Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device. A terminal device in an MR-DC architecture can send a QoE measurement result to a correct access network device. The communication method comprises: an access layer of a terminal device receiving a quality of experience (QoE) measurement result and first indication information from an upper layer of the access layer; and the access layer of the terminal equipment determines to send the QoE measurement result to a main base station or an auxiliary base station of the terminal equipment according to the first indication information. Therefore, the QoE measurement result and the first indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result are sent to the access layer through the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal equipment, so that the access layer can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the main base station or the auxiliary base station of the terminal equipment according to the first indication information; therefore, the terminal equipment in the MR-DC architecture can send the QoE measurement result to the correct access network equipment.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of its parent application is 202080102806.5, the filing date is July 22, 2020, and the title is "Communication Method and Communication Device". The entire content of the parent application is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] For some streaming services or voice services, such as streaming services, multimedia telephony services for Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia systems (MTSI), etc., the pure signal quality does not reflect the user experience when using these services. By knowing the user experience, the operator can better optimize the network to improve the user experience. Such measurement collection can be called Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement collection (QMC), or it can also be called application layer measurement collection. During QoE measurement collection, the access network device receives measurement configuration information for QoE measurement from the core network (CN) or operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM), and sends the measurement configuration information to the terminal device. After the terminal device obtains the measurement result according to the measurement configuration information, it sends the measurement result to the access network device.

[0004] In a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) architecture, the terminal device can simultaneously have communication connections with at least two access network devices and can send and receive data. Among the at least two access network devices, the access network device responsible for interacting with the terminal device for radio resource control messages and for interacting with the core network control plane entity can be called the master node (MN), and other access network devices can be called secondary nodes (SN). Among them, both the MN and the SN can send measurement configuration information corresponding to QoE measurement to the terminal device. In this scenario, how the terminal device reports the QoE measurement result is a problem that needs to be studied. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device, enabling a terminal device in an MR-DC architecture to send QoE measurement results to the correct access network device.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including:

[0007] The access stratum of the terminal device receives a Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement result and first indication information from the upper layer of the access stratum;

[0008] The access stratum of the terminal device determines, according to the first indication information, to send the QoE measurement result to the master base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device.

[0009] Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, by the upper layer of the access stratum of the terminal device sending the QoE measurement result and the first indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result to the access stratum, the access stratum can determine, according to the first indication information, to send the QoE measurement result to the master base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device, so that the terminal device in the MR-DC architecture can send the QoE measurement result to the correct access network device.

[0010] It should be noted that the terminal device can determine, according to the first indication information, to send the QoE measurement result to the master base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device. As a possible implementation, the indication information #1 can explicitly indicate "send the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device" or "send the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device". As another possible implementation, the indication information #1 can implicitly indicate "send the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device" or "send the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device".

[0011] In some embodiments, when the time for the application layer of the terminal device to perform QoE measurement according to at least two application layer measurement configurations overlaps, or the periods for reporting QoE measurements corresponding to at least two application layer measurement configurations overlap, when the access stratum of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result from the upper layer, it may not be able to know which QoE measurement configuration the QoE measurement result corresponds to, and thus cannot determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the master base station or the secondary base station. At this time, if the access stratum can receive the first indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result, then the terminal device can determine, according to the first indication information, whether to send the QoE measurement result to the master base station or the secondary base station.

[0012] Alternatively, in some embodiments, even if the application layer of the terminal device only receives one application layer measurement configuration, in order to be compatible with the subsequent scenario of extending to at least two application layer measurement configurations for QoE measurement, the access layer can be enabled to receive the first indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result, and determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station according to the first indication information.

[0013] As an example, the first indication information may include at least one of a trace ID, a TCE ID, QoE service type information, node type information, RAT type information, a PDU session ID, a 5G QoS identifier (5QI), a QoS flow identifier (QFI), and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by OAM or an access network device. Among them, the node type information may indicate the primary base station or the secondary base station. As a specific example, the first identifier may be a base station identifier or a measurement task identifier, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0014] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, before the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result and the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer, it further includes:

[0015] The access layer of the terminal device receives first configuration information from a first access network device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, and the first access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device. That is, the primary base station can send the first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, and the secondary base station can also send the first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0016] Then, the access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information and the first indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device.

[0017] Therefore, by sending the first configuration information and its corresponding first indication information from the access layer of the terminal device to the upper layer of the access layer, the upper layer can obtain the first indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result when obtaining the QoE measurement result according to the first configuration information. After that, the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result and the first indication information to the access layer of the terminal device, so that the access layer can determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station according to the first indication information.

[0018] In some embodiments, the first indication information may be determined by the upper layer of the access stratum itself. For example, it is determined according to the application layer measurement configuration used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement, or the relevant information (such as service type information) sent together with the application layer measurement configuration. The present application does not limit this.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0020] The access stratum of the terminal device receives second indication information from the first access network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first access network device is a master base station or a secondary base station;

[0021] The access stratum determines the first indication information according to the second indication information.

[0022] As an example, the second indication information may include at least one of trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type (servicetype) information, node type information, RAT type information, PDU session identifier, 5G quality of service identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI), quality of service flow identifier (Qos Flow identifier, QFI), and the first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by OAM or the access network device.

[0023] As an example, the second indication information and the first indication information may be the same piece of information. That is, the content included in the first indication information and the second indication information is the same. For example, when the access stratum of the terminal device receives the second indication information sent by the first access network device, the access stratum may send the second indication information to the upper layer of the access stratum to implement sending the first indication information to the upper layer. At this time, the terminal device does not need to regenerate the first indication information, which helps to reduce the terminal complexity.

[0024] In some embodiments, the access stratum of the terminal device may also determine the first indication information according to the source of the first configuration information (such as from the master base station or the secondary base station). The present application does not limit this.

[0025] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, by determining the first indication information according to the second indication information, or determining the first indication information according to whether the access network device sending the first configuration information is a master base station or a secondary base station, it can be ensured that the first indication information is used to indicate that the QoE measurement result obtained according to the first configuration information is sent to the access network device that sends the first configuration information, thereby helping the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the correct access network device.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result and the first indication information from the upper layer of the access layer, it further includes:

[0027] The access layer of the terminal device receives third indication information from a second access network device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the first access network device;

[0028] Wherein, the first access network device is the primary base station, and the second access network device is the secondary base station; or, the first access network device is the secondary base station, and the second access network device is the primary base station.

[0029] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device is used to indicate to which access network device the terminal device reports the QoE measurement result. Thus, the terminal device only needs to send the QoE measurement result to the access network device as instructed by the access network device. On the one hand, it helps to reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device. On the other hand, it helps the network side to decide to which access network device to send the QoE measurement result according to the load of the node, thereby reducing the load of the access network device receiving the QoE measurement result.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0031] The access layer of the terminal device determines that the bearer type corresponding to the service type of QoE measurement has changed;

[0032] When the bearer type changes, the access layer of the terminal device sends first information to the upper layer of the access layer. The first information is used to trigger the reporting of the QoE measurement result, or the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change.

[0033] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, when the network side changes the service bearer type, the terminal device can send the bearer type corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement result to the access network device. Furthermore, the access network device can send the bearer type to the TCE, enabling the TCE to associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps to optimize the network according to the QoE measurement result and the associated bearer type of the service type.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change, the method further includes:

[0035] The access layer of the terminal device receives second information from the upper layer of the access layer, where the second information is used to indicate the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0036] Therefore, when the service bearer type is changed on the network side in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can send the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result to the access network device, and then the access network device can send the bearer type to the TCE, so that the TCE can associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps to optimize the network according to the QoE measurement result and the associated bearer type of the service type.

[0037] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0038] The access layer of the terminal device receives time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods from the upper layer of the access layer.

[0039] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0040] The terminal device receives third information from a third access network device, where the third information is used to indicate the area range of the QoE measurement, and the area range includes the area ranges of at least two RATs, and the third access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device.

[0041] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, in the MR-DC scenario, the network-side device can still configure the area ranges of multiple RATs for the QoE measurement, so that the terminal device can also perform QoE measurement in multiple RAT areas when it is in the MR-DC scenario.

[0042] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which is characterized by including:

[0043] The access layer of the terminal device receives first configuration information from a first access network device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement at the application layer;

[0044] The access layer of the terminal device receives second indication information from the first access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device;

[0045] The access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information and the second indication information to the upper layer of the access layer;

[0046] The access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result and the second indication information from the upper layer of the access layer, where the QoE measurement result is obtained by the upper layer through QoE measurement according to the first configuration information;

[0047] The access layer of the terminal device sends the second indication information and the QoE measurement result to a second access network device, where the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is the master base station and the second access network device is the secondary base station, or the first access network device is the secondary base station and the second access network device is the master base station.

[0048] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the access layer of the terminal device can be configured to uniformly send the QoE measurement result and the second indication information to the master base station (or secondary base station), and then the master base station (or secondary base station) sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, that is, the access layer of the terminal device does not need to determine whether the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result is sent by the master base station or the secondary base station, and sends the measurement result to the master base station (or secondary base station), thereby reducing the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0049] It should be noted that the access layer of the terminal device sending the second indication information to the upper layer of the access layer means that the access layer can directly send the second indication information to the upper layer, and the access layer does not need to know (or perceive, or be aware of) the content of the second indication information. In addition, the upper layer can also directly send the second indication information to the access layer without knowing (or perceiving, or being aware of) the content of the second indication information.

[0050] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology RAT type, a PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

[0051] A third aspect provides a communication method, which is characterized by including:

[0052] A first access network device receives a quality of experience QoE measurement result and second indication information from a terminal device, where the QoE measurement result is obtained by the terminal device through QoE measurement according to first configuration information, the second indication information indicates that a second access network device that sends the first configuration information to the terminal device is the master base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer;

[0053] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, where the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is the master base station and the second access network device is the slave base station, or the first access network device is the slave base station and the second access network device is the master base station.

[0054] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the access layer of the terminal device can be configured to uniformly send the QoE measurement result and the second indication information to the first access network device (the first access network device is, for example, the master base station or the slave base station of the terminal device), and then the first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, that is, the access layer of the terminal device does not need to determine whether the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result is sent by the master base station or the slave base station, and sends the measurement result to the first access network device, thereby reducing the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0055] It should be noted that when the first access network device receives the QoE measurement result from the access layer of the terminal device, it can know whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the QoE measurement result corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the master base station or the QoE measurement result corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the slave base station according to the second indication information.

[0056] Combined with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first access network device is the same as the second access network device,

[0057] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, including:

[0058] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the trace collection entity (TCE) corresponding to the first access network device.

[0059] That is to say, when the first access network device determines, according to the second indication information, that the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is sent by itself, the first access network device can send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the first access network device.

[0060] Combined with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first access network device is the master base station and the second access network device is the slave base station, or the first access network device is the slave base station and the second access network device is the master base station;

[0061] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, including:

[0062] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the second access network device, or the first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the second access network device.

[0063] That is to say, when the first access network device determines, according to the second indication information, that the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is not sent by itself (for example, sent by the second access network device), the first access network device may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the second access network device, or send the QoE measurement result to the second access network device.

[0064] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology RAT type, a PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

[0065] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes a tracking collection entity TCE identifier ID.

[0066] When the first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to a network device according to the second indication information, it includes:

[0067] The first access network device obtains the TCE IP corresponding to the TCE ID according to the relationship between the TCE ID and the IP address.

[0068] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP.

[0069] Optionally, the second access network device may send the TCE ID and the corresponding TCE IP address configured for QoE measurement to the first access network device. Or the second access network device may send the TCE IP address configured for QoE measurement to the first access network device. In this way, when the first access network device determines that the first configuration information is sent by the second access network device, that is, when the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is sent by the second access network device, the first access network device may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the second access network according to the TCE IP address configured for QoE measurement by the second access network device.

[0070] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second indication information includes a tracking ID.

[0071] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, including:

[0072] The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result and the tracking ID to the TCE.

[0073] In this way, for the case where the TCE ID corresponding to the QoE measurement sent by the first access network device is the same as the TCE ID corresponding to the QoE measurement sent by the second access network device, when the TCE receives the QoE measurement result and the trace ID, it can determine whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the first access network device or the first configuration information configured by the second access network device according to the trace ID. For example, when the trace ID is assigned by the CN or OAM or EM to the primary base station for QoE measurement, the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the primary base station; when the trace ID is assigned by the CN or OAM or EM to the secondary base station for QoE measurement, the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the secondary base station.

[0074] Combined with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, before the first access network device receives the QoE measurement result and the second indication information from the terminal device, it further includes:

[0075] The first access network device sends the first configuration information and the second indication information to the terminal device.

[0076] That is to say, the access network device that sends the first configuration information and the second indication information to the terminal device is the same access network device as the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result and the second indication information, for example, both are the primary base station, or both are the secondary base station.

[0077] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, including:

[0078] An access network device receives a QoE measurement result from a terminal device;

[0079] The access network device sends the QoE measurement result and a second piece of information to the TCE, where the second piece of information is used to indicate the bearer type corresponding to the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0080] Therefore, when the service bearer type is changed on the network side in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device may send the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement to the access network device, so that the TCE can associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps to optimize the network according to the QoE measurement result and the associated bearer type of the service type.

[0081] Combined with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the access network device may determine the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement in different time periods. That is to say, the access network device can record the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement and send the bearer types corresponding to the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement in different time periods to the TCE.

[0082] Combined with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the access network device may also determine the time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods and send the time information to the TCE.

[0083] Combined with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the access network device receives the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement in different time periods from the terminal device. That is to say, the terminal device may send the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement to the access network device, and then the access network device may send the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement to the TCE.

[0084] Combined with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the access network device may also receive the time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods from the terminal device and send the time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods to the TCE.

[0085] Optionally, the access network device may also indicate the network architecture to the TCE, such as whether an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network architecture is adopted, or whether a CU / DU network architecture is adopted, etc.

[0086] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. In this method, the access network device may receive third information from the CN / OAM / EM, where the third information is used to indicate the area range of the QoE measurement, and the area range includes the area ranges of at least two RATs;

[0087] The access network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device according to the third information, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform application layer quality of experience (QoE) measurement.

[0088] Exemplarily, when the access network device determines that the terminal device is currently within the area range of RAT1 in the area range of QoE measurement, or within the area range of RAT2 in the area range of QoE measurement, the access network device may send the first configuration information to the terminal device. When the access network device determines that the terminal device is not currently within the area range of RAT1 in the area range of QoE measurement and is not within the area range of RAT2 in the area range of QoE measurement, the access network device does not send the first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0089] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, in the MR-DC scenario, the network side device can still configure the area ranges of multiple RATs for QoE measurement, so that the terminal device can also perform QoE measurement in multiple RAT areas in the MR-DC scenario.

[0090] In some optional embodiments, when the network side needs to change the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement, if the area range corresponding to the target bearer type to be changed is not within the above-mentioned area range of QoE measurement, the access network device may determine not to change the bearer type of the service. In this way, the access network device can still perform QoE measurement when changing the bearer type of the service corresponding to QoE measurement.

[0091] Alternatively, in some optional embodiments, when the network side needs to change the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement, if the area range corresponding to the target bearer type to be changed is not within the above-mentioned area range of QoE measurement, the access network device may notify the terminal device to suspend the current QoE measurement or suspend the reporting of QoE measurement results, or the QoE measurement for the sessions that have already started in the service type corresponding to the current QoE measurement continues, but no new sessions will perform QoE measurement subsequently.

[0092] Combined with the fifth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fifth aspect, the access network device may send the above-mentioned third information to the terminal device. In this way, when the terminal device determines that the area range corresponding to the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement is not within the above-mentioned area range of QoE measurement, the terminal device may suspend the current QoE measurement or suspend the reporting of QoE measurement results, or the QoE measurement for the sessions that have already started in the current QoE measurement continues, but no new sessions will perform QoE measurement subsequently.

[0093] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, including:

[0094] The access layer of the terminal device determines that the bearer type corresponding to the service type of QoE measurement has changed;

[0095] When the bearer type changes, the access stratum of the terminal device sends first information to the upper layer of the access stratum. The first information is used to trigger the reporting of QoE measurement results, or the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change.

[0096] Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, when the service bearer type is changed on the network side, the terminal device can send the bearer type corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement result to the access network device. Then, the access network device can send the bearer type to the TCE, so that the TCE can associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps to optimize the network according to the QoE measurement result and the associated bearer type of the service type.

[0097] In combination with the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the sixth aspect, when the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change, the method further includes:

[0098] The access stratum of the terminal device receives second information from the upper layer of the access stratum. The second information is used to indicate the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0099] Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, when the service bearer type is changed on the network side, the terminal device can send the bearer type corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement result to the access network device. Then, the access network device can send the bearer type to the TCE, so that the TCE can associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps to optimize the network according to the QoE measurement result and the associated bearer type of the service type.

[0100] In combination with the sixth aspect, in some implementation manners of the sixth aspect, it further includes:

[0101] The access stratum of the terminal device receives the time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods from the upper layer of the access stratum.

[0102] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device for performing the method in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect. Specifically, the device includes units or modules for performing the method in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0103] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including: a processor and a transceiver. Optionally, a memory may also be included. The memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory. When the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the execution causes the processor to execute the methods in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects.

[0104] In a ninth aspect, a communication chip is provided, including a processor and a communication interface. The processor is used to call and run instructions from the communication interface. When the processor executes the instructions, the methods in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects are implemented.

[0105] Optionally, the communication chip may further include a memory. Instructions are stored in the memory, and the processor is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory or instructions from other sources. When the instructions are executed, the processor is used to implement the methods in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects.

[0106] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable medium for storing a computer program. The computer program includes instructions for executing the methods in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects.

[0107] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the methods in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect or any possible implementation manner of any one of the aspects.

[0108] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a device having the functions of implementing the methods and various possible designs in the first aspect above, and an access network device. The access network device may be, for example, a device having the functions of implementing the methods and various possible designs in the fourth aspect above, or a device having the functions of implementing the methods and various possible designs in the fifth aspect above; or

[0109] The communication system includes a device having the functions of implementing the methods and various possible designs in the second aspect above, and a device having the functions of implementing the methods and various possible designs in the third aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0110] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication system of the present application.

[0111] Figure 2It is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device of the present application.

[0112] Figure 3 It is another schematic structural diagram of an access network device of the present application.

[0113] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a QoS architecture.

[0114] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack for a bearer.

[0115] Figure 6 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for QoE measurement.

[0116] Figure 7 It is a schematic flowchart of another method for QoE measurement.

[0117] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0118] Figure 9 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0119] Figure 10 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0120] Figure 11 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0121] Figure 12 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0122] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0123] Figure 14 It is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided by the present application.

[0124] Figure 15 It is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0125] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), 5th generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR), or future next-generation communication systems, etc.

[0127] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application can also be referred to as: User Equipment (UE), Mobile Station (MS), Mobile Terminal (MT), Access Terminal, User Unit, User Station, Mobile Station, Mobile Station, Remote Station, Remote Terminal, Mobile Device, User Terminal, Terminal, Wireless Communication Device, User Agent or User Device, etc.

[0128] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users. For example, it can be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, handheld computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grid, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart city, wireless terminals in smart home, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in future 5G networks, or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0129] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices can also be referred to as wearable intelligent devices, which are the general term for devices developed by applying wearable technologies to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes, etc. Wearable devices are portable devices that are either directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not just a hardware device, but more importantly, they achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include those with complete functions and large sizes that can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for physical sign monitoring.

[0130] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, so as to achieve an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection.

[0131] In the embodiments of the present application, IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage, and power saving for terminals through, for example, narrow band (NB) technology. For example, NB only includes one resource block (RB), that is, the bandwidth of NB is only 180 KB. To achieve massive access, it is necessary to require the terminals to be discrete in access. According to the communication method in the embodiments of the present application, the congestion problem of massive terminals in the IoT technology when accessing the network through NB can be effectively solved.

[0132] The access network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with the terminal device. This access network device may also be referred to as an access device or a radio access network device. It may be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, or a NodeB (NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Alternatively, the access network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and an access network device in a 5G network or an access network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc. It may be an access point (AP) in a WLAN or a gNB in a new radio (NR) system. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0133] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the access network device is a device in the RAN, or in other words, a RAN node that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. For example, by way of example and not limitation, as an access network device, the following can be enumerated: gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), etc. In a network structure, the access network device may be a RAN device including a centralized unit (CU) node and a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a control plane CU node (CU-CP node), a user plane CU node (CU-UP node), and a DU node.

[0134] The access network device serves a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the access network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (e.g., frequency domain resources, or in other words, spectrum resources). The cell may be a cell corresponding to the access network device (e.g., a base station). The cell may belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. Here, the small cell may include: metro cell, micro cell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of a small coverage area and a low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-rate data transmission services.

[0135] In addition, multiple cells can operate on the same frequency on a carrier in an LTE system or a 5G system. In some special scenarios, the concepts of the above-mentioned carrier and cell can also be considered equivalent. For example, in the carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, when a secondary carrier is configured for a UE, the carrier index of the secondary carrier and the cell identification (Cell ID) of the secondary cell operating on this secondary carrier are carried simultaneously. In this case, the concepts of carrier and cell can be considered equivalent. For example, the access of a terminal device to a carrier is equivalent to the access to a cell.

[0136] The core network device in the embodiments of this application refers to a device in the core network (CN) that provides service support for terminal devices. Currently, some examples of core network devices are: access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc., which are not listed one by one here. For example, the AMF entity can be responsible for the access management and mobility management of the terminal; the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as the establishment of a user's session, etc.; the UPF entity can be a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to an external network.

[0137] It should be noted that an entity in this application can also be referred to as a network element or a functional entity. For example, the AMF entity can also be referred to as the AMF network element or the AMF functional entity. Another example is that the SMF entity can also be referred to as the SMF network element or the SMF functional entity, etc.

[0138] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by the embodiments of this application is shown, as Figure 1 shown, a terminal device can simultaneously have communication connections with two access network devices and can send and receive data, which can be called dual-connectivity (DC), or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC). In this way, the network side can utilize the resources of these two access network devices to provide communication services for this terminal device, thereby providing high-rate transmission for the terminal device. Among these two access network devices, one access network device can be responsible for interacting with the terminal device for radio resource control messages and for interacting with the core network control plane entity. Then, this access network device can be called the master node (MN), and the other radio access network device can be called the secondary node (SN).

[0139] In MR-DC, a terminal device can also be in communication connection with multiple access network devices simultaneously and can send and receive data. Among the multiple access network devices, one access network device can be responsible for interacting with the terminal device for radio resource control messages and for interacting with the core network control plane entity. Then, this access network device can be called the MN, and the remaining access network devices can be called the SNs.

[0140] In the embodiments of this application, the two or multiple access network devices can be access network devices belonging to the same radio access technology (RAT) (such as all 4G base stations or all 5G base stations), or can be access network devices of different RATs (such as one 4G base station and one 5G base station).

[0141] MR-DC can include multiple types, such as E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC), NG-RAN-E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (NGEN-DC), NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC), and NR-NR dual connectivity (NR-DC), etc.

[0142] Exemplarily, in EN-DC, the MN is an LTE base station (such as an eNB) connected to the evolved packet core (EPC), and the SN is an NR base station (such as a gNB).

[0143] Exemplarily, in NGEN-DC, the MN is an LTE base station (such as an ng-eNB) connected to the 5G core network (5GC), and the SN is an NR base station (such as a gNB).

[0144] Exemplarily, in NE-DC, the MN is an NR base station (such as a gNB) connected to the 5GC, and the SN is an LTE base station (such as an eNB).

[0145] Exemplarily, in NR-DC, the MN is an NR base station (such as a gNB) connected to the 5GC, and the SN is an NR base station (such as a gNB).

[0146] For a terminal device in an MR-DC, the SN may have a user plane connection with the core network to which the MN is connected, that is, the core network can directly send data to the terminal device through the SN.

[0147] In the MN of an MR-DC, there is a primary cell, and in the SN, there is a primary-secondary cell. A primary cell refers to a cell deployed on the primary frequency point, and the terminal device initiates the initial connection establishment process or the connection reconstruction process in the cell, or the cell is indicated as the primary cell during the handover process. A primary-secondary cell refers to the cell where the terminal device initiates the random access process in the SN, or the cell where the terminal device skips the random access process and initiates data transmission during the SN change process, or the cell of the SN that initiates random access during the execution of the synchronous reconfiguration process.

[0148] The EN-DC network is sometimes also referred to as a non-standalone (NSA) network. Because in the initial stage of 5G, the terminal device in the EN-DC network cannot camp on the NR cell. The NR base station on which the terminal device can camp is sometimes also referred to as a standalone (SA) NR base station.

[0149] Figure 2 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 2 shown, the communication between the RAN device and the terminal device follows a certain protocol layer structure. For example, the control plane protocol layer structure may include functions of protocol layers such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer. The user plane protocol layer structure may include functions of protocol layers such as the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the physical layer; in one implementation, a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer may also be included above the PDCP layer of the user plane protocol layer structure.

[0150] The functions of these protocol layers can be implemented by one node, or can be implemented by multiple nodes; for example, in an evolved architecture, the RAN device may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), and multiple DUs can be centrally controlled by one CU.

[0151] As Figure 2As shown, the CU and DU can be divided according to the protocol layers of the wireless network. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers are set in the CU, and the protocol layers below the PDCP layer, such as the RLC layer and MAC layer, etc., are set in the DU. Or rather, the CU has the functions above the PDCP layer (including PDCP, RRC, and SDAP), and the DU has the functions below the PDCP layer (including RLC, MAC, and PHY).

[0152] This division of protocol layers is just an example. It can also be divided at other protocol layers. For example, at the RLC layer, the functions of the RLC layer and above protocol layers are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU; or, in a certain protocol layer, for example, part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. In addition, it can also be divided in other ways. For example, divided by latency, the functions that need to meet the latency requirements in terms of processing time are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet this latency requirement are set in the CU.

[0153] Figure 3 Another schematic diagram of the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is shown. Relative to Figure 2 the architecture shown, the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can also be separated and implemented as different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity).

[0154] In the above network architecture, the signaling generated by the CU can be sent to the terminal device through the DU, or the signaling generated by the terminal device can be sent to the CU through the DU. The DU can directly encapsulate and transparently transmit it to the terminal device or CU through the protocol layer without parsing the signaling. In the following embodiments, if this kind of signaling transmission between the DU and the terminal device is involved, at this time, the sending or receiving of the signaling by the DU includes this scenario. For example, the signaling of the RRC or PDCP layer will ultimately be processed as the signaling of the PHY layer and sent to the terminal device, or, transformed from the received signaling of the PHY layer. In this architecture, the RRC or PDCP layer signaling can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or, sent by the DU and the radio frequency.

[0155] In the above embodiments, the CU is divided into a network device on the RAN side. In addition, the CU can also be divided into a network device on the CN side, which is not limited here.

[0156] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the QoS architecture based on the quality of service (QoS) flow in the 5G scenario is shown.

[0157] Here, the terminal device is taken as the UE, the RAN device as the gNB, and the 5GC including the UPF as an example for description. This architecture is applicable to the connection of NR to the 5GC and also to the connection of E-UTRA to the 5GC. As Figure 4 shown, for each UE, the 5GC establishes one or more PDU sessions for it. A PDU session can be understood as a connection that provides PDU link services between the UE and the data network (DN). For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) for each PDU session. A DRB can be understood as a data bearer between the NB and the UE, and the data packets in this data bearer have the same forwarding processing.

[0158] As Figure 4 shown, one or more QoS flows can be transmitted or carried in the DRB. A QoS flow refers to a data stream with the same QoS requirements within a PDU session. Among them, the QoS flow is the smallest granularity for QoS differentiation in a PDU session.

[0159] The transmission between the NB and the UE can be referred to as the access stratum (AS), and the transmission between the UE and the 5GC can be referred to as the non-access stratum (NAS). In the QoS architecture based on QoS flows, it mainly includes the QoS flow mapping of the AS and NAS. The NAS layer is mainly responsible for the mapping relationship between the IP flow or other types of data packets and the QoS flow. The downlink QoS flow is generated by the core network UPF, and the uplink QoS flow is generated by the terminal. The AS layer is mainly responsible for the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB. The network side (such as the base station) configures the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB and provides QoS services for the QoS flow in the DRB on the air interface.

[0160] In the embodiments of this application, the DRBs in MR-DC are divided into master cell group (MCG) bearers, secondary cell group (SCG) bearers, and split bearers. Among them, the MCGBearer means that the RLC / MAC entity of this DRB is only on the MN, the SCG bearer means that the RLC / MAC entity of this DRB is only on the SN, and the Split bearer means that the RLC / MAC entity of this DRB exists on both the MN and the SN.

[0161] Figure 5It shows a schematic diagram of the protocol stacks for MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and split bearer on the network side in EN-DC.

[0162] Among them, the MN and SN have different RLC / MAC entities. For the MCG bearer on the MN, data is transmitted between the RLC / MAC entity on the MN and the terminal device; for the MCG bearer on the SN, data is transmitted between the RLC / MAC entity on the MN and the terminal device; for the SCG bearer of the MN, data is transmitted between the RLC / MAC entity on the SN and the terminal device; for the SCG bearer of the SN, data is transmitted between the RLC / MAC entity on the SN and the terminal device; for the split bearer on the MN, data can be transmitted either between the RLC / MAC entity on the MN and the terminal device or through the RLC / MAC entity on the SN and the terminal device; for the split bearer on the SN, data can be transmitted either between the RLC / MAC entity on the MN and the terminal device or between the RLC / MAC entity on the SN and the terminal device.

[0163] For the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, it is called the MN terminated bearer, that is, the downlink (DL) data arrives directly at the MN from the core network, and after being processed by the PDCP / SDAP of the MN, it is sent to the terminal device through the RLC / MAC of the MN or / and SN, and the uplink (UL) data is sent to the core network after being processed by the PDCP / SDAP of the MN. Similarly, for the bearer with PDCP terminated on the SN, it is called the SN terminated bearer, that is, the DL data arrives directly at the SN from the core network, and after being processed by the PDCP / SDAP of the SN, it is sent to the terminal device through the RLC / MAC of the MN or / and SN, and the UL data is sent to the core network after being processed by the PDCP / SDAP of the SN.

[0164] In addition, in MR-DC, both the MN and the SN have RRC entities and can generate RRC messages (i.e., control messages, such as measurement messages, etc.). In one possible implementation, the SN can directly send the RRC messages generated by the SN to the terminal device. In this case, the RRC messages sent by the terminal device to the SN are also directly sent to the SN. In this case, the RRC messages between the SN and the terminal device are transmitted through what is called Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) 3, or it can be said that the RRC messages are carried in SRB3. In another possible implementation, the RRC messages generated by the SN can be sent to the MN, and then the MN sends them to the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device also transfers the RRC messages for the SN to the SN through the MN, that is, the terminal device sends these RRC messages to the MN, and the MN then transfers the messages to the SN.

[0165] The devices in the following embodiments of this application, according to the functions they implement, can be located in the terminal device, or the MN, or the SN. When adopting the above CU-DU structure, the MN can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node, and the SN can be a CU node, or a DU node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.

[0166] It should be understood that the above Figures 1 to 5 is only an exemplary illustration and should not constitute any limitation to this application. For example, in a communication system, the core network device can also be connected to multiple access network devices to control the access network devices, and can distribute the data received from the network side (such as the Internet) to the access network devices.

[0167] For some streaming services, voice services, or other services, such as streaming service, IPMTSI service, the simple signal quality cannot reflect the user experience when the user is using these services. At this time, the operator can collect QoE measurements to obtain the user experience, so as to better optimize the network to improve the user experience.

[0168] Figure 6 The schematic flowchart of a QoE measurement method is shown. As Figure 6 shown, this QoE measurement method includes steps 101 to 106.

[0169] 101. The CN, OAM, or element manager (EM) sends a QoE measurement request to the access network device, which includes QoE measurement configuration information. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoE measurement request. Among them, the QoE measurement configuration information in the QoE measurement request is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, for example, to instruct the terminal device to start QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0170] In some embodiments, when the QoE measurement is initiated using signalling based Minimization of Drive-Tests (MDT), that is, the QoE measurement is signalling based QoE measurement, the CN sends the above QoE measurement configuration information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoE measurement configuration information from the CN. As a possible implementation, the CN can notify the QoE measurement configuration information for a specific terminal device. For example, the QoE measurement configuration information can be sent through the interface message between the access network device and the CN for the specific terminal device, such as carrying the QoE measurement configuration information in the initial context setup message, trace start message, or handover request message sent by the CN to the access network device for the specific terminal device.

[0171] In some embodiments, when the QoE measurement is initiated using management based MDT, that is, the QoE measurement is management based QoE measurement, the OAM or EM sends the QoE measurement configuration information to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoE measurement configuration information from the OAM or EM. It should be noted that here the QoE measurement configuration information is not the QoE measurement configuration information for a specific terminal device. That is, when the access network device receives the QoE measurement configuration information from the OAM or EM, the QoE measurement configuration information does not specify which terminal device to measure.

[0172] As an example, the QoE measurement configuration information can be as shown in Table 1 below:

[0173] Table 1

[0174]

[0175]

[0176]

[0177] Among them, (1..1000) represents the value range of an 8-bit string.

[0178] Among them, in Table 1, the range selection of QoE measurement collection areas can be, respectively, the QoE measurement collection area range based on a cell, the QoE measurement collection area range based on a TA, the QoE measurement collection area range based on a TAI, and the QoE measurement collection area range based on a PLMN area. The QoE measurement collection area range based on a cell can carry a list of cells of QMC. <maxnoofcellidforqmc>It indicates that there can be multiple such cell lists, and each cell list contains a global cell identifier (i.e., the content in the line below it). The TA-based QoE measurement collection area range can carry the TA list of the QMC. <maxnooftaforqmc>It indicates that there can be multiple such TA lists, and each TA list contains a TAC (i.e., the content in the line below it). The QoE measurement collection area range based on the TAI can carry the TA list of the QMC. <maxnooftaforqmc>It indicates that there can be multiple such TAI lists, and each TAI list contains a TAI (i.e., the content in the line below it). The collection area range of QoE measurements based on the PLMN area can carry the PLMN list of the QMC. <maxnoofplmnforqmc>It means that there can be multiple such PLMN lists, and each PLMN list contains a PLMN identifier (i.e., the content in the line below it).

[0179] When the QoE measurement configuration information includes the area range of the QoE measurement in Table 1, only when the terminal device is in these areas, the access network device will send the QoE measurement configuration information to the terminal device, or the access network device will request the terminal device to report the QoE measurement result, or the access network device will request the terminal device to perform QoE measurement.

[0180] It should be noted that in Table 1, the application layer measurement configuration container in the QoE measurement configuration information is transparent to the access network device. That is to say, the access network device cannot perceive the information content contained in the application layer measurement configuration container. The information contained in the application layer measurement configuration container can be called application layer measurement configuration information (or application layer measurement configuration). In other embodiments, the application layer measurement configuration container can also carry the information content contained therein in a form that can be perceived by the access network device, and the present application does not limit this.

[0181] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the example is that the CN or OAM or EM sends a QoE measurement request to the access network device. It is also possible that other network devices send a QoE measurement request to the access network device, or it is also possible that the access network device triggers QoE measurement according to its own needs, and the present application does not limit this.

[0182] 102. The access network device sends application layer measurement configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device.

[0183] Exemplarily, the access network device can send the application layer measurement configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device through an RRC message.

[0184] Optionally, the access network device also sends the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement to the access layer of the terminal device.

[0185] 103. The access layer of the terminal device sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the upper layer of this access layer.

[0186] Optionally, the access layer of the terminal device also sends the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement to the upper layer of the access layer.

[0187] Exemplarily, the upper layer of the access layer can be, for example, the application (APP) layer, or the layer between the application layer and the access layer, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0188] It should be noted that the access layer of the terminal device refers to the functional layer for communication between the terminal device and the access network device. Exemplarily, the access layer may include at least one of the RRC, PDCP, and SDAP layers. Optionally, the access layer may also include at least one of the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers. For example, the RRC layer of the terminal device may receive the application layer measurement configuration information and service type, and send the application layer measurement configuration information and service type to the upper layer of the RRC layer.

[0189] 104. The upper layer sends the QoE measurement result to the access layer.

[0190] Exemplarily, when the upper layer is the application layer, the application layer may perform QoE measurement according to the received application layer measurement configuration information and obtain the QoE measurement result. Then, the application layer may send the QoE measurement result to the access layer of the terminal device. When the upper layer is other layers, the other layers may perform QoE measurement according to the received application layer measurement configuration information and obtain the QoE measurement result. The application layer sends the QoE measurement result to the other layers, and then, the other layers may send the QoE measurement result to the access layer of the terminal device.

[0191] In some embodiments, the upper layer may send the QoE measurement result and the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result to the access layer together. Here, when the application layer performs QoE measurement according to the application layer measurement configuration information to obtain the QoE measurement result, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information is the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result.

[0192] 105. The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the access network device.

[0193] Exemplarily, the access layer may encapsulate the QoE measurement result in a transparent container and send it to the access network device.

[0194] In some alternative embodiments, when the access layer receives the QoE measurement result and the corresponding service type, it may send the QoE measurement result and the corresponding service type together (for example, carried in the same RRC message) to the access network device.

[0195] It should be noted that the access network device that sends the application layer measurement configuration information and the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result may not be the same access network device, or may be the same access network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, when the terminal device switches the serving access network device due to the mobility of the terminal device, they are not the same access network device at this time.

[0196] 106. The access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the trace collection entity (TCE).

[0197] For example, before step 102, the QoE measurement request in step 101 may include the TCE ID. In this way, the access network device can determine the TCE IP address according to the mapping relationship between the TCE ID and the TCE IP address, and send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP address.

[0198] Another example, before step 102, for example, the QoE measurement request in step 101 may include the TCE IP. In this way, the access network device can send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP address according to the TCE IP address.

[0199] Through the above steps 101 to 106, the QoE measurement process can be completed.

[0200] In the MR-DC architecture, both the MN and the SN may send application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device. After the terminal device obtains the QoE measurement result according to the application layer measurement configuration information, it can send the QoE measurement result to the corresponding base station. Figure 7 FIG. shows a schematic flowchart of a method for QoE measurement in MR-DC. The method includes steps 201 to 205.

[0201] Before step 201, the CN / OAM / EM may send QoE measurement configuration information to the access network device. In one possible case, the CN / OAM / EM may send QoE measurement configuration information to the MN in the MR-DC. In another possible case, the CN / OAM / EM sends QoE measurement configuration information to the MN in the MR-DC, and the MN then sends the QoE measurement configuration information to the SN (which may be part of the QoE measurement configuration information received by the MN or all of the QoE measurement configuration information received by the MN). At this time, the access network device that receives the QoE measurement configuration information can be considered as the SN.

[0202] 201. The MN and the SN negotiate for QoE measurement.

[0203] Exemplarily, the MN may query the SN as to whether the SN can configure QoE measurement for the UE (or whether it can send application layer measurement configuration information to the UE), or the MN may notify the SN that the MN configures QoE measurement for the UE (or the MN sends application layer measurement configuration information to the UE), or the SN may notify the MN that the SN configures QoE measurement for the UE (or the SN sends application layer measurement configuration information to the UE), etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0204] In some embodiments, the MN and the SN may separately send application layer measurement configuration information to the UE. At this time, the MN and the SN may negotiate the service type of the QoE measurement. For example, the MN may notify the SN that the MN configures QoE measurement of a first service type (service type, which may also be referred to as service type) for the UE, or indicate to the SN that the SN configures QoE measurement of a second service type for the UE.

[0205] In some alternative embodiments, the MN may send application layer measurement configuration information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE sends the QoE measurement result to the MN. For details, refer to steps 202 and 203 below.

[0206] 202. The MN sends application layer measurement configuration information to the UE. This application layer measurement configuration information is used to instruct the UE to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, for example, to instruct the terminal device to start QoE measurement at the application layer. Specifically, this application layer measurement configuration information can be referred to Figure 1 and the description in Table 1, which will not be elaborated here.

[0207] 203. The UE sends the QoE measurement result to the MN. Among them, this QoE measurement result is obtained by the UE performing QoE measurement according to the application layer measurement configuration information in step 202.

[0208] In some alternative embodiments, the SN may send application layer measurement configuration information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE may send the QoE measurement result to the SN. For details, refer to steps 204 and 205 below.

[0209] 204. The SN sends application layer measurement configuration information to the UE. This application layer measurement configuration information is used to instruct the UE to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, for example, to instruct the terminal device to start QoE measurement at the application layer. Specifically, this application layer measurement configuration information can be referred to Figure 1 and the description in Table 1, which will not be elaborated here.

[0210] 205. The UE sends the QoE measurement result to the SN. Among them, this QoE measurement result is obtained by the UE performing QoE measurement according to the application layer measurement configuration information in step 204.

[0211] As a possible implementation, in step 204, the SN may send the RRC message to be sent to the UE (i.e., the RRC message between the SN and the UE, which contains the application layer measurement configuration information) to the MN, and then the MN encapsulates the RRC message between the UE and the SN in the RRC message between it and the UE.

[0212] Correspondingly, in step 205, the UE may encapsulate the RRC message to be sent to the SN (i.e., the RRC message between the SN and the UE, which contains the QoE measurement result) in the RRC message from the UE to the MN and send it to the MN. After receiving this RRC message, the MN may then send the RRC message between the UE and the SN to the SN.

[0213] As another possible implementation, in step 204, the SN may directly send the application layer measurement configuration information to the UE through SRB3. Correspondingly, in step 205, the UE may directly send the QoE measurement result to the SN through SRB3.

[0214] However, in DC communication, if the access stratum of the terminal device cannot determine whether the measurement result is the measurement result corresponding to the measurement configuration information sent by the MN or the measurement result corresponding to the measurement configuration information sent by the SN after obtaining the QoE measurement result from its upper layer, it will cause the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the wrong access network device, and thus the access network device will mistakenly think that the QoE measurement result belongs to its own QoE measurement result, resulting in inaccurate subsequent processing results based on the QoE measurement result (such as the access network device optimizing the network configuration or adjusting the resource allocation of the terminal device, etc.). Or, it may cause the access network device to send the QoE measurement result to other network devices (such as the TCE). If the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the wrong access network device and the access network device then sends it to the TCE, the TCE will mistakenly think that the QoE belongs to its own QoE measurement result or mistakenly think that it is the QoE measurement result corresponding to the wrong access network device, resulting in inaccurate subsequent processing results based on the QoE measurement result.

[0215] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication solution. In this solution, the access stratum of the terminal device may receive the QoE measurement result and the indication information corresponding to the QoE measurement result from the upper layer of the access stratum, so that the access stratum may determine to send the QoE measurement result to the access network device in DC communication, such as the MN or the SN, according to the indication information.

[0216] The communication method and communication device provided by the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0217] The technical solution of the present application may be applied to a wireless communication system. For example, Figure 1 The communication system shown in, or Figure 2 The communication system shown in, or Figure 3 The communication system shown. There may be a wireless communication connection relationship between communication devices in a wireless communication system. One of the communication devices may be, for example, a master base station or a chip configured in the master base station, another device may be, for example, a secondary base station or a chip configured in the secondary base station, and another device may be, for example, a terminal device or a chip configured in the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0218] Hereinafter, without loss of generality, first, the communication process of a terminal device will be taken as an example to describe the embodiments of the present application in detail. It can be understood that any terminal device in a wireless communication system or a chip configured in the terminal device can communicate based on the same method, any master base station in a wireless communication system or a chip configured in the master base station can communicate based on the same method, and any secondary base station in a wireless communication system or a chip configured in the secondary base station can communicate based on the same method. The present application does not limit this.

[0219] Hereinafter, taking the master base station as MN and the secondary base station as SN as an example for description, but this does not limit the embodiments of the present application.

[0220] Figure 8 FIG. shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method 300 provided by an embodiment of the present application. In method 300, the access stratum of the terminal device receives a QoE measurement result and indication information #1 from its upper layer, and determines to send the QoE measurement result to MN or SN according to the indication information #1. As Figure 8 shown, method 300 includes steps 310 to 320.

[0221] 310, the access stratum of the terminal device receives a quality of experience QoE measurement result and indication information #1 from the upper layer of the access stratum.

[0222] Here, the terminal device can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or SN of the terminal device according to the indication information #1.

[0223] As a possible implementation, the indication information #1 can explicitly indicate "send the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device" or "send the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device". For example, the indication information #1 can be a 1-bit indication bit. When the value of the indication bit is "0", it can indicate to send the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device, and when the value of the indication bit is "1", it can indicate to send the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device. Or vice versa.

[0224] As another possible implementation, the indication information #1 may implicitly indicate "sending the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device" or "sending the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device". For example, when the indication information #1 is the first QoE service type, it may indicate sending the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device, and when the indication information #1 is the second QoE service type, it may indicate sending the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device. That is to say, the QoE service type can be used to indicate the service type of QoE measurement. When reporting the QoE measurement result, the terminal device can also determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN according to the QoE service type.

[0225] In some embodiments, when the time for the application layer of the terminal device to perform QoE measurement according to at least two application layer measurement configuration information overlaps, or the reporting periods of QoE measurements corresponding to at least two application layer measurement configuration information overlap, when the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result from the upper layer, it may not be able to know which application layer measurement configuration information the QoE measurement result corresponds to, and thus cannot determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN. At this time, if the access layer can receive the indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result, then the terminal device can determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0226] Alternatively, in some embodiments, even if the application layer of the terminal device only receives one application layer measurement configuration information, in order to be compatible with the subsequent scenario of extending to QoE measurement according to at least two application layer measurement configuration information, the access layer can be enabled to receive the indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result, and determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0227] As an example, the indication information #1 may include at least one of a trace ID, a TCE ID, QoE service type information, node type information, RAT type information, a PDU session ID, a 5G QoS identifier (5QI), a QoS Flow identifier (QFI), and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by the OAM or the access network device. Among them, the node type information can indicate the MN or the SN. As a specific example, the first identifier may be a base station identifier or a measurement task identifier, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0228] For example, in a case where the indication information #1 includes the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the node type information of the MN, the PDU session identifier for the data transmitted on the MN terminated bearer, the QFI for the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, an identifier allocated by the MN, or an identifier allocated by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent to the MN, the indication information #1 can be used to indicate sending the QoE measurement result to the MN.

[0229] For another example, in a case where the indication information #1 includes the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the node type information of the SN, the PDU session identifier for the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the SN, the QFI for the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the SN, an identifier allocated by the SN, or an identifier allocated by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent to the SN, the indication information #1 can be used to indicate sending the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0230] In some embodiments, the indication information #1 can be determined by the upper layer of the access stratum itself, for example, determined according to the application layer measurement configuration information used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement, or relevant information (such as QoE servicetype information) sent together with the application layer measurement configuration information. The indication information #1 can also be received by the upper layer of the access stratum from the access stratum of the terminal device (for example, through steps 301 and 302 in the following), and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0231] In some alternative embodiments, before step 310, steps 301 and 302 may further be included.

[0232] 301. The first access network device sends first configuration information to the access stratum of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0233] Wherein, the first access network device may be the MN or SN of the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. That is to say, the MN can send the first configuration information to the access stratum of the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, and the SN can also send the first configuration information to the access stratum of the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0234] In some possible implementation manners, the SN may further request the MN to send the first configuration information to the terminal device. When the MN sends the first configuration information to the terminal device, it may indicate that the first configuration information comes from the SN. At this time, it can be considered that the SN sends the first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0235] Exemplarily, the first configuration information may be Figure 6 the application layer measurement configuration information in Figure 6 , and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Specifically, reference may be made to

[0236] In some optional implementation manners, the first access network device also sends indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the indication information #2 may be used to indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN or the SN. As a specific example, the indication information #2 may include at least one of a trace ID, a TCE ID, QoE service type information, node type information, RAT type information, a PDU session identifier, a 5G service quality identifier (5G QoS identifier, 5QI), a QoS flow identifier (Qos Flow identifier, QFI), and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by the OAM or the access network device. The first identifier may refer to the description above and will not be elaborated herein.

[0237] It should be noted that the terminal device may determine that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN or the SN according to the indication information #2. Among them, the indication information #2 may explicitly indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN, or indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the SN. The indication information #2 may also implicitly indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN, or indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the SN. Specifically, the explicit indication or implicit indication may refer to the description of the indication information #1 above and will not be elaborated herein.

[0238] For example, when the indication information #2 includes the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the node type information of the MN, the PDU session identifier for the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, the QFI for the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, an identifier assigned by the MN, or an identifier assigned by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the indication information #2 may be used to indicate that it is the MN that sends the above first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0239] For another example, in the case where the indication information #2 includes the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the node type information of the SN, the PDU session identifier corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated at the SN, the QFI corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated at the SN, an identifier allocated by the SN, or an identifier allocated by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the indication information #2 can be used to indicate that it is the SN that sends the above first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0240] In some embodiments, the MN may include the above first configuration information and the indication information #2 in an RRC message and send it to the access stratum of the terminal device. At this time, the first configuration information can be encapsulated in the RRC message in the form of a container. The indication information #2 can also be encapsulated in the container, or the indication information #2 can be included in a form other than a container outside the container in the RRC message. For example, the MN explicitly sends the indication information #2 to the terminal device in the form of an information element, and the RRC layer of the MN, SN, or terminal device can know the specific meaning of these information elements.

[0241] In some alternative embodiments, if the indication information #2 is a trace ID, TCE ID, QoE servicetype information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier, then before step 301, the MN and the SN need to interact with each other regarding the available ranges of these respective information.

[0242] For example, MN may send to SN the usage scope of the trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier available for the QoE measurement configured by SN for the terminal device, or SN may send to MN the usage scope of the trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier available for the QoE measurement configured by SN for the terminal device. When MN knows the usage scope of the trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier available for SN, it may determine the non-overlapping usage scope of the trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier available for MN and SN. In this way, the terminal device may determine, based on at least one of the trace ID, TCE ID, QoE service type information, PDU session identifier, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier, which access network device (e.g., MN or SN) sends the first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0243] As a specific example, when the first configuration information is the application layer measurement configuration information shown in Table 1, the indication information #2 may be the QoE service type information in Table 1. When the QoE service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information is the QMC of the streaming media service and MN sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the indication information #2 may indicate that the first access network device sending the application layer measurement configuration information is MN; when the QoE service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information is the QMC of the MTSI service and SN sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the indication information #2 may indicate that the first access network device sending the QoE measurement configuration information is SN. Additionally, in this example, if the QoE service types corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information sent by MN or SN are the same, the indication information #2 may be at least one of the information such as the trace ID, TCE ID, PDU session ID, 5QI, QFI, or the first identifier, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0244] Optionally, before the first access network device sends the application layer measurement configuration information, MN and SN may interact to determine that the QoE service type of the QoE measurement corresponding to MN is the QMC of the streaming media service, and the QoE service type of the QoE measurement corresponding to SN is the QMC of the MTSI service.

[0245] Conversely, when the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information is QMC of the MTSI service and the MN sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the indication information #2 may indicate that the first access network device sending the application layer measurement configuration information is the MN; when the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information is QMC of the streaming media service and the SN sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the indication information #2 may indicate that the first access network device sending the application layer measurement configuration information is the SN. Optionally, before the first access network device sends the application layer measurement configuration information, the MN and the SN may interact to determine that the service type of the application layer measurement corresponding to the MN is QMC of the MTSI service, and the service type of the application layer measurement corresponding to the SN is QMC of the streaming media service.

[0246] 302. After the access layer of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the first access network device, it may send the first configuration information and the indication information #1 to the upper layer of the access layer.

[0247] Correspondingly, the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the indication information #1.

[0248] Exemplarily, when the application layer of the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the indication information #1, it may perform QoE measurement according to the first configuration information and obtain a QoE measurement result (at this time, the QoE measurement result may be referred to as the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first configuration information). Then, the application layer may send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #1 to the access layer of the terminal device, for example, perform the steps of 310 above.

[0249] Therefore, by sending the first configuration information and its corresponding indication information #1 from the access layer of the terminal device to the upper layer of the access layer, the upper layer can obtain the indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result when obtaining the QoE measurement result according to the first configuration information. After that, the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #1 to the access layer of the terminal device, so that the access layer can determine whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0250] In step 302, the access layer of the terminal device may also determine the indication information #1. Exemplarily, the access layer may determine the indication information #1 according to the indication information #2, or may also determine the indication information #1 according to the first configuration information. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0251] As an example, indication information #2 and indication information #1 can be the same piece of information. That is, the content included in indication information #1 and indication information #2 is the same. For example, when the access layer of the terminal device receives indication information #2 sent by the first access network device, the access layer can send the indication information #2 to the upper layer of the access layer.

[0252] In this way, when indication information #2 and indication information #1 are the same piece of information (such as information a), this information a is used to indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN, and can also be used to indicate that the terminal device will send the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the MN. Alternatively, this information a is used to indicate that the first access network device sending the first configuration information is the SN, and can also be used to indicate that the terminal device will send the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the SN.

[0253] As another example, when the access layer of the terminal device receives the first configuration information and can determine that the access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN or the SN (for example, it can be determined according to indication information #2, or determined by other means), the terminal device can generate the indication information #1.

[0254] For example, when it is determined that the first configuration information is sent by the MN, the indication information #1 can be at least one of the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the information of the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, the node type information of the MN, the PDU session identifier corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, the QFI corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the MN, an identifier allocated by the MN, or an identifier allocated by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent by the MN, that is, the indication information #1 is used to indicate that the terminal device will send the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the MN.

[0255] For another example, when it is determined that the first configuration information is sent by the SN, the indication information #1 may be at least one of the trace ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the TCE ID corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN, the node type information of the SN, the PDU session identifier corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the SN, the QFI corresponding to the data transmitted on the bearer with PDCP terminated on the SN, an identifier assigned by the SN, or an identifier assigned by the OAM for the application layer measurement configuration sent by the SN. That is, the indication information #1 is used to indicate that the terminal device will send the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the SN.

[0256] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, by determining the indication information #1 according to the indication information #2, or by determining the indication information #1 according to whether the access network device that sends the first configuration information is the MN or the SN, it can be ensured that the indication information #1 is used to indicate that the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information is sent to the access network device that sends the first configuration information, thereby helping the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the correct access network device.

[0257] Furthermore, when the indication information #1 and the indication information #2 are the same information, the terminal device does not need to regenerate the indication information #1, which helps to reduce the terminal complexity.

[0258] It should be noted that the access layer of the terminal device sending the first configuration information to the upper layer of the access layer may include the access layer directly sending the first configuration information to the upper layer, or may include the access layer obtaining a new configuration information according to the first configuration information and sending the configuration information to the upper layer. Wherein, the new configuration information is used to indicate the upper layer to perform QoE measurement of the application layer.

[0259] Alternatively, in step 302, after the access layer of the terminal device receives the first configuration information sent by the first access network device, when the access layer determines that the first configuration information is sent by the MN, the access layer may send the first configuration information to the upper layer through the first interface between the access layer and the upper layer. When the access layer determines that the first configuration information is sent by the SN, the access layer may send the first configuration information to the upper layer through the second interface between the access layer and the upper layer. At this time, in step 302, the access layer may not need to send the indication information #1 to the upper layer.

[0260] Correspondingly, when the upper layer receives the first configuration information from the above-mentioned first interface and obtains the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first configuration information, the upper layer can send the QoE measurement result to the access layer through the first interface. Correspondingly, when the access layer receives the QoE measurement result from the first interface, it can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the MN.

[0261] When the upper layer receives the first configuration information from the second interface and obtains the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first configuration information, the upper layer can send the QoE measurement result to the access layer through the second interface. Correspondingly, when the access layer receives the QoE measurement result from the second interface, it can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0262] In some optional embodiments, when the upper layer obtains the first configuration information from the first interface, the upper layer can determine that the first configuration information is sent by the MN, or determine to send the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first measurement configuration information to the MN. The upper layer can generate indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result of the first configuration information, which is used to indicate to send the QoE measurement result to the MN, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0263] In some optional embodiments, when the upper layer obtains the first configuration information from the second interface, the upper layer can determine that the first configuration information is sent by the SN, or determine to send the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first measurement configuration information to the SN. The upper layer can generate indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result of the first configuration information, which is used to indicate to send the QoE measurement result to the SN, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0264] 320. The access layer of the terminal device determines to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or SN of the terminal device according to the indication information #1.

[0265] Exemplarily, if the indication information #1 is used for the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the MN, the access layer can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the MN according to the indication information #1.

[0266] If the indication information #1 is used to indicate that the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result obtained by performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to the SN, the access layer can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0267] Exemplarily, when the indication information #1 is used to implicitly indicate "sending the QoE measurement result to the MN of the terminal device" or "sending the QoE measurement result to the SN of the terminal device", for example, when the indication information #1 is the service type, if the service type is the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration issued by the MN, the access layer of the terminal device determines to send the QoE measurement result to the MN according to the indication information #1. If the service type is the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration issued by the SN, the access layer of the terminal device determines to send the QoE measurement result to the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0268] As a specific example, when the MN and the SN negotiate that the MN configures the terminal device to perform QoE measurement of QMC for streaming media services and the SN configures the terminal device to perform QoE measurement of QMC for MTSI services, when the indication information #1 indicates that the service type of QMC is a streaming media service, the access layer of the terminal device determines to send the QoE measurement result to the MN according to the indication information #1; when the indication information #1 indicates that the service type of QMC is an MTSI service, the access layer of the terminal device determines to send the QoE measurement result to the SN according to the indication information #1.

[0269] Alternatively, in step 320, when the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result through the first interface described above, it may determine to send the QoE measurement result to the MN; when the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result through the second interface described above, it may determine to send the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0270] It should be noted that the first access network device that sends the first configuration information may not be the same access network device as the access network device (the MN or SN of the terminal device) to which the terminal device reports the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first configuration information, or may be the same access network device. This application embodiment does not limit this. For example, when due to the mobility of the terminal device, the terminal device switches the serving access network device, in this case, the two are not the same access network device.

[0271] Optionally, when the terminal device needs to report the QoE measurement result, if the terminal device is not in the MR-DC state (for example, the network side releases the SN of the terminal device), the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the access network device that provides services for the terminal device. Optionally, when the first access network device sends the first configuration information, the terminal device is not in the MR-DC state (that is, the network side does not configure the MR-DC for the terminal device), and when the terminal device needs to report the QoE measurement result, if the terminal device is in the MR-DC state (for example, the network side configures the MR-DC for the terminal device), the terminal device may send the QoE measurement result to the MN, or the terminal device may send the QoE measurement result to the node (such as the MN or SN) that currently bears the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result.

[0272] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, by sending the QoE measurement result and the indication information #1 corresponding to the QoE measurement result from the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device to the access layer, the access layer can determine to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or SN of the terminal device according to the indication information #1, so that the terminal device in the MR-DC architecture can send the QoE measurement result to the correct access network device.

[0273] Figure 9 The schematic flowchart of the communication method 400 provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown. In the method 400, the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 from its upper layer, and uniformly sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the first access network device (such as the MN) without determining which access network device the QoE measurement result corresponds to. Then, the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the network device (such as the SN or TCE) according to the indication information #2. As Figure 9 shown, the method 400 includes steps 410 to 480.

[0274] It should be noted that in the method 400, the example of pre-configuring the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN is used for illustration. In other embodiments, the access layer may also be pre-configured to send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the SN. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The following will mainly describe based on the pre-configuration that the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN. When the terminal device is pre-configured to send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the SN, its specific implementation may refer to the relevant description of the terminal device sending the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN, and some simple adaptations may be required, but it is also within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0275] It should be understood that "pre - configuration" here may include being indicated by access network device signaling or being predefined. For example, it is defined by a protocol. Among them, "pre - definition" can be implemented by pre - saving corresponding codes, tables or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in devices (for example, including terminal devices and network devices). The present application does not limit its specific implementation method.

[0276] Optionally, 410, the MN sends the first configuration information and indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. The first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer. Exemplarily, the indication information #2 is used to indicate that the access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN of the terminal device.

[0277] It should be noted that when the MN receives the QoE measurement result from the access layer of the terminal device, it can know, according to the indication information #2, whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the QoE measurement result of the application layer measurement configuration information sent by the MN or the QoE measurement result of the application layer measurement configuration information sent by the SN.

[0278] Optionally, 420, the SN sends the first configuration information and indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. The first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer. The indication information #2 is used to indicate that the access network device sending the first configuration information is the SN of the terminal device.

[0279] In method 400, both step 410 and step 420 can be executed, or one of the two steps can be executed. That is to say, here both the MN or the SN can instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0280] Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be Figure 6 the application layer measurement configuration information in, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. Specifically, the first configuration information and the indication information #2 can be referred to Figure 3 for the description in, and will not be elaborated here.

[0281] 430, the access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information and the indication information #2 to the upper layer of this access layer.

[0282] Optionally, the access layer can send the first configuration information and the indication information #2 to its upper layer after receiving the first configuration information and the indication information #2 from the MN, or after receiving the first configuration information and the indication information #2 from the SN.

[0283] It should be noted that the access layer of the terminal device sending the indication information #2 to the upper layer of the access layer means that the access layer can directly send the indication information #2 to the upper layer, and the access layer does not need to know (or sense, or be aware of) the content of the indication information #2, that is, the access layer does not need to determine that the access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN based on the indication information #2.

[0284] The access layer of the terminal device sending the first configuration information to the upper layer of the access layer can include the access layer directly sending the first configuration information to the upper layer, or can include the access layer obtaining a new configuration information based on the first configuration information and sending the information configuration to the upper layer. Among them, the new configuration information is used to indicate to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0285] 440. The upper layer of the access layer sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the access layer.

[0286] The upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device can obtain the QoE measurement result. For example, the upper layer can receive the QoE measurement result from the application layer, or when the upper layer is the application layer, the upper layer can perform QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to obtain the QoE measurement result. Then, the upper layer can send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the access layer.

[0287] Exemplarily, the upper layer can report the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 according to a certain rule. In some embodiments, the rule can be included in the first configuration information, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the upper layer can report the QoE measurement result periodically according to the QoE reporting period, or report the QoE measurement result only after a session ends, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0288] It should be noted that here the upper layer can also directly send the indication information #2 to the access layer, and does not need to know (or sense, or be aware of) the content of the indication information #2, that is, the upper layer does not need to determine that the access network device sending the first configuration information is the MN based on the indication information #2.

[0289] 450. The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN. Correspondingly, the MN receives the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 from the terminal device.

[0290] Here, after the access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 from its upper layer, without judging which access network device the QoE measurement result corresponds to, it uniformly sends the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN. Among them, it can be defined by the protocol, or the terminal device can be pre-configured to send the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2 to the MN.

[0291] In some embodiments, the access stratum may include the above QoE measurement result and indication information #2 in an RRC message and send it to the MN. At this time, the QoE measurement result may be encapsulated in the RRC message in the form of a container. The indication information #2 may also be encapsulated in the container, or the indication information #2 may be included in a form other than a container outside the container in the RRC message, which will not be elaborated here.

[0292] In some alternative embodiments, the access network device may configure a dedicated signaling bearer (such as SRB4) for the terminal device to transmit the QoE measurement result and the indication information #2. Exemplarily, the transmission priority of SRB4 is lower than that of other SRBs.

[0293] It should be noted that the MN that sends the first configuration information and the MN that receives the QoE measurement result may not be the same access network device, or may be the same access network device. This application embodiment does not limit this. For example, when the terminal device switches the serving MN due to the mobility of the terminal device, they are not the same MN at this time. Optionally, when they are not the same MN, during the handover, the source access network device will send the indication information #2 to the target access network device, so that the target access network device can learn from the indication information #2 that the source access network device has configured the first configuration information. When the target access network device receives the above QoE measurement result and indication information #2 from the terminal device, it can send the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the indication information #2.

[0294] It should also be noted that in the embodiments of this application, the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result is predefined. For example, it may be defined by a protocol, or it is preset to configure the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to this access network device. This application embodiment does not limit this. In this way, in the embodiments of this application, the access network device that sends the above first configuration information and the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result may be the same type of access network device. For example, both are MNs, or both are SNs. Or, the access network device that sends the above first configuration information and the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result may be different types of access network devices. For example, the MN issues the first configuration information and the SN receives the QoE measurement result, or the SN issues the first configuration information and the MN receives the QoE measurement result. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0295] In the embodiments of this application, after the MN receives the QoE measurement result and indication information #2, it may send the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the indication information #2. Exemplarily, the network device may be the TCE corresponding to this MN, or the TCE corresponding to the SN, or the SN, etc., which is not limited. Next, in combination with steps 460 to 480, the specific implementation manner in which the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the network device will be described.

[0296] 460. The MN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE.

[0297] In a possible case, the access network device that issues the first configuration information and the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result are of the same type, that is, access network devices of the same type. For example, in method 400, step 410 is included and step 420 is not included, that is, the MN sends the first configuration information and indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. At this time, the MN may determine, according to the indication information #2 received from the terminal device, that the first configuration information is issued by the MN, that is, the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is issued by the MN, and then the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the MN.

[0298] As an example, at this time, the indication information #2 may include the TCE ID corresponding to the MN. At this time, the MN may obtain the TCE IP corresponding to the TCE ID according to the mapping relationship between the TCE ID and the TCE IP address, and then send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP.

[0299] As another example, when the service type information is included in the indication information #2, and the MN determines that the first configuration information for QoE measurement corresponding to the service type is configured by the MN for the terminal device, the MN may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the MN.

[0300] In another possible case, the access network device that issues the first configuration information and the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result are different types of access network devices. For example, in method 400, step 420 is included and step 410 is not included, that is, the SN sends the first configuration information and indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. At this time, the MN may determine, according to the indication information #2, that the first configuration information is issued by the SN, that is, the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is issued by the SN, and then the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the SN.

[0301] As an example, at this time, the indication information #2 may include the TCE ID corresponding to the SN. At this time, the MN may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP according to the mapping relationship between the TCE ID and the TCE IP address.

[0302] As another example, when the indication information #2 includes the service type information, and the MN determines that the first configuration information of the QoE measurement corresponding to the service type is not configured by the MN for the terminal device, the MN may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the SN.

[0303] Optionally, before step 420, the SN may send the TCE ID and the corresponding TCE IP address of the QoE measurement configured by the SN to the MN. Or the SN may send the TCE IP address of the QoE measurement configured by the SN to the MN. In this way, when the MN determines that the first configuration information is sent by the SN, that is, when the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is sent by the SN, the MN may send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the SN according to the TCE IP address of the QoE measurement configured by the SN.

[0304] In some embodiments, the TCE ID corresponding to the QoE measurement sent by the MN is the same as the TCE ID corresponding to the QoE measurement sent by the SN. At this time, the indication information #2 may include the trace ID, then the MN may send the QoE measurement result and the trace ID to the TCE corresponding to the TCE ID. In this way, when the TCE receives the QoE measurement result and the trace ID, it can determine whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the MN or the first configuration information configured by the SN according to the trace ID. For example, when the trace ID is assigned by the CN or OAM or EM to the MN for QoE measurement, the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the MN; when the trace ID is assigned by the CN or OAM or EM to the SN for QoE measurement, the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by the SN.

[0305] 470, the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0306] Exemplarily, when the access network device that issues the first configuration information is different from the access network device that receives the QoE measurement result, that is, different types of access network devices. For example, in method 400, step 420 is included and step 410 is not included, that is, the SN sends the first configuration information and indication information #2 to the access layer of the terminal device. At this time, the MN can determine, according to the indication information #2, that the first configuration information is issued by the SN, that is, the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result received from the terminal device is issued by the SN, then the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0307] As a specific example, when the indication information #2 includes service type information, if the MN determines that the first configuration information for QoE measurement corresponding to the service type is not configured by the MN for the terminal device, the MN can send the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0308] 480, the SN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE.

[0309] Specifically, after the SN receives the QoE measurement result from the MN, the SN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the SN.

[0310] It should be noted that when the protocol is predefined or the terminal device is preconfigured to send the QoE measurement result and indication information #2 to the SN, the specific implementation of the SN sending the QoE measurement result to the network device can refer to the relevant description of the terminal device sending the QoE measurement result and indication information #2 to the MN, and some simple adaptations may be required.

[0311] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, by preconfiguring the access layer of the terminal device to uniformly send the QoE measurement result and indication information #2 to the MN (or SN), and then the MN (or SN) sends the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the indication information #2, that is, the access layer of the terminal device does not need to determine whether the first configuration information corresponding to the QoE measurement result is issued by the MN or the SN, and sends the measurement result to the MN (or SN), thereby reducing the processing complexity of the terminal device.

[0312] Figure 10 Shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application. In method 500, when the access network device (such as the MN or SN) sends the application layer measurement configuration information to the terminal device, it can indicate to the access layer of the terminal device which access network device, such as the MN or the SN, the QoE measurement result obtained according to the application layer measurement configuration information should be reported to. As Figure 10 shown, method 500 includes steps 510 to 570.

[0313] Optionally, 510, the MN sends the first configuration information and indication information #3 to the access layer of the terminal device. The first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, and the indication information #3 is used to instruct the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the first access network device, where the first access network device is the MN or the SN.

[0314] Among them, the indication information #3 is used to indicate to which node the access layer of the terminal device reports the QoE measurement result obtained according to the application layer measurement configuration information corresponding to the indication information #3 (for example, the application layer measurement configuration information in the same message as the indication information #3). That is to say, for each application layer measurement configuration information, it is necessary to indicate once to which node the corresponding QoE measurement result is reported. Alternatively, the indication information #3 can be used to indicate to which node the access layer of the terminal device reports the QoE measurement results obtained from all application layer measurement configuration information, or to indicate to which node the access layer of the terminal device reports the QoE measurement results obtained from all application layer measurement configuration information of a certain type. At this time, it is only necessary to indicate once to which node the QoE measurement results corresponding to multiple application layer measurement configuration information are reported. Here, the node refers to an access network device, such as the MN or the SN.

[0315] Exemplarily, the first configuration information may be Figure 6 the application layer measurement configuration information in, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Specifically, reference may be made to Figure 6 the description in, which will not be elaborated here.

[0316] Exemplarily, the indication information #3 may include at least one of QoE service type information, node type information, and RAT type information.

[0317] For example, when the indication information #3 includes the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information sent by the MN, the node type information of the MN, and the RAT type corresponding to the MN, the indication information #3 can be used to instruct the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result obtained from the application layer measurement configuration information to the MN.

[0318] For another example, when the indication information #3 includes the service type corresponding to the application layer measurement configuration information sent by the SN, the node type information of the SN, and the RAT type corresponding to the SN, the indication information #3 can be used to instruct the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result obtained from the application layer measurement configuration information to the SN.

[0319] As an example, when the indication information #3 includes service type information, it can also be specifically used to indicate which / what kind of QoE measurement results corresponding to the service type are reported to the MN, and / or which / what kind of QoE measurement results corresponding to the service type are reported to the SN. For example, the indication information #3 can be used to indicate that the terminal device reports the QoE measurement results corresponding to service type 1 and service type 2 to the MN, and the QoE measurement results corresponding to service type 3 to the SN.

[0320] In some alternative embodiments, before step 510, the MN and the SN can also negotiate through which node to report the QoE measurement results. For example, the MN can notify the SN to send the QoE measurement results corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the MN to the SN, or the MN can request the SN to send the QoE measurement results corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the SN to the MN, or the SN can request the MN to send the QoE measurement results corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the SN to the MN, or the MN can notify the SN to send the QoE measurement results of a certain service type to the SN, or the SN can request the MN to send the QoE measurement results of a certain service type to the MN.

[0321] Optionally, when the MN and the SN are negotiating, they can also exchange the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information. For example, when the MN requests the SN to send the QoE measurement results corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the SN to the MN or the SN requests the MN to send the QoE measurement results corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the SN to the MN, the SN can send the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information to the MN. In this way, when the MN receives the QoE measurement results, it can send the QoE measurement results to the correct TCE according to the TCE IP address.

[0322] Optionally, the SN may also send the trace ID to the MN. The MN will send the trace ID and the QoE measurement results to the TCE. Or when the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the MN is the same as the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information sent by the SN, the SN can send the trace ID to the MN. In this way, the MN can send the trace ID and the QoE measurement results to the TCE together, so that the TCE can determine whether the QoE measurement results correspond to the first configuration information configured by the MN or the first configuration information configured by the SN according to the trace ID.

[0323] For example, when MN notifies SN to send the QoE measurement result corresponding to the first configuration information sent by MN to SN, MN may send the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information to SN. In this way, when SN receives the QoE measurement result, it can send the QoE measurement result to the correct TCE according to the TCE IP address. Optionally, MN may also send the trace ID to SN. SN will send the trace ID and the QoE measurement result to TCE. Or when the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information sent by MN is the same as the TCE IP address corresponding to the first configuration information sent by SN, MN may send the trace ID to SN. In this way, SN can send the trace ID and the QoE measurement result to TCE together, so that TCE can determine whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information configured by MN or the first configuration information configured by SN according to the trace ID.

[0324] In some embodiments, MN may include the above first configuration information and indication information #3 in an RRC message and send it to the access stratum of the terminal device. At this time, the first configuration information may be encapsulated in the RRC message in the form of a container. The indication information #3 may also be encapsulated in the container, or the indication information #3 is not included in the form of a container outside the container in the RRC message (for example, it is explicitly sent to the terminal device in the form of an information element, and the RRC layers of the access network device and the terminal device can know the specific meaning of these information elements).

[0325] In some embodiments, the indication information #3 may not be carried in the first configuration information. For example, it may be sent to the access stratum of the terminal device in an RRC message different from the first configuration information, or it may be sent to the access stratum of the terminal device encapsulated in the same RRC message as the first configuration information. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0326] Optionally, 520, SN sends the first configuration information and indication information #3 to the access stratum of the terminal device. Specifically, the first configuration information and indication information #3 may refer to the description in step 510 and will not be elaborated here.

[0327] In method 500, both step 510 and step 520 may be executed, or only one of the two steps may be executed. That is to say, here both MN or SN may instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer and instruct the access stratum of the terminal device to report the QoE measurement result to which node.

[0328] 530. The access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the upper layer of this access layer. Here, the access layer may send the first configuration information to its upper layer after receiving the first configuration information from the MN, or after receiving the first configuration information from the SN.

[0329] It should be noted that the access layer of the terminal device sending the first configuration information to the upper layer of the access layer may include the access layer directly sending the first configuration information to the upper layer, or may include the access layer obtaining a new configuration information based on the first configuration information and sending this new configuration information to the upper layer. Among them, the new configuration information is used to instruct the upper layer to perform QoE measurement of the application layer.

[0330] 540. The upper layer of the access layer sends the QoE measurement result to the access layer.

[0331] The upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device can obtain the QoE measurement result. For example, the upper layer can receive the QoE measurement result from the application layer, or when the upper layer is the application layer, the upper layer can perform QoE measurement according to the first configuration information to obtain the QoE measurement result. Then, the upper layer can send the QoE measurement result to the access layer.

[0332] Exemplarily, the upper layer can report the QoE measurement result according to a certain rule. In some embodiments, the rule may be included in the first configuration information, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, the upper layer can report the QoE measurement result periodically according to the QoE reporting period, or report the QoE measurement result only after a session ends. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0333] 550. The access layer of the terminal device determines whether to send the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN according to the indication information #3.

[0334] As an example, when the indication information #3 is used to indicate that all QoE measurement results are to be sent to the MN, step 560 is executed, that is, the access layer sends all the QoE measurement results received from the upper layer to the MN. When the indication information #3 is used to indicate that all QoE measurement results are to be sent to the SN, step 570 is executed, that is, the access layer sends all the QoE measurement results received from the upper layer to the SN.

[0335] As another example, when indication information #3 is used to indicate that the QoE measurement results of service type 1 and service type 2 are reported to the MN, and the QoE measurement results of service type 3 are reported to the SN, when the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result is service type 1 or service type 2, step 560 is executed, that is, the access layer sends the QoE measurement result to the MN. When the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result is service type 3, step 570 is executed, that is, the access layer sends the QoE measurement result to the SN.

[0336] Correspondingly, in step 560, the MN receives the QoE measurement result. In step 570, the SN receives the QoE measurement result. After receiving the QoE measurement result, the MN or the SN can directly send the QoE measurement result to the TCE, or send it to another access network device.

[0337] For example, when the MN receives the QoE measurement result, it can directly send the QoE measurement result to the TCE, and the TCE determines whether the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information sent by the MN or the first configuration information sent by the SN. For another example, when the MN receives the QoE measurement result, when it is determined that the QoE measurement result corresponds to the first configuration information sent by the SN, for example, according to the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result, it is determined that the QoE measurement of this service type is not configured by itself for the terminal device, the MN can send the QoE measurement result to the SN, and then the SN sends the measurement result to the TCE. After receiving the QoE measurement result, the processing method of the SN is similar to that of the MN, and will not be elaborated here.

[0338] Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the access network device is used to indicate to which node the terminal device reports the QoE measurement result, so that the terminal device only needs to send the QoE measurement result to the node indicated by the access network device. On the one hand, it can help reduce the processing complexity of the terminal device, and on the other hand, it can help the network side determine to which node to send the QoE measurement result according to the load of the node, thereby reducing the load of the node receiving the QoE measurement result.

[0339] In some embodiments, the network side may change the service bearer type. For example, the access network device may convert the bearer type of the first service among MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and split bearer, and / or convert the bearer type of the first service between MN-terminated bearer and SN-terminated bearer. At this time, the terminal device may report the QoE measurement result based on Figure 11 the method shown.

[0340] Figure 11 FIG. shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. In method 600, the network side changes the service bearer type. As Figure 11 shown, method 600 includes steps 610 to 660.

[0341] 610, the MN sends first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0342] Exemplarily, the first configuration information may be the application layer measurement configuration information in Figure 10 , and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Specifically, reference may be made to the description in Figure 6 , and details are not described herein again.

[0343] It should be noted that here, the example of the MN sending the first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device is described. In other possible implementation manners, the SN may also send the first configuration information to the access layer of the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0344] 620, the access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to its upper layer.

[0345] Specifically, step 620 may refer to the description of step 530 in Figure 5 , and details are not described herein again.

[0346] 630, the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement changes.

[0347] For example, the bearer type of the first service for QoE measurement is converted among MCG bearer, SCG bearer, and split bearer, and / or the bearer type of the first service is converted between MN-terminated bearer and SN-terminated bearer.

[0348] In some alternative embodiments, when the access layer of the terminal device learns that the bearer type corresponding to the service type of QoE measurement has changed, for example, when the access layer learns that the bearer type of the first service of QoE measurement changes from MCG bearer to SCG bearer, the access layer may further perform step 635, that is, send information #1 to the upper layer, which is used to trigger the reporting of the QoE measurement result, or used to notify the bearer type corresponding to the service type of QoE measurement before the change and the bearer type corresponding to the service type of QoE measurement after the change.

[0349] Here, triggering the reporting of the QoE measurement result means triggering the upper layer to report the QoE measurement result. Exemplarily, reporting the QoE measurement result may include the upper layer sending the QoE measurement result to the access layer and the access layer sending the measurement result to the access network device. This application does not limit this.

[0350] 640, the upper layer of the access layer sends the QoE measurement result to the access layer.

[0351] The upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device can obtain the QoE measurement result. For specific details, reference can be made to Figure 10 the description in step 540 in, which will not be elaborated here.

[0352] In some alternative embodiments, the upper layer of the access layer may report the QoE measurement result in the manner of reporting the QoE measurement report indicated in the first configuration information.

[0353] In some alternative embodiments, when information #1 is used to trigger the reporting of the QoE measurement result, the upper layer of the access layer may report the QoE measurement result according to information #1 in step 630. For example, after receiving information #1, the QoE measurement result can be reported, that is, send the QoE measurement result to the access layer.

[0354] In some alternative embodiments, when information #1 is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change, at this time, the upper layer may send the QoE measurement result to the access layer according to the indication in the first configuration information. In addition to sending the QoE measurement result to the access layer, the upper layer may send information #2 to the access layer, which is used to indicate the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods, that is, the upper layer may indicate to the access layer the bearer type change experienced by the terminal device. Exemplarily, information #2 may include MCG bearer, SCG bearer, split bearer, indicating that the bearer type of the terminal device changes from MCG bearer to SCG bearer, and then from SCG bearer to split bearer.

[0355] Optionally, when the upper layer sends the QoE measurement result to the access layer, it may also send the time information corresponding to the bearer types in the above different time periods to the access layer. For example, which bearer type corresponds to the first service before a certain time point, or after that time point, or between the latter two time points.

[0356] In some possible implementation manners, the QoE measurement result may include the above information #2, or the time information of the bearer types in different time periods. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0357] 650, the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the MN.

[0358] It should be noted that Figure 11 Taking the access layer of the terminal device sending the QoE measurement result to the MN as an example for description, in other implementation manners, the access layer of the terminal device may also send the QoE measurement result to the SN. The present application does not limit this.

[0359] Exemplarily, whether the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN may adopt any of the aforementioned Figure 8 、 Figure 9 or Figure 10 provided possible methods or combinations thereof, or other manners. The present application does not limit this.

[0360] In some optional implementation manners, when the upper layer of the access layer sends information #2, or the time information of the bearer types in different time periods to the access layer, the access layer may send the QoE measurement result, and information #2, or the time information of the bearer types in different time periods to the MN. The present application does not limit this. The access layer may encapsulate the QoE measurement result and the above information #2, or the time information of the bearer types in different time periods in the same RRC message and send it to the MN, or send it to the MN using different RRC messages. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0361] In some possible implementation manners, the QoE measurement result may include the above information #2, or the time information of the bearer types in different time periods.

[0362] 660, the MN sends the QoE measurement result and information #2 to the TCE.

[0363] In a possible case, when the MN receives the QoE measurement result and information #2 from the access layer of the terminal device, the MN may send the QoE measurement result and information #2 to the TCE. Optionally, when the MN also receives the time information of the bearer types in different time periods, it may send the time information of the bearer types in different time periods to the TCE.

[0364] In another possible scenario, in steps 630 to 650, the terminal device does not need the access layer to send information #1 to the upper layer of the access layer, and the upper layer of the access layer does not need to send information #2 to the access layer either. The MN can record the bearer type changes experienced by the QoE measurement, that is, record the bearer types corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement result obtained by the QoE measurement in different time periods, that is, the MN itself determines the above information #2. When the MN undergoes a handover, that is, the UE hands over from the source MN to the target MN, the source MN will send the recorded information #2 to the target MN, and the MN will continue to record the bearer type changes experienced by the QoE measurement. When the MN receives the QoE measurement result from the access layer of the terminal device, it can send the QoE measurement result and information #2 to the TCE together. Optionally, the MN can also record the time information of the bearer types in different time periods. In this way, when the MN sends the QoE measurement result to the TCE, it can also send the time information of the bearer types in different time periods to the TCE.

[0365] Optionally, the MN can also indicate the network architecture to the TCE, such as whether an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network architecture is adopted, or whether a CU / DU network architecture is adopted, etc.

[0366] It should be noted that when performing QoE measurement, the protocol may only target the changes in several bearer types among the above bearer types. For example, only the conversion between the MN terminated MCG bearer and the SN terminated SCG bearer is considered. Or, the protocol may only consider the changes in the bearer types in the MR-DC where the MCG and SCG belong to different RATs. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0367] Correspondingly, after receiving the QoE measurement result and information #2 (or also including the time information corresponding to different bearer types, or network structure and other information), the TCE can associate the QoE measurement result with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed. For example, it can be known whether the service type of the QoE measurement is carried on the MCG transmission or the SCG transmission, which is convenient for subsequent network optimization based on the QoE measurement result and the bearer type of the associated service type.

[0368] Therefore, when the service bearer type is changed on the network side in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can send the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result to the access network device, or the access network device records the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement, so that the QoE measurement result can be associated with the bearer type of the service type for which the QoE measurement is performed, which helps network optimization based on the QoE measurement result and the bearer type of the associated service type.

[0369] In some alternative embodiments, in the MR-DC scenario, if the configuration corresponding to the QoE measurement in the non-MR-DC scenario is still adopted for the area range, it may cause the inability to change the bearer type of the service, or when changing the bearer type of the service, the network side needs to suspend or cancel the QoE measurement corresponding to the previously configured QoE measurement configuration. Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a QoE measurement method for the MR-DC scenario.

[0370] Figure 12 FIG. 6 shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method 700 provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 12 shown, method 700 includes steps 710 to 730.

[0371] 710. The access network device receives a QoE measurement request and area range information of the QoE measurement from the CN / OAM / EM. Among them, the QoE measurement request can refer to the description of step 101 in Figure 6 and will not be elaborated here.

[0372] Exemplarily, the area range information of the QoE measurement includes relevant information of multiple RATs, such as area range information of RAT1 and area range information of RAT2. Specifically, the area range information can be one or more items in area Scopeof QMC in Table 1 above.

[0373] Here, the access network device can be an MN or an SN, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0374] 720. The access network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be the application layer measurement configuration information in Figure 6 , and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Specifically, it can refer to the description in Figure 6 and will not be elaborated here.

[0375] Among them, after receiving the area range information of the QoE measurement from the CN / OAM / EM, the access network device can send the first configuration information to the terminal device according to the area range information. Exemplarily, when the access network device determines that the terminal device is currently within the area range of RAT1 in the area range of the QoE measurement, or within the area range of RAT2 in the area range of the QoE measurement, the access network device can send the first configuration information to the terminal device. When the access network device determines that the terminal device is not currently within the area range of RAT1 in the area range information of the QoE measurement and is not within the area range of RAT2 in the area range information of the QoE measurement, the access network device does not send the first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0376] In some alternative embodiments, when the network side needs to change the bearer type of the service for which QoE measurement is performed, if the area range corresponding to the target bearer type to be changed (here, for example, it refers to the area range of the base station corresponding to the RLC / MAC layer on the network side for the bearer type corresponding to the service type for which QoE measurement is performed) is not within the above-mentioned QoE measurement area range (for example, it is neither within the area range of RAT1 in the QoE measurement area range nor within the area range of RAT2 in the QoE measurement area range), the access network device may determine not to change the bearer type of this service. Alternatively, the access network device may notify the terminal device to suspend the current QoE measurement (i.e., suspend the QoE measurement for all service types corresponding to this QoE measurement) or suspend the reporting of QoE measurement results, or continue the QoE measurement for the sessions that have already started for the service type corresponding to the current QoE measurement but do not perform QoE measurement for subsequent new sessions.

[0377] Optionally, the access network device may send the area range information of this QoE measurement (for example, it may be referred to as Information #3) to the terminal device. For example, this area range information may be encapsulated in the same RRC message or different RRC messages together with the first configuration information, or this area range information may be carried in the first configuration information. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0378] In some alternative embodiments, when the access network device sends the area range information of this QoE measurement to the terminal device, if the terminal device determines that the area range corresponding to the bearer type of the service for which QoE measurement is performed (here, for example, it refers to the area range of the base station corresponding to the RLC / MAC layer on the network side for the bearer type corresponding to the service type for which QoE measurement is performed) is not within the above-mentioned QoE measurement area range (for example, it is neither within the area range of RAT1 in the QoE measurement area range nor within the area range of RAT2 in the QoE measurement area range), the terminal device suspends the current QoE measurement (i.e., suspends the QoE measurement for all service types corresponding to this QoE measurement) or suspends the reporting of QoE measurement results, or continues the QoE measurement for the sessions that have already started for the current QoE measurement but do not perform QoE measurement for subsequent new sessions.

[0379] 730, the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the access network device. Specifically, the terminal device may perform QoE measurement according to the above-mentioned first configuration information to obtain this QoE measurement result.

[0380] Exemplarily, whether the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the MN or the SN may adopt the foregoing Figure 8 、 Figure 9 or Figure 10 Any possible method provided or its combination, or in other ways, which are not limited in this application.

[0381] Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, in the MR-DC scenario, the network-side device can still configure the area range information of multiple RATs for QoE measurement, so that the terminal device can also perform QoE measurement within multiple RAT areas when in the MR-DC scenario, and can still perform QoE measurement when the bearer type corresponding to the service for QoE measurement by the access network device changes.

[0382] It should be noted that the various embodiments in this application can be used independently or in combination, which are not limited here. For example, when reporting the QoE measurement results according to the Figure 8 , Figure 9 or Figure 10 shown method, the change of the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement can be reported to the TCE according to the Figure 11 shown method at the same time, or the corresponding area range information for QoE measurement can be configured according to the Figure 12 shown method at the same time.

[0383] It can be understood that in the above various embodiments of this application, the method implemented by the access network device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) available for the access network device, and the method implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components (such as chips or circuits) available for the terminal device.

[0384] According to the foregoing method, Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication device 800 provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0385] In some embodiments, the device 800 can be an access network device, or a chip or circuit, such as a chip or circuit that can be disposed in the access network. In some embodiments, the device 800 can be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit, such as a chip or circuit that can be disposed in the terminal device.

[0386] The device 800 can include a processing unit 810 (i.e., an example of a processor) and a transceiver unit 830.

[0387] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 can be implemented through a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit or an interface circuit.

[0388] Optionally, the device can further include a storage unit 820. In one possible way, the storage unit 820 is used to store instructions. Optionally, the storage unit can also be used to store data or information. The storage unit 820 can be implemented through a memory.

[0389] In a possible design, the processing unit 810 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the storage unit 820, so that the device 800 can implement the steps performed by the access network device in the above method.

[0390] Furthermore, the processing unit 810, the storage unit 820, and the transceiver unit 830 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. For example, the storage unit 820 is used to store a computer program, and the processing unit 810 can be used to call and run the computer program from the storage unit 820 to control the transceiver unit 830 to receive signals and / or send signals, completing the steps of the access network device in the above method.

[0391] In a possible design, the processing unit 810 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the storage unit 820, so that the device 800 can implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the above method.

[0392] Furthermore, the processing unit 810, the storage unit 820, and the transceiver unit 830 can communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control and / or data signals. For example, the storage unit 820 is used to store a computer program, and the processing unit 810 can be used to call and run the computer program from the storage unit 820 to control the transceiver unit 830 to receive signals and / or send signals, completing the steps of the terminal device in the above method.

[0393] The storage unit 820 can be integrated in the processing unit 810 or can be separately provided from the processing unit 810.

[0394] Optionally, if the device 800 is a communication device, the transceiver unit 830 can include a receiver and a transmitter. Among them, the receiver and the transmitter can be the same or different physical entities. When they are the same physical entity, they can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0395] Optionally, if the device 800 is a chip or a circuit, the transceiver unit 830 can include an input interface and an output interface.

[0396] As an implementation manner, the function of the transceiver unit 830 can be considered to be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated transceiver chip. The processing unit 810 can be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processing unit, or a general-purpose chip.

[0397] As another implementation, a general-purpose computer can be considered to implement the communication device (e.g., an access network device or a terminal device) provided in the embodiments of the present application. That is, the program codes for implementing the functions of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 830 are stored in the storage unit 820, and the general-purpose processing unit implements the functions of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 830 by executing the codes in the storage unit 820.

[0398] In some embodiments, when the device 800 is a terminal device or a chip or circuit disposed in a terminal device,

[0399] The processing unit 810 is configured to receive, from the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device, a quality of experience QoE measurement result and first indication information;

[0400] The processing unit 810 is further configured to determine, according to the first indication information, by the access layer, to send the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device.

[0401] Optionally, the device 800 further includes a transceiver unit 830, configured to receive first configuration information from a first access network device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer, and the first access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device;

[0402] The processing unit 810 is further configured to send, by the access layer, the first configuration information and the first indication information to the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device.

[0403] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to receive second indication information from the first access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first access network device is a primary base station or a secondary base station;

[0404] The processing unit 810 is further configured to determine, according to the second indication information, by the access layer, the first indication information.

[0405] Optionally, the first indication information and the second indication information are the same piece of information.

[0406] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to receive third indication information from a second access network device, where the third indication information is used to instruct the access layer of the terminal device to send the QoE measurement result to the first access network device;

[0407] Wherein, the first access network device is a primary base station, and the second access network device is a secondary base station; or, the first access network device is a secondary base station, and the second access network device is a primary base station.

[0408] Optionally, the first indication information includes at least one of a tracking identifier ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, QoE service type information, node type information, radio access technology RAT type information, a PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

[0409] Optionally, the processing unit 810 is further configured to:

[0410] The access layer determines that the bearer type corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement has changed;

[0411] When the bearer type changes, the access layer sends first information to the upper layer of the access layer, where the first information is used to trigger the reporting of the QoE measurement result, or the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of the QoE measurement before and after the change.

[0412] Optionally, when the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of the QoE measurement before and after the change, the processing unit 810 is further configured to enable the access layer to receive second information from the upper layer of the access layer, where the second information is used to indicate the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0413] Optionally, the processing unit 810 is further configured to enable the access layer to receive time information corresponding to the bearer types in different time periods from the upper layer of the access layer.

[0414] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to receive third information from a third access network device, where the third information is used to indicate the area range of the QoE measurement, and the area range includes the area ranges of at least two RATs, and the third access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device.

[0415] In some embodiments, when the device 800 is a terminal device or a chip or circuit disposed in the terminal device,

[0416] The transceiver unit 830 is configured to receive first configuration information from a first access network device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform quality of experience QoE measurement at the application layer;

[0417] The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to receive second indication information from the first access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first access network device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device;

[0418] A processing unit 810, configured to send the first configuration information and the second indication information from the access layer of the terminal device to the upper layer of the access layer;

[0419] The processing unit 810 is further configured to receive, by the access layer, a QoE measurement result and the second indication information from the upper layer of the access layer, where the QoE measurement result is obtained by the upper layer performing QoE measurement according to the first configuration information;

[0420] The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send the second indication information and the QoE measurement result to a second access network device, where the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is a master base station and the second access network device is a secondary base station, or the first access network device is a secondary base station and the second access network device is a master base station.

[0421] Optionally, the second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology RAT type, a PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

[0422] In some embodiments, when the apparatus 800 is a first access network device or a chip or circuit disposed in the first access network device,

[0423] A transceiver unit 830, configured to receive a quality of experience QoE measurement result and a second indication information from a terminal device, where the QoE measurement result is obtained by the terminal device performing QoE measurement according to a first configuration information, the second indication information indicates that a second access network device that sends the first configuration information to the terminal device is a master base station or a secondary base station of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at an application layer;

[0424] The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send the QoE measurement result to a network device according to the second indication information, where the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is a master base station and the second access network device is a secondary base station, or the first access network device is a secondary base station and the second access network device is a master base station.

[0425] Optionally, the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, and the transceiver unit 830 is specifically configured to send the QoE measurement result to a tracking collection entity TCE corresponding to the first access network device.

[0426] Optionally, the first access network device is a master base station and the second access network device is a secondary base station, or the first access network device is a secondary base station and the second access network device is a master base station;

[0427] The transceiver unit 830 is specifically configured to send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the second access network device, or send the QoE measurement result to the second access network device.

[0428] Optionally, the second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology RAT type, a PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

[0429] Optionally, the second indication information includes a tracking collection entity TCE identifier ID, and the transceiver unit 830 is specifically configured to:

[0430] Obtain the TCE IP corresponding to the TCE ID according to the relationship between the TCE ID and the IP address;

[0431] Send the QoE measurement result to the TCE corresponding to the TCE IP.

[0432] Optionally, the second indication information includes a tracking ID, and the transceiver unit 830 is specifically configured to send the QoE measurement result and the tracking ID to the TCE.

[0433] Optionally, before the transceiver unit 830 receives the QoE measurement result and the second indication information from the terminal device, the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first configuration information and the second indication information to the terminal device.

[0434] In some embodiments, when the apparatus 800 is an access network device or a chip or circuit disposed in an access network device,

[0435] The transceiver unit 830 is configured to receive a QoE measurement result from a terminal device;

[0436] The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send the QoE measurement result and a second piece of information to the TCE, where the second piece of information is used to indicate the bearer type corresponding to the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0437] Optionally, it further includes a processing unit 810, configured to determine the bearer type corresponding to the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0438] Optionally, the processing unit 810 is further configured to determine time information corresponding to the bearer type in different time periods, and the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send the time information to the TCE.

[0439] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to receive, from the terminal device, the bearer type of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0440] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 may further receive, from the terminal device, the time information corresponding to the bearer type in different time periods, and send the time information corresponding to the bearer type in different time periods to the TCE.

[0441] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to indicate the network architecture to the TCE, for example, whether an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network architecture is adopted, or whether a CU / DU network architecture is adopted, etc.

[0442] In some embodiments, when the device 800 is an access network device or a chip or circuit disposed in an access network device,

[0443] The transceiver unit 830 is configured to receive third information from the CN / OAM / EM, where the third information is used to indicate the area range of the QoE measurement;

[0444] The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send first configuration information to the terminal device according to the third information, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer.

[0445] Optionally, it further includes a processing unit 810, configured to determine that the area range corresponding to the target bearer type to be changed is not within the area range of the QoE measurement when the network side needs to change the bearer type of the service for QoE measurement. The transceiver unit 830 is further configured to notify the terminal device to suspend the current QoE measurement or the reporting of the QoE measurement result, or continue the QoE measurement for the sessions that have already started in the service type corresponding to the current QoE measurement but no longer perform QoE measurement for subsequent new sessions.

[0446] Optionally, the transceiver unit 830 is further configured to send the above-mentioned third information to the terminal device.

[0447] In some embodiments, when the device 800 is a terminal device or a chip or circuit disposed in a terminal device,

[0448] The processing unit 810 is configured to determine that the bearer type corresponding to the service type of the QoE measurement has changed;

[0449] The processing unit 810 is further configured to, when the bearer type changes, the access layer of the terminal device sends first information to the upper layer of the access layer, where the first information is used to trigger the reporting of QoE measurement results, or the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change.

[0450] Optionally, when the first information is used to notify the bearer types corresponding to the service types of QoE measurement before and after the change, the processing unit 810 is further configured to the access layer receives second information from the upper layer of the access layer, where the second information is used to indicate the bearer types of the service type corresponding to the QoE measurement result in different time periods.

[0451] Optionally, the processing unit 810 is further configured to the access layer receives time information corresponding to the bearer types of the different time periods from the upper layer of the access layer.

[0452] Each unit in the above embodiments may also be referred to as a module or a circuit or a component.

[0453] Among them, the functions and actions of each module or unit in the device 800 listed above are only illustrative. When the device 800 is configured in or itself is an access network device, each module or unit in the device 800 may be used to perform each action or processing process performed by the access network device in the above method. When the device 800 is configured in or itself is a terminal device, each module or unit in the device 800 may be used to perform each action or processing process performed by the terminal device in the above method.

[0454] For the concepts, explanations, detailed descriptions, and other steps related to the technical solution provided by this application involved in the device 800, please refer to the descriptions of these contents in the foregoing method or other embodiments, and will not be elaborated here.

[0455] Figure 14 This is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 900 provided by this application. The terminal device 900 may perform the actions performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments.

[0456] For ease of description, Figure 14 only the main components of the terminal device are shown. As Figure 14 shown, the terminal device 900 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input / output device.

[0457] The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process the data of software programs. For example, it is used to support the terminal device to perform the actions described in the above communication method embodiments. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data, such as storing the codebook described in the above embodiments. The control circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together can also be called a transceiver, which is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

[0458] After the terminal device is powered on, the processor can read the software program in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be wirelessly transmitted, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and then outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0459] Those skilled in the art can understand that for the sake of convenience of description, Figure 14 only one memory and one processor are shown. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0460] For example, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process the data of software programs. Figure 14 The processor in [] integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit. Those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit can also be independent processors and are interconnected through technologies such as a bus. Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network modes, and the terminal device may include multiple central processing units to enhance its processing ability. Each component of the terminal device can be connected through various buses. The baseband processor can also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit can also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data can be built into the processor or stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0461] Exemplarily, in the embodiments of the present application, an antenna with transceiver functions and a control circuit may be regarded as the transceiver unit 910 of the terminal device 900, and a processor with processing functions may be regarded as the processing unit 920 of the terminal device 900. As Figure 14 shown, the terminal device 900 includes a transceiver unit 910 and a processing unit 920. The transceiver unit 910 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, the devices used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit 910 may be regarded as the receiving unit, and the devices used to implement the sending function in the transceiver unit 910 may be regarded as the sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. Exemplarily, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc., and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0462] Figure 15 FIG. 1000 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application, which can be used to implement the functions of an access network device (for example, a first access network device) in the above method. The network device 1000 includes one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 1010 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as a digital unit, DU) 1020. The RRU 1010 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and it may include at least one antenna 1011 and a radio frequency unit 1012. The RRU 1010 is mainly used for the transceiver of radio frequency signals and the conversion between radio frequency signals and baseband signals, for example, for sending the signaling messages described in the above embodiments to the terminal device. The BBU 1020 is mainly used for baseband processing and controlling the base station, etc. The RRU 1010 and the BBU 1020 may be physically set together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station.

[0463] The BBU 1020 is the control center of the base station and may also be referred to as the processing unit, which is mainly used to complete baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, etc. For example, the BBU (processing unit) 1020 may be used to control the access network device to execute the operation process of the access network device in the above method embodiments.

[0464] In one example, the BBU 1020 may be composed of one or more single boards. The multiple single boards may jointly support a radio access network of a single access mode (such as an LTE system or a 5G system), or may separately support radio access networks of different access modes. The BBU 1020 further includes a memory 1021 and a processor 1022. The memory 1021 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1022 is used to control the access network device to perform necessary operations, for example, to control the access network device to execute the operation process of the access network device in the above method embodiments. The memory 1021 and the processor 1022 may serve one or more single boards. That is to say, a memory and a processor may be separately provided on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may be provided on each single board.

[0465] In a possible implementation manner, with the development of system-on-chip (SoC) technology, all or part of the functions of the 1020 part and the 1010 part may be implemented by SoC technology. For example, it may be implemented by a base station function chip, which integrates devices such as a processor, a memory, and an antenna interface. The programs related to the base station functions are stored in the memory, and the processor executes the programs to implement the related functions of the base station. Optionally, the base station function chip can also read the external memory of the chip to implement the related functions of the base station.

[0466] It should be understood that Figure 15 The structure of the exemplary network device is only a possible form and should not impose any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. The present application does not exclude the possibility of other forms of base station structures that may appear in the future.

[0467] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes the foregoing access network device and terminal device.

[0468] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0469] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0470] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more collections of available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (such as DVDs), or semiconductor media. The semiconductor media can be a solid-state drive.

[0471] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the steps performed by the access network device or the terminal device in any of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0472] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the steps performed by the access network device or the terminal device in any of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0473] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system chip, which includes: a communication unit and a processing unit. The processing unit can be, for example, a processor. The communication unit can be, for example, an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit, etc. The processing unit can execute computer instructions to cause the chip in the communication device to perform the steps performed by the access network device or the terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0474] Optionally, the computer instructions are stored in a storage unit.

[0475] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including the access network device and the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments.

[0476] The various embodiments in the present application can be used independently or in combination, and this is not limited here.

[0477] In addition, aspects or features of the present application can be implemented as a method, an apparatus, or an article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in this application encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media can include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (such as hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes, etc.), optical disks (such as compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (such as erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable media" can include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0478] It should be understood that in the embodiments shown above, the first and the second are only for facilitating the distinction of different objects and should not constitute any limitation to the present application.

[0479] It should also be understood that "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one" means one or more; "at least one of A and B", similar to "A and / or B", describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, at least one of A and B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

[0480] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0481] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, apparatuses, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0482] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there can be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0483] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0484] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, the functional units can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0485] If the above functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art or part of this technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0486] As described above, the above are only the specific implementation manners of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.< / maxnoofplmnforqmc> < / maxnooftaforqmc> < / maxnooftaforqmc> < / maxnoofcellidforqmc>

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, comprising: The access layer of the terminal device receives first configuration information and third indication information from a first access network device, where the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device; The access layer of the terminal device sends the first configuration information to the upper layer of the access layer; The access layer of the terminal device receives the QoE measurement result from the upper layer of the access layer; The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station, and the primary base station or the secondary base station is determined by the access layer of the terminal device according to the third indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station comprising: The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the first access network device, where the first access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station of the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station comprising: The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the second access network device, where the first access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device and the second access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the secondary base station of the terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station comprising: The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the first access network device, where the first access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device and the second access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the secondary base station of the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the primary base station or the secondary base station comprising: The access layer of the terminal device sends the QoE measurement result to the second access network device, where the first access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device and the second access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station of the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first configuration information is application layer measurement configuration information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first configuration information and the third indication information are included in the same Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, comprising: The first access network device sends first configuration information and third indication information to the terminal device. The first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station or secondary base station of the terminal device. When the primary base station or secondary base station of the terminal device indicated by the third indication information is the first access network device, the first access network device receives the QoE measurement result sent by the terminal device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first access network device receives the QoE measurement result sent by the terminal device comprises: The first access network device receives the QoE measurement result sent by the terminal device. Wherein, the first access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station of the terminal device; or, the first access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the secondary base station of the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprises: When the primary base station or secondary base station of the terminal device indicated by the third indication information is the second access network device, the second access network device receives the QoE measurement result sent by the terminal device, wherein, the first access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device and the second access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the secondary base station of the terminal device; or, the first access network device is the secondary base station of the terminal device and the second access network device is the primary base station of the terminal device, and the third indication information is used to instruct the QoE measurement result to be reported to the primary base station of the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the first access network device and the second access network device negotiate to determine the third indication information.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first configuration information is application layer measurement configuration information.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first configuration information and the third indication information are included in the same Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

14. A first communication device, characterized in that it comprises units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 - 7.

15. A second communication device, characterized in that it comprises units for performing the method according to any one of claims 8 - 13.

16. A communication chip, characterized in that the chip comprises: A processor and a communication interface. The processor is used to call and run instructions from the communication interface. When the processor executes the instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 - 7 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 8 - 13 is implemented.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or the method according to any one of claims 8-13.

18. A computer-readable medium storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7 or the method according to any one of claims 8-13.

19. A wireless communication system characterized in that it comprises a first communication device according to claim 14 and a second communication device according to claim 15.

20. A communication method characterized in that it comprises: A first access network device receives a quality of experience (QoE) measurement result and second indication information from a terminal device, wherein the QoE measurement result is obtained by the terminal device performing QoE measurement according to first configuration information, the second indication information indicates that a second access network device that sends the first configuration information to the terminal device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer; The first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to a network device according to the second indication information, wherein the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is the primary base station and the second access network device is the secondary base station, or the first access network device is the secondary base station and the second access network device is the primary base station; The network device receives the QoE measurement result.

21. The method according to claim 20 characterized in that the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, and the first access network device sending the QoE measurement result to a network device according to the second indication information comprises: the first access network device sending the QoE measurement result to a trace collection entity (TCE) corresponding to the first access network device.

22. The method according to claim 20 characterized in that the first access network device is the primary base station and the second access network device is the secondary base station, or the first access network device is the secondary base station and the second access network device is the primary base station; and the first access network device sending the QoE measurement result to a network device according to the second indication information comprises: the first access network device sending the QoE measurement result to a TCE corresponding to the second access network device, or the first access network device sending the QoE measurement result to the second access network device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20-22 characterized in that The second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier (TCE ID), a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology (RAT) type, a protocol data unit (PDU) session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier (5QI), a quality of service flow identifier (QFI), and a first identifier, where the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) or an access network device.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein, before the first access network device receives the QoE measurement result and the second indication information from the terminal device, it further includes: the first access network device sends the first configuration information and the second indication information to the terminal device.

25. A communication system, wherein, it includes a first access network device and a network device, where the first access network device is configured to receive a quality of experience (QoE) measurement result and second indication information from a terminal device, where the QoE measurement result is obtained by the terminal device performing QoE measurement according to first configuration information, the second indication information indicates that a second access network device that sends the first configuration information to the terminal device is the primary base station or the secondary base station of the terminal device, and the first configuration information is used to instruct the terminal device to perform QoE measurement at the application layer; the first access network device is configured to send the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, where the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, or the first access network device is the primary base station and the second access network device is the secondary base station, or the first access network device is the secondary base station and the second access network device is the primary base station; the network device is configured to receive the QoE measurement result.

26. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein, the first access network device is the same as the second access network device, the first access network device is configured to send the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, including: the first access network device is configured to send the QoE measurement result to a tracking collection entity (TCE) corresponding to the first access network device.

27. For the communication system according to claim 25, the first access network device is the primary base station and the second access network device is the secondary base station, or the first access network device is the secondary base station and the second access network device is the primary base station; the first access network device is configured to send the QoE measurement result to the network device according to the second indication information, including: the first access network device is configured to send the QoE measurement result to a TCE corresponding to the second access network device, or the first access network device sends the QoE measurement result to the second access network device.

28. The communication system according to any one of claims 25-27, wherein the second indication information includes at least one of a tracking ID, a tracking collection entity identifier TCE ID, a QoE service type, a node type, a radio access technology RAT type, a protocol data unit PDU session identifier, a 5G quality of service identifier 5QI, a quality of service flow identifier QFI, and a first identifier. Wherein, the first identifier is assigned by operation, administration, and maintenance OAM or an access network device.

29. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein the first access network device is configured to send the first configuration information and the second indication information to the terminal device.

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