Traffic delivery mode of terminal equipment in different RRC states

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a service delivery mode of terminal equipment in different RRC states. The first device determines to send multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode based on at least one criterion; and transmitting multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode by at least transmitting first downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to a first subset of the second devices of the plurality of second devices using a first physical downlink control channel; transmitting second downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast traffic to a second subset of the plurality of second devices using a second physical downlink control channel; and transmitting the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices using the physical downlink shared channel. In this manner, multicast and / or broadcast traffic may be transmitted from the first device to the plurality of second devices in a more radio efficient manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to a method, device, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for a service delivery mode of a terminal device in different radio resource control (RRC) states. Background Art

[0002] With the development of communication technology, several solutions have been proposed to provide efficient and reliable solutions for communication. For example, multicast services and broadcast services have been proposed to efficiently use radio and network resources while sending audio and video content to multiple terminal devices. Both multicast services and broadcast services are point-to-multipoint communication schemes, in which data packets are sent from a single source to multiple destinations simultaneously. The term "broadcast" refers to the ability to deliver services to all terminal devices (regardless of the RRC state of the terminal devices). The term "multicast" refers to the distribution of services among a group of specific terminal devices that subscribe to these services. Currently, only terminal devices in a connected state can receive service delivery in a multicast service. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for the service delivery mode of terminal devices in different RRC states.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the first device to: determine, based on at least one criterion, to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a first delivery mode; and send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in the first delivery mode by at least the following means: use a first physical downlink control channel to send first downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a first subset of second devices in the multiple second devices; use a second physical downlink control channel to send second downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a second subset of second devices in the multiple second devices; and use a physical downlink shared channel to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receive downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a first physical downlink control channel; and receive multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel; wherein a third device receives additional downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel, and receives multicast and / or broadcast services using a physical downlink shared channel.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes determining at a first device based on at least one criterion to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; and sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode at the first device by at least the following means: sending first downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices in the plurality of second devices using a first physical downlink control channel at the first device; sending second downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices in the plurality of second devices using a second physical downlink control channel at the first device; and sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel at the first device.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes receiving downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from a first device using a first physical downlink control channel at a second device; and receiving multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel at the second device; wherein: receiving additional downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel at a third device, and receiving multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel at the third device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a component for determining at a first device based on at least one criterion to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; and a component for sending a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode at the first device by at least the following means: using a first physical downlink control channel at the first device to send a first downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices in the plurality of second devices; using a second physical downlink control channel at the first device to send a second downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices in the plurality of second devices; and using a physical downlink shared channel at the first device to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a component for receiving downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from a first device using a first physical downlink control channel at a second device; and a component for receiving multicast and / or broadcast services from a first device using a physical downlink shared channel at the second device; wherein: additional downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services is received from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel at a third device, and the multicast and / or broadcast services are received from the first device using the physical downlink shared channel at the third device.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the third aspect above.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect above.

[0012] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 2 A diagram illustrating a communication process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 3 A diagram illustrating a process of sending traffic in a first delivery mode in terms of a control / data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4A A flowchart of a first method of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0018] Figure 4B A flow chart illustrating a second method of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 4C A flowchart illustrating a third method of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 4D A flowchart illustrating a fourth method of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 4E A flowchart illustrating a fifth method of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating a communication method implemented at a first device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating a communication method implemented at a second device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0024] Figure 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0025] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0026] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways except the way described below.

[0028] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, 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 belongs.

[0029] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0030] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0031] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" used herein also include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises", "including", "having", "having", "including" and / or "comprising" when used in this article specify the presence of the features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0032] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0033] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0034] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0035] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0036] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software, including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s), which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0037] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0038] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0039] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, a fifth generation advanced (5G advanced) system, long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody future types of the present disclosure. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the above-mentioned systems.

[0040] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated and access backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (such as a femto, a pico), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc.), or a combination of the above multiple devices, depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0041] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0042] The term "multicast and / or broadcast service" as used herein refers to a service delivered to a group of users interested in receiving the service, and also refers to data sent over the air and received by all users interested in receiving the service. In other words, the multicast and / or broadcast service used in this article can cover various point-to-multipoint communication schemes, in which data packets are sent from a single source to multiple destinations simultaneously. In the following description, the terms "service", "multicast service", "broadcast service" and "multicast and / or broadcast service" can be used interchangeably.

[0043] Traditionally, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is used to carry downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) data scheduling information or authorization from a network device to one or more UEs. Scheduling information may include resource allocation, modulation coding rate (or derived from the transport block size), the identity of one or more intended UEs, resources for issuing uplink feedback, and other information. The PDCCH can be used for a single UE, multiple UEs, or all UEs in a cell, depending on the nature and content of the scheduled data. In a broadcast communication scheme, the PDCCH is used to carry scheduling information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), which is intended to be received by all UEs in a cell, such as a PDCCH carrying system information about a network device, regardless of the RRC state of the UE. In a multicast communication scheme, the PDCCH is used to carry scheduling information for a PDSCH, which is intended to be received by a group of UEs in a cell. In a unicast communication scheme, a unicast PDCCH is used to carry scheduling information for a PDSCH, which is intended to be received by only a single UE. There may be a situation where multiple UEs interested in receiving a service include UEs in a connected state and UEs in an idle state and / or an inactive state. However, only UEs in a connected state can receive services delivered via multicast; although all UEs can receive services delivered via broadcast, neither feedback capability nor link adaptation can be provided.

[0044] A new solution for a service delivery mode for terminal devices in different RRC states is needed. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first device determines to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a first delivery mode based on at least one criterion; and sends multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in the first delivery mode by at least the following means: using a first physical downlink control channel to send first downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a first subset of second devices in multiple second devices; using a second physical downlink control channel to send second downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a second subset of second devices in multiple second devices; and using a physical downlink shared channel to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices. In this way, multicast and / or broadcast services can be sent from a first device to multiple second devices in a more radio-efficient manner. The above-mentioned "at least" means that there are at least two subsets of second devices to process with the first device. If there are more than two subsets of second devices, the other subsets of second devices will follow a similar process until "sending multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink shared channel".

[0045] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 , Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is illustrated in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication environment 100, as part of a communication network, also includes a first device 110 and second devices 120-1, 120-2, ..., 120-N (which may be collectively referred to as "second device(s) 120"). The number N may be any suitable integer.

[0046] The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices and cells. In the communication environment 100, the first device 110 and the second device 120 may transmit data and control information to each other. In the case where the first device 110 is a network device and the second device 120 is a terminal device, the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is called an uplink (UL).

[0047] It should be appreciated that communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices and networks suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] like Figure 1 As shown, the first device 110 and the second device 120 can communicate with each other via a wireless communication channel. The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G), such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and other wireless local area network communication protocols, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0049] In some scenarios, a first subset of second devices in a connected state and a second subset of second devices in an idle state and / or an inactive state may be interested in receiving traffic from the first device 110 .

[0050] Reference now Figure 2 , Figure 2 The communication process 200 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Process 200 is described. Process 200 may involve Figure 1The first device 110 shown, a first subset of second devices 210 including one or more second devices 120 in a connected state, and a second subset of second devices 220 including one or more second devices 120 in an idle state and / or an inactive state. It should be understood that although Figure 1 The process 200 is described in the communication environment 100 of FIG. 1 , but the process can also be applied to other communication scenarios in which different network devices are jointly deployed to provide corresponding service cells.

[0051] In process 200, the first device 110 may receive 2010 an indication from a first subset of second devices 210 in a connected state that the first subset of second devices 210 requests to receive multicast and / or broadcast services. The first device 110 may also receive 2020 an indication from a second subset of second devices 220 in an idle state and / or an inactive state that the second subset of second devices 220 requests to receive multicast and / or broadcast services. In response to receiving the above request indication, the first device 110 may determine 2030 a delivery mode to be used to send the multicast and / or broadcast services to the second devices 210 and 220. Alternatively or additionally, the determination step 2030 may also be triggered in response to receiving an indication from the first subset of second devices 210 that the first subset of second devices 210 receiving the multicast and / or broadcast services transitions from a connected state to an idle state or an inactive state. It should be understood that Figure 2 The signaling process in is only exemplary. Although the receiving processes 2010 and 2020 from the second devices 210 and 220 are shown as occurring simultaneously, the present invention is not limited in this regard. The receiving process 2010 may be earlier or later than the receiving process 2020.

[0052] In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine whether the first device 110 is capable of supporting the first delivery mode in response to receiving a trigger. In response to determining that the first device 110 is capable of supporting the first delivery mode, the first device 110 may determine 2030 a delivery mode to be used among the first delivery mode, the second delivery mode, and the third delivery mode based on at least one criterion. In an example embodiment, if a first subset of second devices 210 needs to receive multicast and / or broadcast services with higher reliability than a second subset of second devices 220, the first device 110 may determine to send multicast and / or broadcast services to the first subset and the second subset of second devices in the first delivery mode. Reference will be made to Figure 4A-4E Other example embodiments of determining step 2030 are described in detail.

[0053] The first device 110 may simultaneously send 2050 the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the second devices 210 and 220 in the delivery mode determined in the determining step 2030. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may send the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the second devices 210 and 220 in the first delivery mode in response to determining to send the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the second devices 210 and 220 in the first delivery mode based on at least one criterion.

[0054] Reference now Figure 3 , Figure 3 A diagram illustrating a process 300 of sending traffic in a first delivery mode in a control / data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Process 300 is described.

[0055] In the first delivery mode, the first device 110 may use a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 310 to send a first downlink control information (DCI) of a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of the second devices 210; use a second PDCCH 320 to send a second DCI of a multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of the second devices 220; and use a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) 330 to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset and a second subset of the second devices 210 and 220. It should be understood that the "multicast and / or broadcast service" of the devices of the first subset may include only a multicast service, or include only a broadcast service, or include both a multicast and a broadcast service. Similarly, the "multicast and / or broadcast service" of the devices of the second subset may include only a multicast service, or include only a broadcast service, or include both a multicast and a broadcast service. The above options may constitute nine combinations, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure. The second subset of the second device 220 may use a multicast control channel radio network temporary identifier (MCCH-RNTI) and a G-RNTI for a multicast traffic channel (MTCH). Due to PDSCH cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambling, the first subset and the second subset of the second devices 210 and 220 have the same G-RNTI for MTCH and DCI. In addition, the first device 110 may receive feedback information for a hybrid automatic repeat request scheme (HARQ) from the first subset of the second device 210. Link adaptation and retransmission for service delivery may be performed based on feedback information received from the first subset of the second device 210. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may adapt a modulation coding scheme (MCS) based on feedback received from the first subset of the second device 210. In another example embodiment, the MCS may be fixed. For example, the MCS may be fixed based on the 85th or 90th percentile user. In this way, the first device 110 utilizes two simultaneous DCIs with related PDCCH transmissions to notify both the first subset of the second device 210 and the second subset of the second device 220 of a single PDSCH transmission. Compared with the second subset of the second device 220 in an idle state or an inactive state, the first subset of the second device 210 in a connected state can receive multicast and / or broadcast services with higher reliability and higher resource efficiency. In this way, multicast and / or broadcast services can be sent from the first device to multiple second devices in different RRC states in a reliable and resource-efficient manner. The first subset of the second device 210 can be provided with higher quality of service (QoS) and reliability, and the second subset of the second device 220 can receive multicast and / or broadcast services while maintaining an idle / inactive state, thereby saving power consumption of the second subset of the second device 220.It should be understood that although in this specification, the first subset of the second device is described as being in a connected state and the second subset of the second device is described as being in an idle state and / or an inactive state, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the second device in an idle state and the second device in an active state can operate differently. After reading this disclosure, a person of ordinary skill in the art will be able to understand more alternative designs through the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In addition, if there are other states other than the connected state, the idle state, and the inactive state, the implementation of the second device in these states is also within the scope of this disclosure. Although in this disclosure, only two different DCIs are shown to be provided in the first delivery mode, more DCIs can be provided for second devices in more different RRC states.

[0056] Now refer to it again Figure 2 , to explain the process of sending services in the second delivery mode and the third delivery mode. In the second delivery mode, the first device 110 may send 2040 an indication of transitioning from an idle state or an inactive state to a connected state to a second subset of the second devices 220; and send 2050 a DCI of a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset and a second subset of the second devices 210 and 220 using a PDCCH, and send 2050 a DCI of a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset and a second subset of the second devices 210 and 220 using a PSDCH. The second delivery mode may be based on received RRC configuration parameters, including PDCCH-Config / PDCCH-Config-Multicast and PDSCH-Config / PDSCH-Config-Multicast.

[0057] In the third delivery mode, the first device 110 may use the PDCCH to send DCI of the multicast and / or broadcast service to all second devices 120, and use the PSDCH to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to all second devices 120 by broadcasting. The RRC configuration parameters of the third delivery mode may be based on PDCCH-ConfigCommon / PDCCH-Config-MTCH / PDCCH-Config-MCCH and PDSCH-ConfigCommon / PDSCH-Config-MTCH / PDSCH-Config-MCCH.

[0058] Reference now Figure 4A , Figure 4A A first method 400A of sending a service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1-Figure 3 The method 400A is described from the perspective of the first device 110 .

[0059] At block 4020, the first device 110 determines a first set of resources, a second set of resources, and a third set of resources required to transmit a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset and a second subset of second devices 210 and 220 in a first delivery mode, a second delivery mode, and a third delivery mode, respectively. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine whether the first device 110 is capable of supporting the first delivery mode in response to receiving a trigger from at least one second device among the plurality of second devices 120, and determine the first set of resources, the second set of resources, and the third set of resources in response to determining that the first device 110 is capable of supporting the first delivery mode. In an example embodiment, the trigger may include at least one of the following: an indication that the first subset and the second subset of second devices 210 and 220 request to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service, and an indication that the first subset of second devices 210 receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service transitions from a connected state to an idle state or an inactive state.

[0060] In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the first set of resources based on resources required to send the first DCI and the second DCI using the first PDCCH 310 and the second PDCCH 320 and resources required to support an MCS that provides a predetermined percentage (e.g., 95%) of coverage. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may also determine the first set of resources based on resources related to receiving feedback from a first subset of the second devices 210. In an example embodiment, the MCS may be adapted based on feedback received from the first subset of the second devices 210. In another example embodiment, the MCS may be fixed. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the first set of resources based on overhead of beam scanning for transmission in the first delivery mode.

[0061] In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the second set of resources based on resources related to receiving feedback from the first subset and the second subset of the second devices 210 and 220 and the resources required to support the MCS. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may adapt the MCS based on HARQ feedback and / or channel state information (CSI) feedback from the first subset and the second subset of the second devices 210 and 220 that receive multicast and / or broadcast services in the second delivery mode. In another example embodiment, the MCS may be fixed. For example, the MCS may be fixed based on the 85th or 90th percentile user. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the second set of resources based on the overhead of beam scanning for transmission in the second delivery mode.

[0062] In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the third set of resources based on resources for supporting an MCS that provides a predetermined percentage of coverage. For example, the first device 110 may be pre-configured with an MCS requirement of 95% coverage in the third delivery mode. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the third set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmissions in the third delivery mode.

[0063] At block 4040 , the first device 110 determines whether both a first difference between the first group of resources and the second group of resources and a second difference between the first group of resources and the third group of resources are less than a first threshold.

[0064] At block 4060 , in response to determining that both the first difference and the second difference are less than the first threshold, the first device 110 sends multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the first and second subsets of second devices 210 and 220 in a first delivery mode.

[0065] At block 4080 , in response to determining that at least one of the first difference and the second difference exceeds the first threshold, the first device 110 determines whether the second set of resources is less than the third set of resources.

[0066] At block 4100 , in response to determining that the second set of resources is less than the third set of resources, the first device 110 sends multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the first subset and the second subset of second devices 210 and 220 in a second delivery mode.

[0067] At block 4120 , in response to determining that the second set of resources is greater than the third set of resources, the first device 110 sends multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the first subset and the second subset of second devices 210 and 220 in a third delivery mode.

[0068] Figure 4B A second method 400B of sending traffic according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0069] At box 4220, the first device 110 determines whether a plurality of second devices 120 requesting to receive a multicast and / or broadcast service are co-located or evenly distributed in space.

[0070] At box 4240, in response to determining that the multiple second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service are spatially co-located, the first device 110 sends the multicast and / or broadcast service to the multiple second devices 120 in the second delivery mode.

[0071] In response to determining that the plurality of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service are evenly distributed, the process of the method 400B proceeds to Figure 4A 4020 in box.

[0072] It should be understood that the term "uniform distribution" herein is not limited to an absolute uniform distribution, but refers to that the devices are dispersed relative to "spatially co-located" devices. It should be understood that when the geographical locations of the second devices 120 are spatially co-located, less resources will be required for the second delivery mode.

[0073] Figure 4C A third method 400C of sending traffic according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0074] At block 4420 , the first device 110 determines whether the number of second devices 210 in the first subset requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service is below a second threshold.

[0075] At box 4440, in response to determining that the number of second devices 210 in the first subset requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service is lower than the second threshold, the first device 110 sends the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices 120 in the second delivery mode.

[0076] In response to determining that the number of second devices 210 in the first subset requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service exceeds the second threshold, the process of method 400C proceeds to Figure 4A 4020 in box.

[0077] Figure 4D A fourth method 400D of sending traffic according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0078] At block 4620 , the first device 110 determines whether the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service is below a third threshold.

[0079] At block 4640 , in response to determining that the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service is below a third threshold, the first device 110 sends the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the second delivery mode.

[0080] In response to determining that the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service exceeds the third threshold, the process of method 400D proceeds to Figure 4A 4020 in box.

[0081] Figure 4E A fifth method 400E of sending traffic according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0082] At block 4820 , the first device 110 determines whether the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive a multicast and / or broadcast service exceeds a fourth threshold.

[0083] At block 4840 , in response to determining that the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service exceeds a fourth threshold, the first device 110 sends the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in a third delivery mode.

[0084] In response to determining that the number of second devices 120 requesting to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service is lower than the fourth threshold, the process of method 400E proceeds to Figure 4A 4020 in box.

[0085] It should be understood that Figure 4A-4E The example embodiments in the present disclosure merely provide example criteria for determining which delivery mode is to be used for delivering multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in different states, without providing any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The first device may determine the delivery mode to be used based on at least one of the above criteria, including the above example criteria and other criteria, the other criteria being based on, for example, the content to be sent, the capabilities of the terminal device, throughput requirements, requirements for sharing resources with other users, reliability requirements, delay requirements, etc. The first device may be pre-configured with a threshold value of at least one criterion using operations administration and maintenance (OAM).

[0086] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 The method 500 is described from the perspective of the first device 110 .

[0087] At block 520, the first device 110 determines to send the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode based on at least one criterion.

[0088] At box 540, the first device 110 sends multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a first delivery mode by at least the following methods: using a first physical downlink control channel to send first downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a first subset of second devices in the multiple second devices; using a second physical downlink control channel to send second downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to a second subset of second devices in the multiple second devices; and using a physical downlink shared channel to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices. The above "at least" means that there are at least two subsets of second devices to process with the first device. If there are more than two subsets of second devices, other subsets of second devices will follow a similar process until "sending multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink shared channel".

[0089] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 determines a first group of resources required to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a first delivery mode, a second group of resources required to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a second delivery mode, and a third group of resources required to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a third delivery mode; and determines to send multicast and / or broadcast services to the multiple second devices in the first delivery mode based on determining that a first difference between the first group of resources and the second group of resources and a second difference between the first group of resources and the third group of resources are less than a first threshold.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 determines to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a first delivery mode by determining that a first subset of second devices needs to receive the multicast and / or broadcast services with higher reliability than a second subset of second devices.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to send the multicast and / or broadcast traffic to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode by receiving feedback information for a hybrid automatic repeat request scheme (HARQ) from the first subset of the second devices.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is also configured to determine whether the second group of resources is smaller than the third group of resources based on determining that at least one of the first difference and the second difference exceeds a first threshold; and to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a second delivery mode based on determining that the second group of resources is smaller than the third group of resources; or to send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices in a third delivery mode based on determining that the second group of resources is greater than the third group of resources.

[0093] In some example embodiments, in a second delivery mode, the first device 110 is caused to send an indication of a transition from an idle state or an inactive state to a connected state to a second subset of second devices; send downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink control channel; and send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

[0094] In some example embodiments, in a third delivery mode, the first device 110 is caused to send downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink control channel; and send multicast and / or broadcast services to multiple second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the first set of resources based on: resources required to send the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information; and resources required to support a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) that provides a predetermined percentage of coverage.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the first set of resources based on resources related to receiving feedback from the first subset of second devices.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the MCS is adapted based on feedback received from the first subset of second devices; or the MCS is fixed.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the first set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmissions in the first delivery mode.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the second set of resources based on: resources related to receiving feedback from the plurality of second devices; and resources required to support the MCS.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the MCS is adapted based on HARQ feedback and / or channel state information (CSI) feedback from a plurality of second devices receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service; or the MCS is fixed.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the second set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmissions in the second delivery mode.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the third set of resources based on resources used to support the MCS that provides a predetermined percentage of coverage.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is caused to determine the third set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmissions in the third delivery mode.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further configured to determine whether the plurality of second devices are spatially co-located or uniformly distributed; and based on determining that the plurality of second devices are spatially co-located, send multicast and / or broadcast services to the plurality of second devices in a second delivery mode. The first device 110 is configured to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources based on determining that the plurality of second devices are uniformly distributed.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to receive a request from a first subset of second devices indicating that the first subset of second devices is interested in receiving a multicast and / or broadcast service; determine whether the number of second devices in the first subset is below a second threshold; and send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in a second delivery mode based on determining that the number of second devices in the first subset is below the second threshold. The first device 110 is caused to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources based on determining that the number of second devices in the second subset exceeds the second threshold.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to receive a request from the plurality of second devices indicating that the plurality of second devices are interested in receiving a multicast and / or broadcast service; determine whether the number of the plurality of second devices is below a third threshold; and send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in a second delivery mode based on determining that the number of the plurality of second devices is below the third threshold. The first device 110 is caused to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources based on determining that the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds the third threshold.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to receive a request from the plurality of second devices indicating that the plurality of second devices are interested in receiving a multicast and / or broadcast service; determine whether the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds a fourth threshold; and send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in a third delivery mode based on determining that the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds the fourth threshold. The first device 110 is caused to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources based on determining that the number of the plurality of second devices is below the fourth threshold.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is further caused to determine, in response to receiving a trigger from at least one second device of the plurality of second devices, whether the first device is capable of supporting the first delivery mode.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the trigger comprises at least one of: an indication that a plurality of second devices request to receive multicast and / or broadcast services; or an indication that a first subset of second devices receiving the multicast and / or broadcast services transitions from a connected state to an idle state or an inactive state.

[0110] In some example embodiments, a device (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing any of the methods 500 may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of the method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The component may be implemented as the first device 110 or included in the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the component may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to enable the operation of the device together with the at least one processor.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for determining at a first device based on at least one criterion to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; and a component for sending a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode at the first device by at least the following means: using a first physical downlink control channel at the first device to send a first downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices in a plurality of second devices; using a second physical downlink control channel at the first device to send a second downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices in a plurality of second devices; and using a physical downlink shared channel at the first device to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices. The above-mentioned "at least" means that there are at least two subsets of second devices to process with the first device. If there are more than two subsets of second devices, the other subsets of second devices will follow a similar process until "sending a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel".

[0112] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 The method 600 is described from the perspective of the second device 120 .

[0113] At block 620, the second device 120 receives downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using the first physical downlink control channel.

[0114] At block 640, the second device 120 receives the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using the physical downlink shared channel. The third device receives additional downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using the second physical downlink control channel, and receives the multicast and / or broadcast service using the physical downlink shared channel.

[0115] In some example embodiments, a device (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing any of the methods 600 may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The component may be implemented as a second device 120 or included in the second device. In some example embodiments, the component may include at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to enable the operation of the device together with the at least one processor.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services from a first device at a second device using a first physical downlink control channel; and a component for receiving multicast and / or broadcast services from the first device at the second device using a physical downlink shared channel; wherein: additional downlink control information for multicast and / or broadcast services is received from the first device at a third device using a second physical downlink control channel, and multicast and / or broadcast services are received from the first device at the third device using the physical downlink shared channel.

[0117] Figure 7 700 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110 is shown. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 740 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0118] TX / RX 740 is used for bidirectional communication. TX / RX 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0119] Processor 710 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, 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. Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0120] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage media. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0121] Computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 710. Program 730 may be stored in ROM 1020. Processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 730 into RAM 1020.

[0122] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730, so that the device 700 may execute the reference Figure 2 and Figure 6 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 8 An example of a computer readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 730 stored thereon.

[0124] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0125] 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 instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figure 2-Figure 6 The method 700 described. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0126] The program code for executing the method 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 so that the program code is implemented when executed by the processor or controller in the flow chart and / or the block diagram. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0127] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0128] The computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a computer readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, 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 disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0129] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain 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 should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0130] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to 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 specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features or acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: Determining, based on at least one criterion, to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; and The multicast and / or broadcast service is sent to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode by at least the following: Sending first downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a first physical downlink control channel; sending second downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a second physical downlink control channel; as well as The multicast and / or broadcast service is transmitted to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein determining based on at least one criterion to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode comprises: Determine a first set of resources required to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the multiple second devices in the first delivery mode, a second set of resources required to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the multiple second devices in the second delivery mode, and a third set of resources required to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the multiple second devices in a third delivery mode; as well as According to determining that a first difference between the first group of resources and the second group of resources and a second difference between the first group of resources and the third group of resources are respectively less than a first threshold, determining to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode.

3. The first device according to claim 1, wherein determining based on at least one criterion to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode comprises: By determining that the first subset of second devices needs to receive the multicast and / or broadcast service with higher reliability than the second subset of second devices, it is determined to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode.

4. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to send the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode by: Feedback information of a hybrid automatic repeat request scheme (HARQ) is received from the first subset of second devices.

5. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is further configured to: determining whether the second set of resources is smaller than the third set of resources based on determining that at least one of the first difference and the second difference exceeds the first threshold; and According to determining that the second group of resources is smaller than the third group of resources, sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the second delivery mode by: sending an indication to the second subset of second devices to transition from an idle state or an inactive state to a connected state; Sending downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink control channel; as well as Sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel; or Based on determining that the second set of resources is greater than the third set of resources, sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the third delivery mode by: Sending downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink control channel; as well as The multicast and / or broadcast service is transmitted to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

6. The first device of claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the first set of resources by: determining the first set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmission in the first delivery mode; or The first set of resources is determined based on: resources required for sending the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information; resources required to support a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) that provides a predetermined percentage of coverage; as well as resources related to receiving feedback from said first subset of second devices; in: The MCS is adapted based on the feedback received from the first subset of second devices; or The MCS is fixed.

7. The first device of claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the second set of resources by: determining the second set of resources based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmission in the second delivery mode; or The second set of resources is determined based on: resources related to receiving feedback from the plurality of second devices; and Resources needed to support MCS. in: The MCS is adapted based on HARQ feedback and / or channel state information (CSI) feedback from the plurality of second devices receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service; or The MCS is fixed.

8. The first device of claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the third set of resources by: Determining the third set of resources based on resources used to support an MCS that provides a predetermined percentage of coverage; or The third set of resources is determined based on an overhead of beam scanning for transmission in the third delivery mode.

9. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is further caused to: determining whether the plurality of second devices are co-located or uniformly distributed in space; and Based on determining that the plurality of second devices are spatially co-located, sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the second delivery mode; and The first device is configured to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources by: The first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources are determined according to determining that the plurality of second devices are evenly distributed.

10. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is further caused to: receiving a request from the first subset of second devices, the request indicating that the first subset of second devices is interested in receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service; determining whether the number of second devices in the first subset is below a second threshold; and sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the second delivery mode in response to determining that the number of second devices in the first subset is lower than the second threshold; and The first device is configured to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources by: The first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources are determined based on determining that the number of second devices in the second subset exceeds the second threshold.

11. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is further configured to: receiving a request from the plurality of second devices, the request indicating that the plurality of second devices are interested in receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service; determining whether the number of the plurality of second devices is below a third threshold; and sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the second delivery mode according to determining that the number of the plurality of second devices is lower than the third threshold; and The first device is configured to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources by: The first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources are determined according to determining that the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds the third threshold.

12. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the first device is further caused to: receiving a request from the plurality of second devices, the request indicating that the plurality of second devices are interested in receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service; determining whether the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds a fourth threshold; and sending the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the third delivery mode according to determining that the number of the plurality of second devices exceeds the fourth threshold; and The first device is configured to determine the first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources by: The first group of resources, the second group of resources, and the third group of resources are determined according to determining that the number of the plurality of second devices is lower than the fourth threshold.

13. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to: In response to receiving a trigger from at least one second device of the plurality of second devices, it is determined whether the first device is capable of supporting the first delivery mode.

14. The first device according to claim 13, wherein the trigger comprises at least one of the following: The plurality of second devices request to receive an indication of the multicast and / or broadcast service; or An indication that the first subset of second devices receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service transitions from a connected state to an idle state or an inactive state.

15. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receiving downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service from a first device using a first physical downlink control channel; and receiving the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel; The third device receives additional downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel, and receives the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using the physical downlink shared channel.

16. A communication method, comprising: At the first device, determining based on at least one criterion to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; as well as At the first device, the multicast and / or broadcast service is sent to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode by at least the following: At the first device, sending first downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a first physical downlink control channel; At the first device, sending second downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a second physical downlink control channel; as well as At the first device, the multicast and / or broadcast service is sent to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

17. A communication method, comprising: receiving, at the second device, downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using a first physical downlink control channel; as well as receiving, at the second device, the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel; in: Further downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service is received at a third device from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel, and The multicast and / or broadcast service is received at the third device from the first device using the physical downlink shared channel.

18. An apparatus for communication, comprising: means for determining, at a first device based on at least one criterion, to send a multicast and / or broadcast service to a plurality of second devices in a first delivery mode; as well as means for sending, at the first device, the multicast and / or broadcast service to the plurality of second devices in the first delivery mode by at least: At the first device, sending first downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a first subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a first physical downlink control channel; At the first device, sending second downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service to a second subset of second devices among the plurality of second devices using a second physical downlink control channel; as well as At the first device, the multicast and / or broadcast service is sent to the plurality of second devices using a physical downlink shared channel.

19. An apparatus for communication, comprising: means for receiving, at the second device, downlink control information for a multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using the first physical downlink control channel; as well as means for receiving, at the second device, the multicast and / or broadcast service from the first device using a physical downlink shared channel; in: Further downlink control information for the multicast and / or broadcast service is received at a third device from the first device using a second physical downlink control channel, and The multicast and / or broadcast service is received at the third device from the first device using the physical downlink shared channel.

20. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute the method according to claim 16.

21. A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute the method according to claim 17.

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