Communication method, device and computer storage medium

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, device, and computer-readable medium for communication. The method includes: determining, at a network device, a data radio bearer associated with a multicast service; and sending, to a terminal device, first information including an identifier of the multicast service and an identifier of the data radio bearer. The method further includes: receiving, at the terminal device, the first information from the network device; and performing communication between the terminal device and the network device based on the first information. In this way, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast for MBMS can be achieved, and the reliability of MBMS can be enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to communication methods, devices, and computer storage media for Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) transmission. Background Art

[0002] In current MBMS transmission, the terminal device first monitors System Information Block 2 (SIB2). If SIB2 schedules SIB13 for MBMS, the terminal device will monitor SIB13. In SIB13, the terminal device obtains the scheduling information of the MBMS Control Channel (MCCH), and this scheduling information schedules the MBMS Traffic Channel (MTCH). Therefore, in current MBMS transmission, there is no Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In addition, the terminal device cannot feedback whether the data packet is correctly received, so there is no retransmission mechanism in current MBMS transmission.

[0003] To enhance MBMS, it has been agreed that it is necessary to enable simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast for MBMS. Therefore, how to achieve this simultaneous transmission has become a hot issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods, devices, and computer storage media for MBMS transmission.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a terminal device, first information from a network device, the first information including an identifier of a multicast service and an identifier of a data radio bearer; and performing communication between the terminal device and the network device based on the first information.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: determining, at a network device, a data radio bearer associated with a multicast service; and sending, to a terminal device, first information, the first information including the identifier of the multicast service and the identifier of the data radio bearer.

[0007] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions that, when run by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions that, when run by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when run on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when run on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0011] Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication network in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown;

[0014] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating a communication process for MBMS transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0015] Figure 3 An example communication method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 4 Another example communication method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 5 Another example communication method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 6 Another example communication method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 An example communication method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0020] Figure 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] In all the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that the description of these embodiments is for illustrative purposes only and helps those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0024] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to: user equipment (UE), personal computer, desktop computer, mobile phone, cellular phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computer, tablet computer, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, Internet of Everything (IoE) device, machine type communication (MTC) device, vehicle-mounted device for V2X communication (where X represents pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network), or image capture device such as a digital camera, gaming device, music storage and playback device, or Internet tool that allows wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device. In addition, the term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage with which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to: Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), transmit receive point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), low-power nodes such as femto nodes, pico nodes, etc.

[0025] In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node, and the other may be a slave node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be sent from at least one of the first network device and the second network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, the first information may be sent from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be sent from the second network device to the terminal device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related to the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be sent from the second network device via the first network device. Information related to the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be sent from the second network device to the terminal device directly or via the first network device.

[0026] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprising" and its variants are to be construed as open-ended terms meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" is to be construed as "at least partially based on". The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" are to be construed as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" is to be construed as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

[0027] In some examples, a value, process or device is referred to as "optimal", "lowest", "highest", "minimum", "maximum", etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection can be made among many alternative functions used, and such a selection is not necessarily better, smaller, higher or more preferred than other selections.

[0028] As described above, in the current MBMS transmission, there is no PDCP layer, and the terminal device cannot feedback whether the data packet is correctly received. Therefore, there is no retransmission mechanism in the current MBMS transmission. To enhance MBMS, it has been agreed that it is necessary to enable simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast for MBMS. In this case, the cooperation between unicast and multicast transmissions should be defined.

[0029] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved communication scheme for MBMS transmission. This scheme can associate a data radio bearer (DRB) with MBMS (also referred to as multicast service for convenience herein). The DRB is configured for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In this way, simultaneous unicast and multicast transmissions for the multicast service can be allowed, and the quality of the multicast service and the user experience can be enhanced accordingly. The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. As Figure 1 shown, the communication network 100 may include a network device 110 and terminal devices 120 served by the network device 110. The network device 110 may communicate with the terminal devices 120 via a channel such as a wireless communication channel.

[0031] It should be understood that Figure 1 the number of devices in

[0032] is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices suitable for implementing the solution of the present disclosure.

[0033] For example, the network device 110 may broadcast a multicast service such as MBMS via a multicast channel such as an MTCH associated with the multicast service. The terminal devices 120 may accordingly receive the multicast service via the multicast channel.

[0034] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a PDCP layer is introduced in MBMS transmission. The network device 110 may configure a DRB for unicast transmission associated with a multicast service, and send the association between the DRB and the multicast service to the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 may receive data packets associated with the multicast service via both the DRB and the multicast channel. With the DRB, the terminal device 120 may feedback whether the data packets are successfully received. If the data packets are not successfully received, the network device 110 may retransmit the data packets to the terminal device 120 via the DRB. More details are described below with reference to Figure 2 for more details.

[0035] Figure 2 FIG. shows a schematic diagram of a communication process 200 for MBMS transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, process 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1 Process 200. Process 200 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 .

[0036] As shown in Figure 2 , the network device 110 may send 201 the configuration for multicast transmission of MBMS via a multicast control channel such as MCCH. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may send the configuration periodically. It should be noted that this is only an example, and any other suitable way for transmitting the configuration is also feasible.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the configuration is for the establishment of a PDCP entity for multicast transmission. In some embodiments, the configuration may include at least one of the following: an identifier of the multicast service, a length of an identifier of a data packet associated with the multicast service; and an indication of whether the multicast service supports both unicast transmission and multicast transmission associated with the multicast service (also referred to herein as the fourth indication). In some embodiments, the identifier of the data packet may be a sequence number (SN) of the data packet, such as a PDCP SN. Of course, any other suitable way is also feasible, and the present application does not limit this.

[0038] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may send the configuration via an RRC message.

[0039] For example, the RRC message may be an MBMSAreaConfiguration message listed as follows.

[0040]

[0041] It should be noted that this is only an example, and any other suitable form of the RRC message is also feasible.

[0042] Therefore, the terminal device 120 can receive configurations by monitoring the multicast control channel. With this configuration, the terminal device 120 can receive data packets associated with the multicast service 202 via multicast transmission by monitoring the multicast traffic channel.

[0043] The terminal device 120 can send 203 information indicating a request for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service (also referred to herein as the second information). In this way, the unicast transmission of the multicast service can be triggered. For example, when the signal quality of the multicast service received via the multicast channel deteriorates, the terminal device 120 can send this request. Of course, this is merely an example, and the terminal device 120 can send this request whenever needed.

[0044] In some embodiments, the second information may include at least one of the following: an identifier of the multicast service; an identifier of the proposed DRB (also referred to herein as another identifier of another DRB); and an identifier of the starting data packet that the terminal device 120 expects to receive from the network device 110 via unicast transmission. In some embodiments, the identifier of the starting data packet may be an SN, such as a PDCP SN. Of course, any other suitable identifier may also be used.

[0045] In some embodiments, the starting data packet may be a data packet currently received via multicast transmission. Of course, the starting data packet may also be a data packet previously received via multicast transmission, or a data packet to be received via multicast transmission in the future. In other words, the starting data packet may be any data packet associated with the multicast service.

[0046] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can send the second information via an RRC message. For example, the RRC message may be an MBMSInterestIndication message listed as follows.

[0047]

[0048] It should be noted that this is merely an example, and any other suitable form of the RRC message is also feasible.

[0049] The network device 110 can determine 204 a DRB for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In some embodiments, the network device 110 can determine the DRB in response to receiving the second information from the terminal device 120. It should be noted that this is merely an example, and the determination of the DRB can also be triggered by any other suitable means.

[0050] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may configure another DRB proposed by the terminal device 120 as a DRB for unicast transmission. In some alternative embodiments, the network device 110 may configure a DRB different from the other DRB as a DRB for unicast transmission.

[0051] The network device 110 may send 205 to the terminal device 120 information (hereinafter also referred to as the first information) including the identifier of the multicast service and the identifier of the determined DRB. In this way, the association between the DRB and the multicast service is notified to the terminal device 120.

[0052] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may configure one DRB for each multicast service. Therefore, the network device 110 may send a list of the first information to the terminal device 120, and the list includes the identifiers of multiple multicast services and the identifiers of the corresponding DRBs.

[0053] In some embodiments, the first information may further include the PDCP configuration for unicast transmission. In this way, the terminal device 120 can know the PDCP configuration for unicast transmission. In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration may include at least one of the following: header compression information for downlink transmission; a first indication of whether integrity protection is enabled; a second indication of whether status reporting is required; a third indication of whether the data radio bearer is for the repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for the retransmission of the data packets; and one or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets. For example, the PDCP configuration may be in the following form.

[0054]

[0055]

[0056] It should be noted that this is only an example, and any other suitable form of the PDCP configuration is also feasible.

[0057] In some alternative or additional embodiments, the first information may further include the HARQ feedback configuration. Thus, the HARQ feedback configuration may be semi-statically configured for the terminal device 120 via an RRC message. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may configure a resource set (e.g., PUCCH resource) configured for HARQ feedback for the terminal device 120 via, for example, the RRCSetup message listed below.

[0058] dl-DataToUL-ACK SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..8))OF INTEGER(0..15)

[0059] In some additional embodiments, the network device 110 may configure a resource subset in the resource set for the terminal device 120 via an RRC message. Here, the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback in the first information may correspond to the resource subset, and dl-DataToUL-ACK may be mapped to indicate a gap for PUCCH resources.

[0060] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may send the first information or a list of the first information via an RRC message. For example, the RRC message may be an RRCReconfiguration message. Of course, any other suitable RRC message is also feasible. In some embodiments, the first information may be shown as DRB-ToAddMod listed below.

[0061]

[0062] It should be noted that this is only an example, and the first information may also be in any other suitable form.

[0063] Then, the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 may perform communication 206 therebetween based on the first information. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may send subsequent data packets associated with the multicast service from the starting data packet to the terminal device 120 and via the determined DRB (i.e., unicast transmission). In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may receive the subsequent data packets via unicast transmission and may also receive the subsequent data packets via multicast transmission. That is, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast is achieved. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine the association between the SNs of these data packets transmitted via multicast and unicast based on the association between the DRB and the multicast service. In this way, these data packets can be processed.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present application, in response to receiving a data packet from the network device 110 via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service, the terminal device 120 may send 207 HARQ feedback for the reception of the data packet to the network device 110 and based on the HARQ feedback configuration. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine a resource from the subset indicated in the first information (i.e., PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback) and send the HARQ feedback on the determined resource. In this way, the HARQ feedback for the reception of the data packet transmitted via multicast transmission is sent in unicast form.

[0065] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may determine whether the 208 HARQ feedback indicates a failure in receiving a data packet. If it is determined that the HARQ feedback indicates the failure, the network device 110 may retransmit the 209 data packet to the terminal device 120 via the DBR indicated in the first information. Accordingly, a retransmission mechanism is provided for MBMS.

[0066] In some alternative or additional embodiments, in response to receiving a data packet from the network device 110 via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service, the terminal device 120 may send, via the DRB indicated in the first information, an acknowledgement in the radio link control (RLC) layer to the network device 110 for the reception of the data packet. The network device 110 may determine whether the acknowledgement is a negative acknowledgement for the reception of the data packet. If it is determined that the acknowledgement is a negative acknowledgement, the network device 110 may retransmit the 212 data packet to the terminal device 120 via the DRB indicated in the first information. In this way, the reliability of the multicast service can be ensured.

[0067] In some embodiments, the PDCP entity for unicast retransmission may be configured as follows:

[0068]

[0069] In some embodiments, when receiving the retransmitted data packet, the terminal device 120 may reorder the retransmitted data packet and the data packet received via the multicast transmission based on their SNs, for example. Details thereof are omitted here to avoid confusion with this application.

[0070] Using the process Figure 2 described above, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast can be implemented for MBMS, and the reliability of MBMS can be enhanced. Corresponding to this process, embodiments of this application also provide communication methods implemented at the terminal device and the network device, respectively. This will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 3 to 6

[0071] Figure 3 FIG. 300 shows an example communication method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 300 may be executed at the terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, hereinafter, method 300 will be described with reference to Figure 1 It should be understood that method 300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0072] As shown in Figure 3As shown, at block 310, the terminal device 120 receives first information including an identifier of a multicast service and an identifier of a DRB from the network device 110. In some embodiments, the DRB is configured for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In this way, the multicast service can be associated with the DRB, and concurrent multicast and unicast transmissions of the multicast service can be facilitated.

[0073] In some embodiments, the first information may further include a PDCP configuration. The PDCP configuration is used for unicast transmission. In this way, unicast transmission for the multicast service can be achieved, and concurrent multicast and unicast transmissions can be achieved. In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration may include at least one of the following: header compression information for downlink transmission; a first indication of whether integrity protection is enabled; a second indication of whether status reporting is required; a third indication of whether the DRB is for repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for retransmission of the data packets; and one or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets. It should be noted that the PDCP configuration is not limited thereto and may further include more or less information.

[0074] In some embodiments, the first information may further include a HARQ feedback configuration. In some embodiments, the HARQ feedback configuration may indicate a subset of a resource set configured for HARQ feedback, where the HARQ feedback is for reception of data packets via multicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In this way, the HARQ feedback can be sent from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 on the resources in the subset, and thus retransmission of failed data packets can be facilitated.

[0075] At block 320, the terminal device 120 may perform communication with the network device based on the first information. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may receive data packets associated with the multicast service via both multicast and unicast transmissions. In this way, concurrent multicast and unicast transmissions for MBMS can be achieved. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may feedback the failure or success of reception of data packets via multicast transmission via the DRB (i.e., via unicast transmission), and receive retransmitted data packets from the network device 110 in case of reception failure. In this way, the reliability of the multicast service is enhanced. More details will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6 More details will be described.

[0076] Figure 4 Another example communication method 400 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For example, method 400 may be executed at the terminal device 120 as Figure 1 shown. For the purpose of discussion, hereinafter, reference will be made to Figure 1Describe method 400. It should be understood that method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0077] As Figure 4 shown, at block 410, the terminal device 120 may receive a configuration for a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service from the network device 110 and via a multicast control channel (e.g., MCCH). In some embodiments, the configuration may include at least one of the following: an identification of the multicast service; a length of an identification of a data packet associated with the multicast service; and a fourth indication as to whether the multicast service supports both a unicast transmission and the multicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

[0078] At block 420, based on the configuration received at block 410, the terminal device 120 may receive data packets from the network device 110 via a multicast transmission. For example, when the multicast signal received by the terminal device 120 becomes weak, the terminal device 120 may request a unicast transmission for the multicast service. Thus, at block 430, the terminal device 120 may send second information indicating a request for a unicast transmission associated with the multicast service to the network device 110. In some embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the following: an identification of the multicast service; another identification of another DRB; and an identification of a starting data packet that the terminal device expects to receive from the network device via the unicast transmission.

[0079] At block 440, the terminal device 120 may receive first information including an identification of a multicast service and an identification of a DRB from the network device 110. In some embodiments, the first information may further include at least one of a PDCP configuration and a HARQ feedback configuration. In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration may include at least one of the following: header compression information for downlink transmission; a first indication as to whether integrity protection is enabled; a second indication as to whether a status report is required; a third indication as to whether the data radio bearer is for repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for retransmission of the data packets; and one or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets.

[0080] At block 450, the terminal device 120 may receive subsequent data packets associated with the multicast service starting from a starting data packet from the network device 110 and via a DRB. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may also receive subsequent data packets via a multicast transmission. In this way, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast can be achieved.

[0081] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a data packet from network device 110 via a multicast transmission, terminal device 120 may send HARQ feedback for the received data packet to network device 110 based on the HARQ feedback configuration; and in response to the HARQ feedback indicating a failure in receiving the data packet, receive the data packet retransmitted by the network device via the DRB. In some alternative or additional embodiments, in response to receiving a data packet from network device 110 via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service, terminal device 120 may send an acknowledgement in the RLC layer to network device 110 via the DRB, where the acknowledgement is for the received data packet; and in response to the acknowledgement being a negative acknowledgement for the received data packet, receive the data packet retransmitted by network device 110 via the DRB. More details will be described below with reference to Figure 5 and Figure 6 Description of more details.

[0082] Figure 5 FIG. shows another example communication method 500 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 500 may be executed at terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, hereinafter, method 500 will be described with reference to Figure 1 It should be understood that method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0083] As Figure 5 shown, at block 510, terminal device 120 determines whether it has successfully received a data packet via a multicast transmission. If it is determined at block 520 that the data packet has been successfully received, terminal device 120 may send a positive acknowledgement in the RLC layer to network device 110 and via the DRB associated with the multicast service. If it is determined at block 530 that the data packet has not been successfully received, terminal device 120 may send a negative acknowledgement in the RLC layer to network device 110. At block 540, terminal device 120 may receive the data packet retransmitted by network device 110. In this way, a retransmission mechanism for MBMS can be provided based on the feedback in the RLC layer.

[0084] Figure 6 FIG. shows another example communication method 600 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 600 may be executed at terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, hereinafter, method 600 will be described with reference to Figure 1 It should be understood that method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0085] AsFigure 6 As shown, at block 610, the terminal device 120 determines whether it has successfully received a data packet via multicast transmission. If it is determined that the data packet has been successfully received, then at block 620, the terminal device 120 may send HARQ feedback indicating the successful reception of the data packet to the network device 110 based on the HARQ feedback configuration for the multicast service. If it is determined at block 630 that the data packet has not been successfully received, the terminal device 120 may send HARQ feedback indicating the failed reception of the data packet to the network device 110 based on the HARQ feedback configuration. At block 640, the terminal device 120 may receive the data packet retransmitted by the network device 110. In this way, a retransmission mechanism for MBMS can be provided based on the feedback in the MAC layer.

[0086] So far, the method implemented at the terminal device has been described. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method implemented at a network device. Figure 7 An exemplary communication method 700 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For example, method 700 may be executed at the network device 110 as Figure 1 shown. For the purpose of discussion, hereinafter, method 700 will be described with reference to Figure 1 the description. It should be understood that method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the shown blocks may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0087] As Figure 7 shown, at block 710, the network device 110 determines the DRB associated with the multicast service. In some embodiments, the DRB is configured for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may receive second information indicating a request for unicast transmission and determine the DRB based on the second information. In some embodiments, the second information may include at least one of the following: an identifier of the multicast service; another identifier of another DRB; and an identifier of the starting data packet that the terminal device expects to receive from the network device via the DRB.

[0088] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may also send a configuration for the multicast transmission associated with the multicast service via the multicast control channel. In some embodiments, the configuration may include at least one of the following: an identifier of the multicast service; an identifier of the multicast service; a length of an identifier of a data packet associated with the multicast service; and a fourth indication as to whether the multicast service supports unicast transmission and the multicast transmission associated with the multicast service. In this way, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast can be facilitated.

[0089] At block 720, network device 110 sends first information including an identifier of a multicast service and an identifier of a DRB to terminal device 120. In this way, the DRB can be associated with the multicast service, and simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast for MBMS can be achieved.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first information may further include a PDCP configuration. The PDCP configuration is for unicast transmission. In this way, unicast transmission for the multicast service can be achieved, and simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast can be enabled. In some embodiments, the PDCP configuration may include at least one of the following: header compression information for downlink transmission; a first indication of whether integrity protection is enabled; a second indication of whether status reporting is required; a third indication of whether the DRB is for repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for retransmission of the data packets; and one or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets. It should be noted that the PDCP configuration is not limited thereto and may further include more or less information.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first information may further include a HARQ feedback configuration. In some embodiments, the HARQ feedback configuration may indicate a subset of a resource set configured for HARQ feedback for reception of data packets via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service. In this way, HARQ feedback resources can be configured for terminal device 120.

[0092] In some embodiments, network device 110 may receive HARQ feedback for reception of data packets via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service from terminal device 120. In some embodiments, if the HARQ feedback indicates reception failure of a data packet, network device 110 may retransmit the data packet to terminal device 120 via the DRB. In this way, the reliability of the multicast service can be ensured.

[0093] In some alternative or additional embodiments, network device 110 may receive an acknowledgement in the RLC layer from terminal device 120 via the DRB for reception of data packets via a multicast transmission associated with a multicast service. In some embodiments, if the acknowledgement is a negative acknowledgement for reception of a data packet, network device 110 may retransmit the data packet to terminal device 120 via the DRB. In this way, the reliability of the multicast service can be further ensured.

[0094] Figures 3 to 7 The implementation of the method described substantially corresponds to the process described in conjunction with Figure 2 described, and thus other details are not repeated here. By using method 300 - 700 according to embodiments of the present disclosure, simultaneous transmission of multicast and unicast for a multicast service can be achieved, and the reliability of the multicast service can be enhanced.

[0095] Figure 8 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 800 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 800 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of the network device 110 or the terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 FIG. Thus, the apparatus 800 may be implemented at the network device 110 or the terminal device 120, or implemented as at least a part of the network device 110 or the terminal device 120.

[0096] As shown in the figure, the apparatus 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820 coupled to the processor 810, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 840 coupled to the processor 810, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 840. The memory 810 stores at least a part of a program 830. The TX / RX 840 is used for two-way communication. The TX / RX 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice the access nodes mentioned in this application may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communicating with other network elements, such as the X2 / Xn interface for two-way communication between eNB / gNB, the S1 / NG interface for communication between the mobility management entity (MME) / access and mobility management function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and the eNB / gNB, the Un interface for communication between the eNB / gNB and the relay node (RN) or for communication between the eNB / gNB and the terminal device.

[0097] Assume that the program 830 includes program instructions which, when executed by the associated processor 810, cause the apparatus 800 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to Figures 1 to 7 FIG. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 810 of the apparatus 800, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 810 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, the combination of the processor 810 and the memory 820 may form a processing component 850 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0098] The memory 820 can be of any type suitable for the local technical network and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology. By way of non-limiting example, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Although only one memory 820 is shown in the device 800, there can be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 800. By way of non-limiting example, the processor 810 can be of any type suitable for the local technical network and can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 800 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are subordinate in time to a clock that synchronizes with the main processor.

[0099] In general, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while other aspects can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing devices. Although aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers, or other computing devices, or some combination thereof, by way of non-limiting example.

[0100] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to Figures 2 to 7 the processes or methods described. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or separated as needed in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local storage media and remote storage media.

[0101] The program code for performing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program codes can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0102] The above program code can be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium will include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0103] Moreover, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that the operations be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0104] Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the above specific features or acts. Rather, the above specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: receiving, at a terminal device, first information from a network device, the first information including an identifier of a multicast service and an identifier of a data radio bearer of the multicast service; performing communication between the terminal device and the network device based on the first information; and receiving, at the terminal device, a retransmitted data packet of the multicast service from the network device via a unicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first information further includes at least one of the following: Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) configuration; and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) feedback configuration, and the method further includes: receiving, at the terminal device, a data packet of the multicast service from the network device, sending, at the terminal device, HARQ feedback to the network device in response to receiving the data packet of the multicast service, and wherein the retransmitted data packet of the multicast service is received using the unicast transmission, the unicast transmission being in response to the HARQ feedback indicating a failure in receiving the data packet of the multicast service.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the PDCP configuration includes at least one of the following: header compression information for downlink transmission; a first indication of whether integrity protection is enabled; a second indication of whether a status report is required; a third indication of whether the data radio bearer is for repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for retransmission of the data packets; and one or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending second information to the network device, the second information indicating a request for a unicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the second information includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the multicast service; another identifier of another data radio bearer; and the identifier of a starting data packet that the terminal device expects to receive from the network device via the unicast transmission.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the network device and via a multicast control channel, a configuration for a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the configuration includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the multicast service; the length of the identifier of the data packet associated with the multicast service; and a fourth indication of whether the multicast service supports both a unicast transmission and the multicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending, in response to receiving a data packet from the network device via a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service, an acknowledgement in a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer via the data radio bearer for the reception of the data packet; and In response to the acknowledgment being a negative acknowledgment for the reception of the data packet, receive, via the data radio bearer, the data packet retransmitted by the network device.

9. A communication method, comprising: Determine, at a network device, a data radio bearer associated with a multicast service; And Send first information to a terminal device, the first information including an identifier of the multicast service and an identifier of the data radio bearer; And Send, from the network device to the terminal device, a retransmitted data packet of the multicast service via unicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first information further comprises at least one of the following: Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) configuration; and Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) feedback configuration, and The method further comprises: Send, from the network device to the terminal device, a data packet of the multicast service, Receive, from the terminal device, HARQ feedback to the network device, the HARQ feedback in response to the reception of the data packet of the multicast service, and Wherein the retransmitted data packet of the multicast service is received using unicast transmission, the unicast transmission in response to the HARQ feedback indicating a failure in the reception of the data packet of the multicast service.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the PDCP configuration comprises at least one of the following: Header compression information for downlink transmission; A first indication as to whether integrity protection is enabled; A second indication as to whether a status report is required; A third indication as to whether the data radio bearer is for repetition of data packets associated with the multicast service or for retransmission of the data packets; And One or more values of a timer for reordering the data packets.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receive second information from the terminal device, the second information indicating a request for unicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following: The identifier of the multicast service; Another identifier of another data radio bearer; and The identifier of the starting data packet that the terminal device expects to receive from the network device via the data radio bearer.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Send, via a multicast control channel, a configuration for multicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of the following: The identifier of the multicast service; The length of the identifier of the data packet associated with the multicast service; and A fourth indication as to whether the multicast service supports both unicast transmission and multicast transmission associated with the multicast service.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Receiving, via the data radio bearer, an acknowledgement in a radio link control (RLC) layer of the terminal device, the acknowledgement being for the reception of data packets via a multicast transmission associated with the multicast service; and in response to the acknowledgement being a negative acknowledgement for the reception of the data packets, retransmitting the data packets to the terminal device via the data radio bearer.

17. A terminal device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the terminal device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

18. A network device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processor, causing the network device to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

19. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when run on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

20. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when run on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

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