Storage and forwarding operations in non-terrestrial networks

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to storage and forwarding operations in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). In one aspect, a terminal device receives, from a network device of an NTN, data priority information associated with at least one storage and forwarding operation performed by the network device in the NTN. The terminal device performs an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information. In this way, limitations on storage and feeder link capacity of satellites are solved. Data transmission is ensured, and satellite storage is utilized to the maximum extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for store and forward operations in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Background Art

[0002] In communication technology, there is an ongoing continuous evolution to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Each new generation has its own technical challenges for handling different situations and processes required to connect and service devices connected to wireless networks. In order to meet the increased demand for wireless data services since the deployment of fourth generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved fifth generation (5G), pre-5G, 6G communication systems or later communication systems.

[0003] Store-and-forward (S&F) operation has been defined for the Internet of Things (IoT) NTN, and it will allow satellites to provide services to IoT NTN devices even in periods / areas when the satellite is not connected to a gateway (GW) on the ground. Summary of the invention

[0004] Generally speaking, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for store and forward operations in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and more particularly for handling storage limitations in NTN store and forward through priority information.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the terminal device at least: receives data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN; and performs an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause a terminal device to at least: determine data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and transmit the data priority information to the terminal device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a terminal device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN; and performing an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: determining, at a network device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and transmitting the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for receiving, at a terminal device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN; and a component for performing an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for determining, at a network device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a component for transmitting the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing a device to at least execute the method of any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by a device, causes the device to at least perform any one of the methods in the third to fourth aspects above.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes: a receiving circuit configured to receive data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN; and an execution circuit configured to perform an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes: a determination circuit configured to determine data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a transmission circuit configured to transmit the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0015] It should be understood that the present invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used 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

[0016] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example of a network environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0018] Figure 2 The process flow of the method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 shows a detailed example of interaction between a user device and a satellite according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4 Detailed examples of processing flows according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0021] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a method performed by an apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 6 A flowchart showing a method performed by an apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 7 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Figure 8 A block diagram illustrating an example of a computer readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0027] 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.

[0028] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be 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.

[0029] 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 exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed terms.

[0030] The term used herein is only used to describe the purpose of a particular embodiment, and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form "one", "one" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms. It will be further understood that the term "includes", "includes", "has", "has", "contains" and / or "contains" specifies the existence of stated features, elements and / or components when used herein, but does not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or their combinations. As used herein, "at least one of the following: <list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of the <list of two or more elements>" and similar wording, wherein the list of two or more elements is combined by "and" or "or", meaning at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all elements.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0032] (a) only hardware circuits (such as analog and / or digital circuits) and

[0033] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (if applicable):

[0034] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; and

[0035] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions) and

[0036] (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 to operate.

[0037] The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As yet 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 (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example (and if applicable to a particular claim element), 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.

[0038] As used herein, the term "cellular network" refers to a network that operates according to any suitable radio access technology defined by a standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), New Radio 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 equipment of the cellular network can be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various cellular networks. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned system.

[0039] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any device in a cellular network, via which a terminal device accesses a data network and receives services disclosed by other network devices of the cellular network. In some examples, the network device may include or implement network functions of a 5th generation communication system (5GS) (e.g., core network) of a cellular network. In some examples, the network device may be located at the RAN of the 5GS. The network device may be part of a satellite, a base station (BS), or an access point (AP), such as a node B (Node B or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro-node, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. A gNB may include a centralized unit CU and one or more distributed DUs. Femto and micro-nodes are small base stations with small coverage areas.

[0040] The term "terminal device" refers to a device of a communication system of a cellular network, such as a 5th generation communication system (5GS) that may be capable of wireless (e.g., radio) communication with the NR-RAN of the 5GS. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, game terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB adapters, smart devices, wireless customer equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronic devices, devices 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.

[0041] Store and forward operations can enable satellites to deliver services to IoT NTN devices even when the satellite lacks connectivity to ground-based gateways due to time or location constraints. Store and forward operations are built on non-continuous coverage scenarios where UEs only occasionally and temporarily have coverage from satellites and / or satellites are not always connected to the core network. The store and forward architecture enables low-cost deployments consisting of only a few satellites and a few ground stations, and this means that the cost of connectivity per device can also be reduced at the expense of being able to support only delay-tolerant data.

[0042] In some use cases, the IoT remote monitoring UE needs to send messages to the application server. When the satellite passes by, the UE waits for satellite network coverage and sends its message. The IoT remote monitoring UE and the satellite providing coverage interact on a service link, allowing the UE to transmit messages to a satellite that does not have connectivity to the ground segment. Therefore, the satellite must store the received messages locally. At this time, restrictions on the size / quantity of data that can be sent from the UE may be implemented. Forwarding priorities for stored data to the ground station and data retention periods for exchanged data may be established. Satellite confirmation of received data may be issued.

[0043] At a later time, the satellite with the stored message establishes connectivity with the ground network via a feeder link and relays / forwards / downloads the message to the ground network. The satellite can fly between two GWs without connectivity, and the two GWs can be the same GW, while it collects data from devices on the earth. At the same time, the satellite can deliver data to devices on the ground. However, the storage of the satellite is limited. Another limitation may be the feeder link capacity during the time the satellite is connected to the GW. This limitation can be solved in a similar way to the storage limitation. One of the problems that particularly needs to be solved is how to ensure that no data is lost when the satellite's storage is maximized.

[0044] In view of the above, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution store and forward operation in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), particularly for handling storage limitations in NTN store and forward through priority information. In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device can receive data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in the NTN from a network device of a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The terminal device can also perform operations on the uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information. In this way, the limitations on the storage and feeder link capacity of the satellite are solved. Data transmission is guaranteed, and the storage of the satellite is maximized.

[0045] Figure 1An example of a network environment 100 in which an example embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. The environment 100 may be part of a communication network and include a plurality of terminal devices and network devices, such as a terminal device 110, a network device 120, and a network device 130. As an example, the terminal device 110 may be implemented as a user equipment (UE) or an access terminal (AT), and the network device 120 may be implemented as a satellite (eNB) or a base station (BS). The network device 130 may be implemented as a gateway (GW), and it may, for example, connect the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 to a portion of a core network. The terminal device 110 may communicate and transmit various data to the network device 120 and the network device 130 via the network environment 100. The network device 130 may also transmit various data to the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 via the network environment 100.

[0046] To transmit data and / or control information, the terminal device 110 may perform communication with the network device 120. A link from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is called a downlink (DL), and a link from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is called an uplink (UL).

[0047] Despite Figure 1 The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 are described in the communication environment 100 of FIG. 1 , but the embodiments of the present disclosure can be equally applied to any other suitable communication devices that communicate with each other. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to Figure 1 In this regard, it should be noted that although Figure 1 In the figure, the terminal device is schematically depicted as a mobile phone and the network device 120 is schematically depicted as a satellite, but it should be understood that these depictions are exemplary in nature and do not imply any limitation. In other embodiments, the first device 110 and the network device 120 can be any other communication device, such as any other wireless communication device.

[0048] It should be understood that Figure 1 The specific number of various communication devices and the specific number of various communication links shown are for illustration purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of communication devices and any suitable number of communication links for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Additionally, it should be understood that various wireless and wired communications (if necessary) may exist among all communication devices.

[0049] Figure 2 1 shows a process flow of a method according to some embodiments of the present invention. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Describe the process flow 200. It should be understood that although reference has been made to Figure 1The process flow 200 is described, but the process flow 200 can also be applied to other similar communication scenarios.

[0050] In process flow 200, network device 120 may determine (205) data priority information 202 associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Data priority information 202 may indicate factors affecting the priority of data, such as remaining storage of the network device, remaining time until the network device connects to a gateway, and / or a ratio of remaining storage to remaining time. The NTN may include more than one network device.

[0051] The data priority information 202 may also indicate factors affecting the priority of the data, such as the number of times the data has been (re)transmitted, the data type of the data, the subscription type of the terminal device 110, the quality of service (QoS) of the data, the latency requirement of the data, the criticality status of the data and / or the radio resource control (RRC) establishment reason used by the terminal device 110. The data priority information 202 may include a first priority of first data of the terminal device 110 and / or a second priority of second data of the terminal device.

[0052] In some embodiments, if the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage, the data priority information 202 may indicate a lower data priority when the data priority information 202 is associated with the first remaining storage than when the data priority information 202 is associated with the second remaining storage.

[0053] In some other embodiments, if the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time, the data priority information 202 may indicate a lower data priority when the data priority information 202 is associated with the first remaining time than when the data priority information 202 is associated with the second remaining time. In the context of the present disclosure, the remaining time may refer to the duration remaining until the satellite desires to connect with the gateway.

[0054] In some further embodiments, if the second ratio is greater than the first ratio, the data priority information 202 may indicate a lower data priority when the data priority information 202 is associated with the first ratio than when the data priority information 202 is associated with the second ratio. In the context of the present disclosure, the ratio may refer to a ratio between remaining storage and remaining time.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, in some further embodiments, the data priority information 202 may indicate a lower data priority when the data priority information 202 is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information 202 is associated with feedback for downlink data. In some further embodiments, if the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level, the data priority information 202 may indicate a lower data priority when the data priority information 202 is associated with the first subscription level than when the data priority information 202 is associated with the second subscription level. In some embodiments, the QoS, latency requirements, and / or criticality status of the uplink data may be determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0056] The network device 120 may then transmit (210) the data priority information 202 to the terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 may then receive (215) the data priority information 202 associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in the NTN from the network device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive the data priority information 202 by receiving system information indicating the data priority information 202 from the network device 110.

[0057] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive the data priority information 202 by receiving an RRC message indicating the data priority information 202 from the network device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit a scheduling request or a buffer status report to the network device 120, and in response to the scheduling request or the buffer status report, the data priority information 202 is received in a scheduling grant.

[0058] In some further embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit data to the network device 120, and the data priority information 202 is received by the terminal device 110 from the network device 120 based on the transmitted data. Alternatively or additionally, the data may be transmitted in message 3 during the random access procedure, and the data priority information 202 may be received in message 4 during the random access procedure.

[0059] The terminal device 110 may then perform (220) an operation for the uplink data of the terminal device 110 based on the data priority information 202. The operation may include transmitting the data to a network device, deferring the transmission of the data to the NTN, or discarding the data. For example, the terminal device 110 may defer transmitting the data to the current network device 120 or to another network device (satellite) that provides services for the area of ​​the terminal device 110 at a later point in time.

[0060] In some additional embodiments, the operation may also include: deleting the data based on determining that the priority of the data is higher than a first threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process for transmitting the data after a first time period from an expected time of confirmation of receiving the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than the first threshold and higher than a second threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process after a second time period determined based on the priority of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a second threshold; and retransmitting the data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a third threshold.

[0061] In some example scenarios, the terminal device 110 may transmit first information indicating that the data is retransmitted data or postponed data to the first network device or the second network device based on retransmitting the data or re-initiating the signaling process. In some other embodiments, the terminal device 110 may prevent data transmission to the network device 120 by determining that the terminal device 110 is prohibited from accessing the cell of the network device 120 based on the data priority information 202.

[0062] In some example implementations, terminal device 110 may receive second information from network device 120 indicating that storage of network device 120 is exhausted. The second information may be received via broadcast information, scheduling grant, and / or RRC release cause. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may receive third information from network device 120, which may indicate that data having a QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to network device 120.

[0063] In some cases, for example, the network device 120 may be referred to as a first network device, and the terminal device 110 may retransmit data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on receiving the fourth information from the first network device or from the second network device. The fourth information may indicate that the data transmitted to the first network device is discarded by the first network device. The fourth information may be received via a paging message or indicated in a subsequent random access process for the terminal device 110.

[0064] In some events, for example, the terminal device 110 may receive the fifth information from the network device 120, and the fifth information may indicate whether the data priority information 202 is applicable to one cell or a subset of the multiple cells of the network device 120 or to multiple cells. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may obtain configuration information for configuring a SF access class in multiple storage and forwarding (SF) access classes for the terminal device 110.

[0065] The terminal device 110 may also receive system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class among the multiple SF access classes from the network device 120. The terminal device 110 may then determine whether the terminal device 110 is prohibited from accessing the cell of the network device 120 based on the SF access class of the terminal device 110 and the at least one prohibited SF access class. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may acquire the configuration information by receiving the configuration information from the network device 120, or determine the configuration information predefined for the terminal device 110.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive the sixth information from the network device 120, and the sixth information indicates that the terminal device 110 releases the data from the application buffer of the terminal device 110 or keeps the data in the application buffer. In some further embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive a buffer status report (BSR) in the downlink direction from the network device 120, and the BSR is used to indicate the share of the storage available to the terminal device 110 by the network device 120. Then, the terminal device 110 may further perform data-related operations based on the BSR.

[0067] Figure 3 Detailed example of interaction 300 between a user equipment (UE) and a satellite (eNB) according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. It should be noted that Figure 3 It can be considered as another example of the process flow 200. For example, UE 301-1 to 301-N can be an example device of terminal device 110, and satellite 304 can be an example device of network device 120. It should be understood that these devices are described for the purpose of illustration only and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The process will be described in detail below.

[0068] like Figure 3 As shown, the satellite (eNB) 304 may have a certain amount of total storage S, and a certain flight time between a first gateway (GW) 306 and a second GW 308. The flight time may be represented by T. In some embodiments, the first GW 306 and the second GW 308 may be the same GW. The satellite 304 may have a certain amount of data D to be delivered to the UEs 301-1 to 301-N, and the free storage of the satellite 304 may be S-D.

[0069] In some embodiments, the storage of the satellite 304 may not be shared between the uplink buffer and the downlink buffer, and the free storage of the satellite 304 may be S for uplink data. If the memory is shared between the uplink and downlink, the satellite 304 may first offload its data to the UEs 301-1 to 301-N at any point in time to maximize the available storage. In order for the UEs 301-1 to 301-N to upload their data, the gNB at the satellite 304 may assign priorities to them and indicate the assigned priorities to the UEs 301-1 to 301-N.

[0070] The priority can be a function of at least one of the following elements: remaining storage in satellite 304, and lower storage can result in lower priority; remaining time until the next GW (such as GW 308), and more time can result in lower priority; remaining storage / remaining time ratio, and a lower ratio can result in lower priority; and / or the same elements as above, but all or a portion of the data (downlink data) for devices 301-1 to 301-N is taken out of the equivalent because it will be delivered before the next GW.

[0071] The priority may also be a function of at least one of the following elements: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the type of data; the subscription type / level; the quality of service (QoS) / latency requirements / criticality (e.g., emergency) status of the data; and / or the radio resource control (RRC) establishment cause used by the UEs 301-1 to 301-N. With respect to the type of data, new data may have a lower priority than application layer feedback for data previously provided in the downlink. Thus, in some embodiments, for example, the UE 301-1 may indicate to the satellite 304 that the data is "application layer feedback," and the data may then be associated with a high priority.

[0072] Regarding subscription type, a low-cost subscription or a low subscription level is always associated with a low priority, and a high-cost subscription or a high subscription level is associated with a higher priority. The QoS / latency requirements / criticality status of data can be based on the logical channel priority order. The RRC establishment cause can be mo-Data (when sending data), mo-signaling (when sending signaling), highPriorityAccess (high priority access), emergency, etc.

[0073] It should be noted that the priority information may be given in the scheduling grant or after the data has been uploaded. For example, in the case of early data transmission (EDT), UE 301-1 may provide the data in message 3 (msg3) to satellite 304. In some embodiments, satellite 304 may respond with the assigned priority in message 4 (msg4), or provide a table in the system information broadcast, and the table may define a mapping between one or more elements in the QoS / latency requirements / criticality status of the data and the priority. Alternatively or additionally, satellite 304 may provide a general priority based on one or more elements in the above functions. It should be noted that such information may be broadcast even if EDT is not used.

[0074] UE 301-1 may then upload its data depending on the priority. For example, when the priority is high (above a threshold configured by the network or a specification threshold) and data delivery is guaranteed, UE 301-1 may delete the data. In some embodiments, for example, when the priority is high but not guaranteed, UE 301-1 may retransmit the data or re-initiate the signaling process after time x. Time x is after an expected time of receiving confirmation of the data.

[0075] In some embodiments, UE 301-1 may retransmit data or re-initiate a signaling process after time y, and time y depends on the priority. For example, in the case of a lower priority or the lowest priority, UE 301-1 may retransmit at the next opportunity when the next satellite moves by, because the data is most likely to be discarded from the previous satellite 304 at this time. As another example, in the case of a higher priority, UE 301-1 may decide not to retransmit data or retransmit data at a later (i.e., not the next) opportunity when the next satellite moves by, because the data may be retained in the previous satellite 304. It should be noted that in the context of the present disclosure, "lower priority" may refer to a priority lower than a predetermined threshold configured by a network or specification threshold. Similarly, "high priority" may refer to a priority higher than a predetermined threshold configured by a network or specification threshold. "Lowest priority" may refer to the lowest priority in a predetermined priority range configured by a network or specification range, and "highest priority" may refer to the highest priority in a predetermined priority range configured by a network or specification range.

[0076] In the scenario where UE 301-1 retransmits data or re-initiates the signaling process after time x or time y, UE 301-1 can inform the radio access network (RAN) that this is a retransmission so that the network can apply a higher priority and detect duplication. Likewise, UE 301-1 can inform that this is deferred data (from a previous connection), after which satellite 304 can assign a higher priority and possibly indicate the priority of the data to UE 301-1.

[0077] In some further embodiments, the satellite 304 may broadcast / indicate in the scheduling grant that it has currently used all of its memory. The satellite 304 may also provide this information as an RRC release cause to the UEs 301-1 to 301-N. If very limited memory space is available in the satellite 304, the satellite 304 may indicate that only data with QoS / latency / criticality requirements above a certain level are allowed.

[0078] In another embodiment, if satellite 304 has initially accepted data from UE 301-1 with low or high priority, but is later forced to discard it because satellite 304 receives higher priority data from that UE 301-1 or other UEs 301-2 to 301-N, then if UE 301-1 is still in coverage of satellite 304, satellite 304 can notify UE 301-1 that the data was discarded and the UE may need to retransmit the data to the next satellite.

[0079] Notification of discarded data may be provided from one cell of satellite 304, even if the data was originally delivered to another cell of the same satellite 304. This may be applicable, for example, to the case of an earth mobile cell, where multiple cells from an eNB on satellite 304 will provide coverage to UE 301-1 in a sequential manner. The memory of satellite 304 may be allocated per cell or per eNB. Thus, a cell may indicate that the priority and data processing only applies to the current cell or any cell of the current satellite.

[0080] In some embodiments, UE 301-1 may be barred from accessing a cell based on data priority until UE 301-1 is paged. For example, satellite 304 or a specification may define access classes linked to priorities, such that satellite 304 may bar access to a cell based on the UE's data priority.

[0081] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the satellite 304 may indicate a mobile originated user equipment random access channel (MO UE RACH) access control initiated by the terminal device based on the storage capacity status. For example, as part of the registration or first connection setup, the satellite 304 may configure a new class for a "store and forward (SF) access class" to each UE. The SF-access class value may be assigned based on the static access class and the urgency or priority of the data and whether the transmission is the first or retransmission.

[0082] Similar to access class barring, the satellite 304 may broadcast at least one SF access class to be barred among multiple SF access classes via system information. The percentage of classes to be barred may depend on storage capacity. When the storage capacity of the satellite 304 is full, it may bar all SF access classes. For some UEs that are unaware of the SF-access class, the existing access class barring may be used. When some MT data is delivered and storage is released / available, access barring for storage may be lifted.

[0083] Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, satellite 304 may purge some old UE data to accommodate new high priority UE traffic. Depending on the current load and expected remaining time, satellite 304 may indicate whether UE 301-1 is able to release its packets from its application buffer, or whether to maintain it for potential release of packets due to preemption in storage overload conditions. A paging message for a specific UE may indicate a "release" of a packet. The UE may then indicate to its application the release of the application payload so that the application may try in the next satellite without waiting for confirmation. The paging message may include an identifier of the UE and the amount of packets discarded starting from the first packet received.

[0084] In some further embodiments, the satellite 304 may transmit a buffer status report (BSR) to each UE in the downlink direction based on the share of storage space for each UE. The UE may control its uplink packets based on the BSR. This may be a token that may be converted into an actual packet or buffer that is reserved at the gNB in ​​the SF network.

[0085] Figure 4 Detailed examples of processing flow 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. It should be noted that processing flow 400 can be considered as another instance of processing flow 200. For example, UE 410 can be one of the example devices of terminal device 110, and satellites 420 and 430 can be example devices of network device 120. It should be understood that these devices are described only for the purpose of illustration and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The process will be described in detail below.

[0086] like Figure 4 As shown, the satellite 420 may have several options for indicating priority information. In option 1, shown as 402, the satellite 420 may broadcast system information or an RRC message 404 indicating data priority information to the UE 410, and the data priority information may be associated with the remaining storage or remaining time to the next gateway. At 406, upon receiving the data priority information, the UE 410 may decide whether to transmit data to the satellite 420.

[0087] In option 2, represented as 408, UE 410 may transmit a scheduling request 412 to satellite 420. After receiving scheduling request 412 from UE 410, satellite 420 may transmit a scheduling grant 416 including data priority information to UE 410. At 418, after receiving scheduling grant 416, UE 410 may decide whether to transmit data to satellite 420.

[0088] In option 3, denoted as 422, the UE 410 may transmit a scheduling request 424 to the satellite 420. After receiving the scheduling request 424 from the UE 410, the satellite 420 may transmit a scheduling grant 426 to the UE 410. The UE 410 may upload data 428 to the satellite 420. After receiving the uploaded data from the UE 410, the satellite 420 may transmit data priority information 432 related to the uploaded data to the UE 410. At 434, the UE 410 may then decide whether to delete the uploaded data or retain it for later transmission based on the data priority information.

[0089] At 436, when the time has passed, satellite 430 may provide coverage to UE 410 in place of satellite 420. At 438, UE 410 may then decide whether to retransmit the data based on the lack of feedback received from satellite 420 or from satellite 430 or any other network node, the passage of a certain duration, or information received from satellite 420 about the priority of the data. At 440, if UE 410 decides to retransmit the data, it may use the methods described in options 1 to 3. UE 410 may also indicate that this is a retransmission to satellite 430.

[0090] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 performed by an apparatus 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 terminal device 110 .

[0091] At block 502, the terminal device 110 may receive data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN. At block 504, the terminal device 110 may perform an operation for uplink data of the terminal device 110 based on the data priority information.

[0092] In some embodiments, the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the remaining storage of the network device; the remaining time until the network device connects to the gateway; the ratio of the remaining storage to the remaining time. In some other embodiments, the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type of the data; the subscription type of the terminal device 110; the quality of service (QoS) of the data; the latency requirement of the data; the criticality status of the data; the radio resource control (RRC) establishment reason used by the terminal device 110.

[0093] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, wherein the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, wherein the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, wherein the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

[0094] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; and at least one of the QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0095] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is caused to receive the data priority information by at least one of: receiving system information indicating the data priority information from the network device; or receiving an RRC message indicating the data priority information from the network device. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to transmit a scheduling request or a buffer status report to the network device, wherein the data priority information is received in a scheduling grant in response to the scheduling request or the buffer status report.

[0096] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to: transmit data to the network device, wherein the data priority information is received by the terminal device from the network device based on the transmitted data. During the random access process, the data is transmitted in message 3. During the random access process, the data priority information is received in message 4. In some embodiments, the operations performed by the terminal device 110 based on the data priority information include: transmitting data to the network device; postponing the transmission of data to the NTN; or discarding the data.

[0097] In some embodiments, data is transmitted to a network device, the network device is a first network device, and the operation further includes: deleting the data based on determining that the priority of the data is higher than a first threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process for transmitting the data after a first time period from an expected time of receiving confirmation of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than the first threshold and higher than a second threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process after a second time period determined based on the priority of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a second threshold; or retransmitting the data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a third threshold.

[0098] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to: based on retransmitting the data or re-initiating the signaling process, transmit to the first network device or the second network device first information indicating that the data is retransmitted data or postponed data. The terminal device 110 is caused to prevent data transmission to the network device by determining that the terminal device 110 is prohibited from accessing the cell of the network device based on the data priority information.

[0099] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to receive second information from the network device indicating that the storage of the network device is exhausted. The second information is received via at least one of the following: broadcast information; scheduling authorization; or RRC release cause. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to receive third information from the network device, the third information indicating that data having at least one of a QoS, a latency requirement, or a criticality status above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to the network device.

[0100] In some embodiments, the network device is a first network device, and the terminal device 110 is further caused to retransmit data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on receiving fourth information from at least one of the first network device or the second network device indicating that the data transmitted to the first network device was discarded by the first network device. The fourth information is received via a paging message for the terminal device 110.

[0101] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to receive fifth information from the network device, the fifth information indicating whether the data priority information is applicable to one cell among multiple cells of the network device or to multiple cells. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to: obtain configuration information for configuring a SF access class among multiple storage and forwarding (SF) access classes for the terminal device 110; receive system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class among multiple SF access classes from the network device; and determine whether the terminal device 110 is prohibited from accessing a cell of the network device based on the SF access class of the terminal device 110 and the at least one prohibited SF access class. The terminal device 110 is caused to obtain configuration information by receiving configuration information from the network device; or determining configuration information predefined for the terminal device 110.

[0102] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to receive sixth information from the network device, the sixth information indicating that the terminal device 110 releases data from the application buffer of the terminal device 110 or keeps the data in the application buffer. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 is further caused to: receive a buffer status report (BSR) in the downlink direction from the network device, the BSR is used to indicate the share of the storage of the network device for the terminal device; and also perform data-related operations based on the BSR. The data priority information includes at least one of the following: a first priority of the first data of the terminal device 110; or a second priority of the second data of the terminal device 110.

[0103] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 600 performed by an apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 600 is described from the perspective of network device 120 .

[0104] At block 602, the network device 120 may determine data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). At block 604, the network device 120 may transmit the data priority information to a terminal device. In some embodiments, the data priority information is determined based on at least one of: a remaining storage of the network device; a remaining time until the network device is connected to a gateway; or a ratio of the remaining storage to the remaining time.

[0105] In some embodiments, the data priority information is determined based on at least one of: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type of the data; the subscription type of the terminal device; the quality of service (QoS) of the data; the latency requirements of the data; the criticality status of the data; and the reason for establishing the radio resource control (RRC) used by the terminal device.

[0106] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, wherein the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, wherein the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, wherein the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

[0107] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; and at least one of the QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0108] In some embodiments, the network device is caused to transmit the data priority information by at least one of: broadcasting system information indicating the data priority information to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device; or transmitting an RRC message indicating the data priority information to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the network device is caused to transmit the data priority information by transmitting a scheduling grant including the data priority information to the terminal device based on receiving a scheduling request or a buffer status report from the terminal device.

[0109] In some embodiments, the network device is caused to transmit data priority information to the terminal device based on receiving data from the terminal device. The data is received in message 3 during the random access procedure; and the data priority information is transmitted in message 4 during the random access procedure.

[0110] In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to receive data from the terminal device and first information indicating whether the data is retransmitted data or deferred data; and for the retransmitted data or the deferred data, determine that the first priority of the data in the previous transmission is higher than the second priority. The network device is also caused to transmit to the terminal device second information indicating that the storage of the network device is exhausted. The second information is transmitted via at least one of the following: broadcast information; scheduling authorization; or RRC release reason.

[0111] In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to transmit third information to the terminal device based on determining that the remaining storage of the network device is below a threshold size, the third information indicating that data having at least one of a QoS, a latency requirement, or a critical state above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to the network device. In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to transmit fourth information to the terminal device indicating that the data is discarded by the network device based on discarding the data received from the terminal device. The fourth information is transmitted via a paging message for the terminal device.

[0112] In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to transmit fifth information to the terminal device, the fifth information indicating whether the data priority information is applicable to one cell among multiple cells of the network device or to multiple cells. The network device is also caused to transmit configuration information for configuring a SF access class in multiple storage and forwarding (SF) access classes for the terminal device to the terminal device; and broadcast system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class among the multiple SF access classes.

[0113] In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to transmit sixth information to the terminal device, the sixth information indicating that the terminal device releases data from the application buffer of the terminal device or keeps the data in the application buffer. In some embodiments, the network device is further caused to transmit a buffer status report (BSR) in the downlink direction to the terminal device, the BSR is used to indicate the network device's share of the storage space for the terminal device.

[0114] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of executing method 500 (eg, terminal device 110) may include a component for executing the corresponding steps of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented as a circuit or a software module.

[0115] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving data priority information associated with at least one storage and forwarding operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) from a network device of the NTN; and a component for performing an operation on uplink data of a terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0116] In some embodiments, the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the remaining storage of the network device; the remaining time until the network device connects to the gateway; or the ratio of the remaining storage to the remaining time. In some other embodiments, the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type of the data; the subscription type of the terminal device; the quality of service (QoS) of the data; the latency requirement of the data; the criticality status of the data; the radio resource control (RRC) establishment reason used by the terminal device.

[0117] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, where the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, where the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, where the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

[0118] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; and at least one of the QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0119] In some embodiments, the means for receiving the data priority information comprises at least one of: means for receiving system information indicating the data priority information from the network device; or means for receiving an RRC message indicating the data priority information from the network device. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for transmitting a scheduling request or a buffer status report to the network device, wherein the data priority information is received in a scheduling grant in response to the scheduling request or the buffer status report.

[0120] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for transmitting data to the network device, wherein data priority information is received by the terminal device from the network device based on the transmitted data. During the random access procedure, the data is transmitted in message 3. During the random access procedure, the data priority information is received in message 4. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: means for transmitting data to the network device; means for deferring transmission of data to the NTN; or means for discarding data.

[0121] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for deleting data based on determining that the priority of the data is higher than a first threshold; a component for retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process for transmitting the data after a first time period from an expected time of receiving confirmation of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than the first threshold and higher than a second threshold; a component for retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process after a second time period determined based on the priority of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a second threshold; or a component for retransmitting the data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a third threshold.

[0122] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for transmitting, to the first network device or the second network device, first information indicating that the data is retransmitted data or postponed data based on retransmitting the data or re-initiating the signaling process. In some embodiments, the component for preventing data from being transmitted to the network device includes: a component for determining that the terminal device 110 is prohibited from accessing the cell of the network device based on the data priority information.

[0123] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving second information from the network device indicating that storage of the network device is exhausted. The second information is received via at least one of: a broadcast message; a scheduling grant; or an RRC release cause. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving third information from the network device indicating that data having at least one of a QoS, a latency requirement, or a criticality status above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to the network device.

[0124] In some embodiments, the network device is a first network device, and the apparatus includes means for retransmitting data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on receiving fourth information from at least one of the first network device or the second network device indicating that data transmitted to the first network device was discarded by the first network device. The fourth information is received via a paging message for the terminal device.

[0125] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving fifth information from a network device, the fifth information indicating whether the data priority information is applicable to one cell among a plurality of cells of the network device or to a plurality of cells. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for obtaining configuration information for configuring a SF access class in a plurality of storage and forwarding SF access classes for a terminal device; a component for receiving system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class among a plurality of SF access classes from the network device; and a component for determining whether the terminal device is prohibited from accessing a cell of the network device based on the SF access class of the terminal device and at least one prohibited SF access class. In some embodiments, the component for obtaining the configuration information includes a component for receiving the configuration information from the network device; or a component for determining configuration information predefined for the terminal device.

[0126] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for receiving sixth information from a network device, the sixth information indicating that the terminal device releases data from an application buffer of the terminal device or keeps the data in the application buffer. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving a buffer status report (BSR) in a downlink direction from a network device, the BSR being used to indicate a share of storage of the network device for the terminal device; and a component for performing data-related operations based on the BSR. The data priority information includes at least one of the following: a first priority of first data of the terminal device; a second priority of second data of the terminal device.

[0127] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 500. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the performance of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0128] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 600 (e.g., network device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 600. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented as circuits or software modules. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: components for storing data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and components for transmitting the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0129] In some embodiments, the data priority information is determined based on at least one of the following: the remaining storage of the network device; the remaining time until the network device is connected to the gateway; or the ratio of the remaining storage to the remaining time. In some embodiments, the data priority information is determined based on at least one of the following: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type; the subscription type of the terminal device; the quality of service QoS of the data; the latency requirement of the data; the criticality status of the data; the radio resource control RRC establishment reason used by the terminal device.

[0130] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, where the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, where the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, where the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

[0131] In some embodiments, the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; and at least one of the QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0132] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for transmitting data priority information by at least one of: a component for broadcasting system information indicating data priority information to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device; or a component for transmitting an RRC message indicating data priority information to the terminal device. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for transmitting data priority information, the transmission being based on a component for receiving a scheduling request or a buffer status report from the terminal device, and a component for transmitting a scheduling grant including the data priority information to the terminal device.

[0133] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting data priority, the transmission being based on means for receiving data from a terminal device; and means for transmitting data priority information to the terminal device. Data is received in message 3 during a random access procedure; and data priority information is transmitted in message 4 during the random access procedure.

[0134] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: a component for receiving data from a terminal device and first information indicating that the data is retransmitted data or deferred data; and a component for determining, for the retransmitted data or deferred data, that the first priority of the data in a previous transmission is higher than the second priority. The apparatus comprises a component for transmitting to the terminal device second information indicating that the storage of the network device is exhausted. The second information is transmitted via at least one of the following: broadcast information; scheduling authorization or RRC release reason.

[0135] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes, based on the component for determining that the remaining storage of the network device is below a threshold size, a component for transmitting third information to the terminal device, the third information indicating that data having at least one of a QoS, a latency requirement, or a criticality status above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to the network device. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes, based on the component for discarding data received from the terminal device, a component for transmitting fourth information to the terminal device indicating that the data is discarded by the network device. The fourth information is transmitted via a paging message for the terminal device.

[0136] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a unit for transmitting fifth information to a terminal device, the fifth information indicating whether the data priority information is applicable to one cell of a plurality of cells of a network device or to a plurality of cells. The apparatus includes: a component for transmitting configuration information for configuring a plurality of storage and forwarding (SF) access classes for the terminal device to the terminal device; and a component for broadcasting system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class among the plurality of SF access classes.

[0137] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for transmitting sixth information to the terminal device, the sixth information indicating that the terminal device releases data from an application buffer of the terminal device or keeps the data in the application buffer. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a component for transmitting a buffer status report (BSR) in a downlink direction to the terminal device, the BSR being used to indicate a share of the storage space of the network device for the terminal device.

[0138] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 600. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the performance of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0139] Figure 7 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided for implementing a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 are shown. As shown in the figure, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processors 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processors 710.

[0140] The communication module 740 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to support communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0141] As non-limiting examples, processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: 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 of a synchronized main processor.

[0142] 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. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not persist until power is removed.

[0143] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0144] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730, so that the device 700 may execute the Figures 2 to 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] Figure 8 800 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 730 stored thereon. It should be noted that although the computer readable medium 800 is stored in Figure 8 800 is depicted in the form of a CD or DVD, but computer readable medium 800 may be in any other form suitable for carrying or retaining program 730.

[0147] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in 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 shown 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 in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0148] 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 a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real processor or a virtual processor to implement the above referenced Figure 5 or Figure 6 Method 500 or 600 described. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the design functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0149] 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 enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented when the program code is executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0150] 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.

[0151] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer 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. As used herein, the term "non-transient" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM to ROM).

[0152] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a specific order, this should not be understood as requiring the specific order shown or in a sequential order to perform these operations, or to perform all described operations, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing can 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 should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a specific embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, 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.

[0153] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0154] In some aspects, a terminal device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receive data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in the NTN from a network device of a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and perform operations on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0155] In some examples, the data priority information is based on at least one of: remaining storage of the network device; remaining time until the network device connects to the gateway; a ratio of remaining storage to remaining time.

[0156] In some examples, the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type of the data; the subscription type of the terminal device; the quality of service QoS of the data; the latency requirements of the data; the criticality status of the data; and the reason for establishing the radio resource control RRC used by the terminal device.

[0157] In some examples, at least one of the following: the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, wherein the second remaining storage is greater than the first remaining storage; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, wherein the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, wherein the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

[0158] In some examples, at least one of the following: the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; and at least one of the QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on the logical channel priority.

[0159] In some examples, the terminal device receives data priority information by at least one of: receiving system information indicating data priority information from a network device; or receiving an RRC message indicating data priority information from a network device.

[0160] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to transmit a scheduling request or a buffer status report to the network device, wherein the data priority information is received in a scheduling grant in response to the scheduling request or the buffer status report.

[0161] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to transmit data to the network device, the data priority information being received by the terminal device from the network device based on the transmitted data.

[0162] In some examples, wherein: during the random access procedure, data is transmitted in message 3; and during the random access procedure, data priority information is received in message 4.

[0163] In some examples, the operations performed by the terminal device based on the data priority information include: transmitting data to a network device; postponing transmission of data to the NTN; or discarding data.

[0164] In some examples, data is transmitted to a network device, the network device is a first network device, and the operation also includes: deleting the data based on determining that the priority of the data is higher than a first threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process for transmitting the data after a first time period from an expected time of receiving confirmation of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than the first threshold and higher than a second threshold; retransmitting the data or re-initiating a signaling process after a second time period determined based on the priority of the data based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a second threshold; or retransmitting the data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on determining that the priority of the data is lower than a third threshold.

[0165] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: based on retransmitting the data or re-initiating the signaling procedure, transmit first information indicating that the data is retransmitted data or postponed data to the first network device or the second network device.

[0166] In some examples, the terminal device is caused to prevent transmission of data to the network device by determining, based on the data priority information, that the terminal device is prohibited from accessing a cell of the network device.

[0167] In some examples, the terminal device is also caused to: receive second information from the network device indicating that storage of the network device is exhausted.

[0168] In some examples, the second information is received via at least one of: broadcast information; scheduling grant; or RRC release cause.

[0169] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: receive third information from the network device, the third information indicating that data having at least one of a QoS, latency requirement, or criticality status above a threshold level is allowed to be transmitted to the network device.

[0170] In some examples, the network device is a first network device, and the terminal device is further caused to: retransmit data to the first network device or the second network device in the NTN during a subsequent connection with the first network device or the second network device based on receiving fourth information from at least one of the first network device or the second network device indicating that data transmitted to the first network device was discarded by the first network device.

[0171] In some examples, the fourth information is received via a paging message to the terminal device.

[0172] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: receive fifth information from the network device, the fifth information indicating whether the data priority information applies to one cell among a plurality of cells of the network device or to a plurality of cells.

[0173] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: obtain configuration information for configuring a SF access class in multiple storage and forwarding SF access classes for the terminal device; receive system information indicating at least one prohibited SF access class in the multiple SF access classes from the network device; and determine whether the terminal device is prohibited from accessing a cell of the network device based on the SF access class of the terminal device and at least one prohibited SF access class.

[0174] In some examples, the terminal device is caused to obtain configuration information by: receiving configuration information from a network device; or determining configuration information predefined for the terminal device.

[0175] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: receive sixth information from the network device, the sixth information instructing the terminal device to release data from an application buffer of the terminal device or to keep the data in the application buffer.

[0176] In some examples, the terminal device is further caused to: receive a buffer status report BSR in a downlink direction from the network device, the BSR being used to indicate a share of storage of the network device for the terminal device; and perform data-related operations based on the BSR.

[0177] In some examples, the data priority information includes at least one of: a first priority of first data of the terminal device; or a second priority of second data of the terminal device.

[0178] In some aspects, a network device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes a terminal device to at least: determine data priority information associated with at least one store and forwarding operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and transmit the data priority information to the terminal device.

[0179] In some examples, a method is provided, comprising: receiving, at a terminal device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in the NTN from a network device of a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and performing an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0180] In some aspects, a method is provided that includes: determining, at a network device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and transmitting the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0181] In some aspects, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for receiving, at a terminal device, data priority information associated with at least one storage and forwarding operation performed by the network device in the NTN from a network device of a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a component for performing an operation on uplink data of the terminal device based on the data priority information.

[0182] In some aspects, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for determining, at a network device, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by the network device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN); and a component for transmitting the data priority information to a terminal device.

[0183] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, on which program instructions are included, and when the program instructions are executed by an apparatus, the apparatus causes the apparatus to at least perform a method according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receiving, from a network device of a non-terrestrial network NTN, data priority information associated with at least one store and forward operation performed by said network device in said NTN; as well as Based on the data priority information, an operation is performed on the uplink data of the terminal device.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: remaining storage of the network device; the time remaining until the network device is connected to the gateway; The ratio of the remaining storage to the remaining time.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the data priority information is based on at least one of the following: the number of times the data has been retransmitted; the data type of the data; The subscription type of the terminal device; Quality of service QoS of the data; The latency requirement of the data; the criticality status of the data; The reason for establishing the radio resource control (RRC) used by the terminal device.

4. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein at least one of the following is: the data priority information indicating a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining storage than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining storage, wherein the second remaining storage is larger than the first remaining storage; The data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first remaining time than when the data priority information is associated with a second remaining time, wherein the second remaining time is less than the first remaining time; or The data priority information indicates a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first ratio than when the data priority information is associated with a second ratio, wherein the second ratio is greater than the first ratio.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein at least one of the following is: the data priority information indicating a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with the uplink data than when the data priority information is associated with feedback for downlink data; the data priority information indicating a lower data priority when the data priority information is associated with a first subscription level than when the data priority information is associated with a second subscription level, wherein the second subscription level is higher than the first subscription level; At least one of the QoS, the latency requirement, or the criticality status of the uplink data is determined based on a logical channel priority.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device receives the data priority information by at least one of the following: receiving system information indicating the data priority information from the network device; or An RRC message indicating the data priority information is received from the network device.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: A scheduling request or a buffer status report is transmitted to the network device, wherein the data priority information is received in a scheduling grant in response to the scheduling request or the buffer status report.

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: The data is transmitted to the network device, and the data priority information is received by the terminal device from the network device based on the transmission of the data.

9. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein: During the random access procedure, the data is transmitted in message 3; and The data priority information is received in message 4 during the random access procedure.

10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the operation performed by the terminal device based on the data priority information comprises: transmitting the data to the network device; deferring transmission of said data to said NTN; or The data is discarded.

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