 1620 and a transceiver 1610. Optionally, the terminal device 1600 further includes a memory. Among them, the processor 1620, the transceiver 1610, and the memory can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor 1620 is used to execute the computer program in the memory to control the transceiver 1610 to transmit and receive signals.

[0228] The above-mentioned processor 1620 and the memory can be integrated into a processing device. The processor 1620 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory to implement the above functions. Specifically, in implementation, the memory can also be integrated into the processor 1620 or be independent of the processor 1620. The processor 1620 can correspond to Figure 6 the processing unit in

[0229] The above-mentioned transceiver 1610 can correspond to Figure 6 the transceiver unit in. The transceiver 1610 can include a receiver (or called a receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or called a transmitter, transmitting circuit). Among them, the receiver is used to receive signals, and the transmitter is used to transmit signals.

[0230] Optionally, the above-mentioned terminal device 1600 can further include a power supply for supplying power to various components or circuits in the terminal device.

[0231] In addition, in order to make the functions of the terminal device more complete, the terminal device 1600 can further include one or more of an input unit, a display unit, an audio circuit, a camera, and sensors, etc. The audio circuit can further include a speaker, a microphone, etc.

[0232] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1000 can be applied to a system as shown in Figure 1 and execute the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment. For example, it can be a schematic diagram of the relevant structure of the network device.

[0233] It should be understood that Figure 10 the communication device 1000 shown can implement each process related to the CU device or the DU device in the above method embodiment. The operations and / or functions of each module in the communication device 1000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0234] An embodiment of the present application also provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method in any one of the above method embodiments.

[0235] It should be understood that the above processing device may be one or more chips. For example, the processing device may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a micro controller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0236] In the implementation process, the steps of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by the hardware processor, or executed by the combination of the hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read only memory, a programmable read only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0237] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiments may be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or completed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. This storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

[0238] It can be understood that the memory 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 but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0239] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by one or more processors, it causes the device including the processor to execute Figure 2 the method in the illustrated embodiment.

[0240] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores program code, when the program code runs on one or more processors, it causes the device including the processor to execute Figure 2 the method in the illustrated embodiment.

[0241] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a system, which includes one or more of the aforementioned network devices. The system may further include one or more of the aforementioned terminal devices.

[0242] The network devices in each of the above device embodiments correspond exactly to the network devices or terminal devices in the method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are executed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or sending in the method embodiments, and other steps except for sending and receiving can be executed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of specific units can refer to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, the processor can be one or more.

[0243] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disc (SSD)), etc.

[0244] In each of the above device embodiments, the network device corresponds exactly to the network device or terminal device in the method embodiments, and the corresponding steps are executed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and the other steps except for sending and receiving can be executed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can refer to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, the processor can be one or more.

[0245] As used in this specification, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. are used to denote computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer-readable media storing various data structures. A component can communicate, for example, by signals with one or more data packets (such as data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as through the Internet interacting with other systems by signals) through local and / or remote processes.

[0246] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A professional technician can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0247] Those skilled in the art can 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 foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0248] In 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 illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, 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 couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed with each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0249] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0250] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional unit may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0251] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions (programs). When the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0252] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of this technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs, etc., which can store program codes.

[0253] The above are only the specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: The central unit determines a first transmission mode for a first service, and the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint transmission mode; The central unit instructs the distributed unit to transmit a first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode; The central unit instructing the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode includes: The central unit sends first indication information to the distributed unit, and the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet by using the first transmission mode. Wherein, the first indication information is carried in a packet header corresponding to a data packet of the first service, or the first indication information is carried in control signaling, and the control signaling is signaling of a first interface or a control protocol data unit, and the first interface is an interface between the central unit and the distributed unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The central unit determining the first transmission mode of the first service includes: The central unit determines the first transmission mode according to first auxiliary information from a terminal device or second auxiliary information from a core network, wherein, the second auxiliary information includes whether the terminal device is interested in the first service or location information of the terminal device, and the first auxiliary information includes at least one of the following: whether the terminal device is interested in the first service, location information of the terminal device, a measurement report of the terminal device, and packet reception status feedback information of the terminal device, wherein, the packet reception status feedback information is used to indicate the reception status of at least one data packet of the first service by the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The packet reception status feedback information is packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) feedback information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first indication information being used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet by using the first transmission mode includes: The first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet to a first terminal device by using the first transmission mode.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The central unit instructing the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode includes: The central unit transmits the first data packet to the distributed unit through a first transmission channel, wherein, when the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode, the first transmission channel corresponds to one terminal device; when the first transmission mode is a point-to-multipoint transmission mode, the first transmission channel corresponds to multiple terminal devices.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first service includes multiple data packets, and the first data packet is at least one of the multiple data packets.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: The distributed unit determines whether it receives an instruction from the central unit; In the case of receiving an instruction from the central unit, the distributed unit determines to transmit a first data packet of a first service by using a first transmission mode according to the instruction from the central unit, and the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode or a point-to-multipoint transmission mode; The distributed unit transmits the first data packet by using the first transmission mode; The distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using a first transmission mode according to an instruction from the central unit, including: The distributed unit receives first indication information from the central unit, where the first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet by using the first transmission mode. Herein, the first indication information is carried in a packet header corresponding to a data packet of the first service, or the first indication information is carried in control signaling, where the control signaling is signaling or a control protocol data unit of a first interface, and the first interface is an interface between the central unit and the distributed unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The method further includes: In the case of not receiving an instruction from the central unit, the distributed unit determines by itself to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using the first transmission mode.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein The distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using a first transmission mode according to auxiliary information from a terminal device or according to an instruction from the central unit, including: The distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet by using the first transmission mode according to a determination mode with a higher priority among a priority of a first determination mode and a priority of a second determination mode. Herein, the first determination mode is to determine a transmission mode of the first service according to auxiliary information from the terminal device, and the second determination mode is to determine a transmission mode of the first service according to an instruction of the distributed unit.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet by using the first transmission mode, including: The first indication information is used to instruct the distributed unit to transmit the first data packet to a first terminal device by using the first transmission mode.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The distributed unit determines to transmit the first data packet of the first service by using a first transmission mode according to an instruction from the central unit, including: The distributed unit receives the first data packet from the central unit through a first transmission channel. Herein, when the first transmission channel corresponds to one terminal device, the first transmission mode is a point-to-point transmission mode. When the first transmission channel corresponds to multiple terminal devices, the first transmission mode is a point-to-multipoint transmission mode.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The first service includes multiple data packets, and the first data packet is at least one of the multiple data packets.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein The auxiliary information of the terminal device includes one or more of the following: Channel state information of the terminal device, beam information of the terminal device, and location information of the terminal device.

14. A communication device, including at least one processor, where the at least one processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, including a computer program, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A chip, characterized in that, Including at least one processor and a communication interface; The communication interface is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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