Communication method and communication device

Abstract

Disclosed are a communication method and a communication device, the method relating to the technical field of communications, the method comprising: a second network device sending a first request to a first network device, the first request being used for requesting the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be turned off; a second network device receives first information from a first network device, the first information indicating that at least one first cell can be turned off, and the first cell belongs to at least one cell; and the second network device determines whether to turn off the first cell based on the first information. Based on the method, energy consumption can be saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] In an architecture where a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) are separated, the CU is configured to implement functions of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and higher protocol layers (for example, functions of a radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or a service data adaption protocol (SDAP) layer). The DU is configured to implement functions of protocol layers below the PDCP layer (for example, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer). A CU may include multiple DUs, and multiple cells may exist on a logical entity of a DU, and the DU may implement cell shutdown.

[0003] To meet the growing traffic demand of people, wireless networks have been under rapid construction. As the network scale grows larger, the network energy consumption continues to increase. How to control cell shutdown to save energy is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communication device, which are beneficial to saving energy.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, which includes: a second network device sends a first request to a first network device, and the first request is used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the second network device receives first information from the first network device, and the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell; the second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0006] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the second network device requests the first network device to predict whether a cell can be shut down, and after prediction, the first network device informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information, assisting the second network device to perform cell shutdown, thereby saving energy.

[0007] In a possible implementation manner, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to each of the at least one first cell.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. The resource status information and the energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether a cell can be shut down, which helps to make the prediction more accurate.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information to the first network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. The resource status information and the energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether a cell can be shut down, which helps to make the prediction more accurate.

[0010] In a possible implementation, before the second network device sends the second information to the first network device, the method further includes: the second network device receiving a third request from the first network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of the energy consumption information of the cell.

[0011] In a possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending a second request to the first network device, where the second request is used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device under the first cell to other cells.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving first indication information from the first network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and intensity of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or, the first indication information indicates the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources, and the terminal device under the first cell will be switched to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial to ensure the signal quality of the terminal device after switching from the first cell to the second cell and avoid affecting the services of the terminal device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, after shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell has been shut down.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a first network device receives a first request from a second network device, where the first request is used to request to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the first network device performs a status prediction on at least one cell to obtain first information, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down; the first network device sends the first information to the second network device.

[0016] For the beneficial effects corresponding to the second aspect, reference may be made to the description of the first aspect, and details are not repeated herein in the embodiments of the present application.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first network device performs a prediction on at least one cell to obtain first information. The specific implementation is as follows: the first network device performs a prediction on the at least one cell based on second information to obtain first information, where the second information includes one or more of the following: cell resource status information, energy consumption information of the cell, channel quality information of the terminal device under the cell, resource status information of neighboring cells, or mobility information of the terminal device.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device receives second information sent by the second network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0021] In a possible implementation, before the first network device receives the second information sent by the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a third request to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of the energy consumption information of the cell.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device receives a second request sent by the second network device, where the second request is used to request to switch the terminal device under the first cell.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device sends a first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and intensity for enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or, the indication information indicates the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources.

[0024] In a possible implementation, after the first network device sends the first information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device receives second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method includes: the second network device receives first indication information sent by the first network device, where the first indication information indicates the cell switching situation corresponding to each of the terminal devices in at least one cell; the second network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information; the second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0027] Based on the method described in the third aspect, the second network device shuts down the first cell based on the first indication information, which can not only save energy consumption, but also avoid a greater impact on the terminal device after the second network device shuts down the cell.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the second network device determines the first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information, specifically used for: the second network device determines that the terminal devices under the first cell can all switch cells based on the first indication information.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each of the at least one cell, and the total coverage area corresponding to all cells other than the first cell in the at least one cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial for the second network device to save energy consumption when shutting down the cell and also avoid the problem of incomplete cell coverage.

[0030] In a possible implementation, before the second network device receives the first indication information sent by the first network device, the method further includes: the second network device sends a first request to the first network device, where the first request is used to request to obtain the cell switching situation corresponding to each of the terminal devices in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each of the at least one cell.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the first cell satisfies a first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within the cell shutdown time range. Based on this implementation, shutting down the first cell with a smaller load and / or lower energy consumption within the shutdown time range (for example, in the early morning when the number of users is small) helps to save energy and also avoid affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second network device receives second indication information from the first network device, and the second indication information indicates the first condition.

[0033] In a possible implementation, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends a second request to the first network device, and the second request is used to indicate a request to switch terminal devices under the first cell.

[0034] In a possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends third indication information to the first network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell has been shut down.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and the method includes: the first network device sends first indication information to the second network device, and the first indication information indicates the switchable situation of terminal devices corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the fourth aspect can be referred to the beneficial effects of the third aspect above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0039] In a possible implementation, before the first network device sends the first indication information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device receives a first request from the second network device, and the first request is used to request to obtain the switchable situation of terminal devices corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device sending second indication information to a second network device, the second indication information indicating a first condition, the first condition including one or more of the following conditions: the cell load is less than a first threshold; the cell energy consumption is less than a second threshold; the current time is within the cell turn-off time range.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receiving a second request from a second network device, the second request being used to indicate a request to switch a terminal device under a first cell.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receiving third indication information from a second network device, the third indication information being used to indicate that the first cell is turned off.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the first cell turn-off.

[0044] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method including: a second network device sending first information to a first network device, the first information including the energy consumption information of at least one cell; the second network device receiving first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information indicating that the second network device turns off the first cell; turning off the first cell.

[0045] Based on the method described in the fifth aspect, the first network device determines whether to turn off the cell according to the energy consumption information, and assists the second network device to turn off the cell by sending the first indication information, which is beneficial to saving energy consumption.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0047] In a possible implementation, before the second network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes: the second network device receiving a first request from the first network device, the first request being used to request the energy consumption information of at least one cell. Based on this implementation, it can enable the first network device to actively trigger a decision on whether the second network device needs to turn off the cell.

[0048] In a possible implementation, after the second network device turns off the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sending second indication information to the first network device, the second indication information indicating that the first cell is turned off.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to the user, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the first cell being powered off.

[0050] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a first network device receives first information from a second network device, where the first information includes the energy consumption information of at least one cell; the first network device determines a first cell from the at least one cell based on the first information; the first network device sends first indication information to the second network device, and the first indication information instructs the second network device to power off the first cell.

[0051] The beneficial effects of the sixth aspect can be referred to the description of the fifth aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0053] In a possible implementation, before the first network device receives the first information from the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a first request to the second network device, and the first request is used to request the energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0054] In a possible implementation, after the first network device sends the first indication information to the second network device, the method further includes: receiving second indication information from the second network device, and the second indication information indicates that the first cell has been powered off.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to the user, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the first cell being powered off.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending the energy consumption information of at least one cell to a core network device.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, where the communication device may also be a chip system. The communication device can execute the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The unit or module can be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects executed by the communication device can be referred to the methods and beneficial effects described in the first aspect, the third aspect or the fifth aspect above, and the repeated parts will not be elaborated.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may also be a chip system. The communication device can execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The unit or module can be software and / or hardware. For the operations performed by the communication device and the beneficial effects, reference can be made to the methods and beneficial effects described in the second aspect, fourth aspect or sixth aspect above, and repeated parts will not be elaborated.

[0059] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method and its possible implementation manners described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect are executed.

[0060] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes a memory, and the memory is coupled to the processor. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0061] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to transmit and receive data and / or signaling.

[0062] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive a signal from another communication device outside the communication device and transmit it to the processor, or to send a signal from the processor to another communication device outside the communication device. The processor uses a logic circuit or executes code instructions to implement the method and its possible implementation manners described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0063] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method and its possible implementation manners described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect are implemented.

[0064] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program or a computer program product, including code or instructions. When the code or instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method and its possible implementation manners described in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0065] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device for executing the method described in the seventh aspect and the communication device for executing the method described in the eighth aspect.

[0066] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method in the first aspect, the third aspect, or the fifth aspect, or any possible implementation manner thereof, or the processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, or the sixth aspect, or any possible implementation manner thereof. Description of the Drawings

[0067] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic diagram of a CU and a DU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 4 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 5 FIG. is a schematic diagram of a cell coverage area provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Figure 6 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Figure 7 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Figure 8 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Figure 9 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0076] The following further describes in detail specific embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings.

[0077] Terms such as "first" and "second" in the specification, claims, and drawings of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally further includes steps or units not listed, or optionally further includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0078] Reference to "embodiment" in this document means that the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The phrase appears in various places in the specification and does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0079] In the present application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist at the same time. Among them, A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally means that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (one) of the following" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (one) or plural items (ones). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0080] The system architecture of the embodiments of the present application is introduced below:

[0081] For ease of understanding the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below. It can be understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0082] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and traditional mobile communication systems. Among them, the satellite communication system can be integrated with the traditional mobile communication system (i.e., the terrestrial communication system). The communication system includes, for example, a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a fifth generation (5G) system or a new radio (NR), and other future communication systems, such as a sixth generation (6G) system, etc., and also supports communication systems integrating multiple wireless technologies. For example, it can also be applied to systems integrating non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) such as drones, satellite communication systems, and high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications with terrestrial mobile communication networks.

[0083] Figure 1 This is an example of a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. Figure 1 Taking a network device and multiple terminal devices as examples. These multiple terminal devices can be cellular phones, smart phones, portable computers, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radios, global positioning systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and / or any other suitable devices for communicating on a wireless communication system, and all can be connected to the network device. These multiple terminal devices can all communicate with the network device. In addition, communication can also be carried out between terminal devices. Of course Figure 1 The number of terminal devices and network devices in this is only an example, and it can also be less or more.

[0084] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application, which can also be simply referred to as a terminal, is an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals. The terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, it can be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with wireless connection capabilities. The terminal device can also be other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a wireless terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or a UE, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or a "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal. For example, it can be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-integrated, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with the wireless access network. For example, the terminal device can also be a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. Common terminal devices include, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, palm computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc., but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0085] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the form of the terminal device. The device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips or can also include chips and other discrete devices.

[0086] A network device is an entity on the network side that is used to send signals, or receive signals, or send and receive signals. The network device may be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions for terminals. The network device can communicate and interact with core network devices to provide communication services to terminal devices.

[0087] In a possible scenario, the network device can be a device with base station functions, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a non-terrestrial network device, that is, a device that can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or a satellite, etc. The network device can be a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station, various forms of control nodes. For example, a network controller, a radio controller, etc. Specifically, the network device can be various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations) in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenario, relay stations, access points (APs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved nodeB, or home node B, HNB), baseband units (BBUs) and radio remote units (RRUs) in a distributed base station scenario, transmitting and receiving points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, etc., and can also be an antenna panel of a base station. The control node can be connected to multiple base stations and configure resources for multiple terminals covered by the multiple base stations. In systems adopting different radio access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions may be different. For example, it can be a gNB in 5G, or a network-side device in a network after 5G or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), or a device undertaking base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc. The present application does not limit the specific name of the network device.The network device can also be a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU under an open radio access network (openRAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), etc.

[0088] The network devices in a radio access network can include a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), such as Figure 2 As shown, multiple DUs can be centrally controlled by one CU. The CU and DU can be separately set, that is, the CU and DU adopt a separated architecture. In the CU-DU separated architecture, the CU has some functions of the core network. The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the above protocol layers, for example, to implement the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaption protocol (SDAP) layer. The DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer, for example, to implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer.

[0089] The CU can also include a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). The CU-CP is used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP is used to implement the user plane function of the CU. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the functions of the RRC layer and the control plane function of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane function of the PDCP layer.

[0090] In different systems, the CU or DU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as O-CU (Open CU), the DU may also be referred to as O-DU, the CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, and the CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP. For ease of description, the CU and DU are used as examples in this application. Any unit in the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP) and DU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0091] In the embodiments of this application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device for implementing the functions of the network device may be a network device; it may also be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement this function, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the network device or used in matching with the network device.

[0092] Combined with the above introduction of the CU-DU separation architecture, a CU may include multiple DUs. Multiple cells may exist on the logical entity of a DU, and the DU may implement the shutdown of the cells. To meet the growing traffic demands of people, the wireless network has been under rapid construction. As the network scale gets larger and larger, the network energy consumption continues to increase. How to control the shutdown of cells to save energy is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0093] To save energy, the embodiments of this application propose a communication method, as Figure 3 shown, this communication method includes steps 301 to 304. Figure 3 The execution subject corresponding to the method shown is the second network device and the first network device, or, Figure 3 the execution subject of the method shown may be the chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 3 Taking the second network device and the first network device as examples for illustration. The embodiments of this application do not limit the execution subject of the communication method. The second network device and the first network device may be Figure 1 the network devices corresponding to the description of the communication system shown. Among them:

[0094] 301. The second network device sends a first request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first request from the second network device. This first request is used to request to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down.

[0095] In an embodiment of the present application, one or more second network devices can be centrally managed by a first network device. Optionally, the first network device can be a CU, and the second network device can be a DU. The CU and the DU can adopt a split architecture. Cell shutdown can refer to making a cell enter a sleep state, and a cell in the sleep state no longer provides services for terminal devices or the cell in the sleep state is in a power-off (non-active) state. Among them, the sleep state can also be referred to as the sleep mode. At least one cell predicted in the first request is part or all of the cells of the second network device. Optionally, the second network device can periodically send a first request to the first network device, or send a first request to the first network device at a predetermined time, or the second network device can also send a first request to the first network device when some conditions are met. For example, the condition can be that the energy consumption of the cells under the second network device is less than an energy consumption threshold, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the timing of the second network device sending the first request to the first network device.

[0096] In a possible implementation manner, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. Or, in another possible implementation manner, the second network device sends second information to the first network device, and the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. Optionally, the second information is carried in a resource status information message. Among them, the resource status information and the energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether a cell can be shut down.

[0097] Optionally, before the second network device sends the energy consumption information of the cell through the first request or the second information, the method further includes: the first network device sends a third request to the second network device, and correspondingly, the second network device receives the third request from the first network device, and the third request is used to request the second network device to report the energy consumption information of the cell. Further optionally, the third request includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the identifier of the cell, the request indication of the energy consumption information, and the cause value for requesting to report the energy consumption information. The cause value can specifically be network energy saving, energy efficiency as a service, or other cause values related to energy consumption or energy efficiency, etc.

[0098] Optionally, the resource status information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the number of active users per cell; the number of RRC connections; the physical resource block usage, capacity, and user performance (including throughput, packet delay, number of lost packets, etc. for each and / or all users) per slice; the number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, active users, and RRC connections per slice; the maximum bit rate of the terminal device slice per slice (specifically, it can be the maximum bit rate for each and / or all terminal devices or the number of users with each maximum bit rate); the capacity and physical resource block usage per session; the maximum bit rate of the terminal device slice and the performance of the terminal device.

[0099] Optionally, the energy consumption information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the energy consumption of the second network device (DU) (node-level energy consumption), cell identifier, cell-level energy consumption, terminal device identifier, terminal device-level energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) identifier, DRB-level energy consumption, slice identifier, or slice-level energy consumption, or energy consumption information at other levels, such as PDU session-level energy consumption and quality of service (QoS) flow-level energy consumption, which are not limited here. Among them, the relationship between PDU session and QoS flow is that one slice can include multiple PDU sessions, one PDU session can include multiple QoS flows, and QoS flows are mapped to DRBs. It can be understood that after determining the energy consumption value at one of the PDU session-level energy consumption and QoS flow-level energy consumption, the energy consumption value at the other level can be obtained according to the above relationship.

[0100] Among them, the energy consumption described above can be energy efficiency, or a relative value, or it can also be an absolute energy consumption value.

[0101] The calculation method of energy efficiency can be as shown in the following formula (1), with the unit of bit / joule.

[0102]

[0103] The relative value refers to the relative value determined according to the criterion of sending some signals. For example, it can be a value from 0 to 100. The larger the value, the greater the energy consumption of the transmission, and the smaller the value, the smaller the energy consumption of the transmission. If it is 100, it represents the maximum transmission energy consumption. The absolute value can be the actual energy consumed for sending data, with the unit of joule.

[0104] The energy consumption at the cell level, the energy consumption at the terminal device level, the energy consumption at the DRB level, and the energy consumption at the slice level described above are explained as follows:

[0105] Cell-level energy consumption: It refers to the energy consumption of data transmission in a cell, or the sum of the energy consumption of data transmission in a cell and the energy consumption of the cell's common signal. It can be understood that when a cell provides services to terminal devices, in addition to the energy consumption of data transmission services, there is also the energy consumption of common signals, etc.

[0106] Terminal device-level energy consumption: The individual energy consumption of a terminal device. It can refer to the data transmission energy consumption of each terminal device, or it can also refer to the data transmission energy consumption of each terminal device plus the average common signal energy consumption. The energy consumption of data transmission is equal to the proportion of the usage of the Physical Resource Block (PRB) by the terminal device in the total PRB usage × the energy consumption of the total PRB usage. It can be understood that when a cell provides services to terminal devices, in addition to the energy consumption of data transmission services, there is also the energy consumption of common signals, etc. The average common signal energy consumption refers to the energy consumption of the common signal of the network device averaged to each terminal device. The specific calculation method can refer to formula (2).

[0107]

[0108] DRB-level energy consumption: It refers to the energy consumption of a DRB transmission. DRB refers to data bearer, and the transmitted QoS flow is mapped to the DRB. One or more QoS flows can be mapped to one DRB. The energy consumption of the terminal device can be obtained according to the correspondence between the DRB energy consumption and the QoS flows of different terminal devices.

[0109] Slice-level energy consumption: It refers to the energy consumption on a slice, which is related to the PRB usage of the slice. There may be data of multiple terminal devices being transmitted simultaneously on a slice. The energy consumption of the terminal device can be determined according to the pairing principle (such as average distribution, or terminal device service, or the proportion of the rate in the overall capacity of the slice). The energy consumption of the terminal device can be obtained according to the correspondence between the slice energy consumption and the served terminal devices.

[0110] 302. The first network device performs state prediction on at least one cell.

[0111] In the embodiments of the present application, state prediction can also be understood as inference. Optionally, the first network device performing state prediction on a cell means that the first network device determines whether the cell can be powered off within a period of time based on the existing parameter information of the cell. Further optionally, predicting whether the cell can be powered off within a period of time can also be understood as predicting whether the cell is in a certain state within a period of time. Features in this state include but are not limited to less energy consumption and fewer connected terminal devices. Therefore, turning off the cell will not cause a significant impact.

[0112] Optionally, when the energy consumption information is carried in the above-mentioned first request, the specific implementation of step 302 can also be that the first network device predicts the energy consumption value of the second network device, each cell of the second network device, or a terminal device, that is, predicts the energy consumption value of the second network device, each cell of the second network device, or each terminal device within a period of time based on the energy consumption information. After obtaining the prediction result, the prediction result is sent to the second network device, and the second network device can make a decision on cell shutdown based on the prediction result. Optionally, the prediction result may include but is not limited to the energy consumption value of the second network device, the energy consumption value of each cell of the second network device, or the energy consumption value of each terminal device within a period of time predicted by the first network device.

[0113] Optionally, the specific implementation of state prediction can be performed through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model. Input the existing parameter information of at least one cell into the AI model to obtain the result of whether each cell in the at least one cell can be powered off. Among them, the AI model can be included in the first network device, and the first network device performs state prediction through the AI model. Or, the AI model may not be located in the first network device, and state prediction may be performed by a network management, a higher-level AI processing module, or other modules. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In this case, the first network device can interact information with the module performing the prediction through an interface.

[0114] In a possible implementation, the first network device may perform state prediction on at least one cell based on the second information. The second information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the resource status information of the cell, the energy consumption information of the cell, the channel quality information of the terminal devices under the cell, the resource status information of neighboring cells, the mobility information of the terminal devices, or other information related to the cell status and the terminal devices. Among them, for the first network device to obtain the resource status information and the energy consumption information of the cell, reference may be made to the description in step 301 above, which will not be elaborated here. Optionally, after obtaining the energy consumption information of the cell, the first network device may also send the energy consumption information of the cell to the core network device and / or the network management, and the energy consumption information may be used for data analysis of the core network and / or data analysis of the network management.

[0115] The channel quality information of the terminal devices under the cell is the measurement result of the signal quality of the terminal devices for the cell, including the signal quality of the current serving cell, and may also include the signal measurement results of neighboring cells.

[0116] The resource status information of neighboring cells is the resource status information of neighboring cells, which is of the same type as the resource status information of this cell.

[0117] The mobility information of the terminal devices is the record of the mobility information of the terminal devices by the cell. It includes historical mobility information and predicted future mobility information.

[0118] The channel quality information of the terminal devices under the cell, the resource status information of neighboring cells, and the mobility information of the terminal devices are known information of the first network device, which is information reported by the terminal devices to the first network device, or information told to the first network device by neighboring cells through interaction, or information predicted by the first network device. In the embodiments of the present application, there is no limitation on how the first network device obtains the channel quality information of the terminal devices under the cell, the resource status information of neighboring cells, and the mobility information of the terminal devices. The implementation method of using the AI model for state prediction is: inputting the second information of each cell of the at least one cell into the AI model to obtain the first information output by the AI model.

[0119] It should also be supplemented that the second information described here and the cells have a one-to-one correspondence relationship. When the first network device performs state prediction on at least one cell, specifically, the first network device performs state prediction on each cell of the at least one cell based on the second information of each cell of the at least one cell. Exemplarily, assuming that the at least one cell includes cell 1 and cell 2, the process of the first network device performing state prediction on the at least one cell is: the first network device performs state prediction on cell 1 based on the second information of cell 1; the first network device performs state prediction on cell 2 based on the second information of cell 2.

[0120] 303. The first network device sends first information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first information from the first network device. The first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to at least one cell.

[0121] 304. The second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0122] In the embodiments of this application, the first network device informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information. For example, the first information may include a list of cells that can be shut down, and the list of cells that can be shut down includes the identifiers of each cell in at least one first cell. The second network device can determine whether to shut down the first cell according to the first information. For example, the second network device can determine to shut down some or all of the at least one first cells indicated in the first information, or the second network device can also determine not to shut down the first cell. Optionally, the second network device can determine that the first cell needs to be shut down according to the first information. Or, on the basis of the first information, the second network device can further determine whether to shut down the first cell based on other cell parameter information, such as the coverage area of the first cell, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this. Based on the method described in the embodiments of this application, the first network device predicts whether a cell can be shut down and informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information to assist the second network device in shutting down the cell, thereby saving energy consumption.

[0123] Optionally, as described above, the first network device can also predict the energy consumption value of the second network device, or each cell of the second network device, or the terminal device, and obtain the prediction result. Corresponding to step 303, the prediction result can be carried in the first information. The second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information, which can be understood as that the second network device makes a decision on cell shutdown based on the prediction result.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates the shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell respectively. After the second network device determines that the first cell needs to be shut down, the second network device will shut down the first cell within the shutdown time range corresponding to the first cell. Correspondingly, when the end time of the shutdown time range is reached, the second network device can turn on the first cell.

[0125] It should also be noted that the first information may not indicate the turn-off time range. For example, the first information indicates that the at least one cell can be turned off immediately. Another example is that when the second network device sends the first request, the first request also carries the turn-off time range corresponding to each cell in the at least one cell, that is, the second network device requests the first network device to predict whether each cell in the at least one cell can be turned off within the corresponding turn-off time range. After the second network device receives the first information, the first information indicates that the at least the first cell can be turned off within the turn-off time range corresponding to it.

[0126] In a possible implementation, after the second network device turns off the first cell, the second network device sends second indication information to the first network device, and the second indication information indicates that the first cell is turned off, that is, the second indication information indicates that the first cell is in the dormant state and no longer provides services to the terminal device. Based on this implementation, the first network device can be made aware of the cell turn-off situation. Optionally, after receiving the second indication information, the first network device may send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices. The coverage adjustment assistance information includes the affected cell or synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) information and other coverage-related information to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage ranges. The content of the second indication information may include at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, or an indication of different levels of dormant modes such as the first cell being in the power-off state, and the cause value for the first cell to be turned off: the cause value may be for network energy saving or other energy-saving related cause values.

[0127] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all cells under the second network device connected to a gNB-CU-UP are turned off, that is, all cells under the second network device connected to the gNB-CU-UP enter the dormant state and there is no user plane scheduling through the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device may turn off its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0128] In a possible implementation, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends a second request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, and the second request is used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device under the first cell to other cells. After the first network device receives the second request, the first network device initiates the cell switching of the terminal device. Optionally, after all the terminal devices under the first cell complete the cell switching, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all the terminal devices under the first cell, the first network device will send response information for the second request to the second network device, and the response information indicates to the second network device that all the terminal devices under the first cell have completed the cell switching and the first cell can be shut down. Optionally, the second request includes one or more of the following information: the identifier of the first cell, a handover request indication, or a handover request cause value. Among them, if there is no terminal device in the first cell, the second network device may not need to send the second request.

[0129] Among them, the cell to which the terminal device is switched is called the second cell. The second cell may belong to the same second network device as the first cell, or the second cell may not belong to the same second network device as the first cell. For the sake of distinction, the second network device to which the first cell described in the embodiments of the present application belongs is called the third network device, and the fourth network device is a second network device different from the third network device. Both the third network device and the fourth network device are managed by the same first network device.

[0130] Optionally, the first network device sends first indication information to the third network device or the fourth network device. Correspondingly, the third network device or the fourth network device receives the first indication information from the first network device, and the first indication information indicates the time and intensity of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources. The terminal device under the first cell will be switched to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0131] It can be understood that when the second cell belongs to the third network device, the first network device sends the first indication information to the third network device. Further optionally, in this case, the first indication information may be carried in the same message as the first information described above. When the second cell belongs to the fourth network device, the first network device sends the first indication information to the fourth network device. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial to ensure the signal quality of the terminal device after switching from the first cell to the second cell and avoid affecting the services of the terminal device.

[0132] When the second network device is a DU and the first network device is a CU, the third network device described above can be referred to as the first DU, which is the DU to which the first cell belongs. The fourth network device described above can be referred to as the second DU, which is a DU different from the first DU. The second DU and the first DU are managed by the same CU.

[0133] To save energy consumption, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method. As Figure 4 shown, the communication method includes steps 401 to 403. Figure 4 The execution subjects corresponding to the method shown are the second network device and the first network device, or Figure 4 the execution subjects of the method shown can be the chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 4 Taking the second network device and the first network device as examples for illustration. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the communication method. The second network device and the first network device can be Figure 1 the network devices corresponding to the communication system shown. Among them:

[0134] 401. The first network device sends first indication information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first indication information from the first network device. The first indication information indicates the cell switchable situations corresponding to each cell in at least one cell respectively.

[0135] In the embodiment of the present application, one or more second network devices can be centrally managed by one first network device. Optionally, the first network device can be a CU, and the second network device can be a DU. The CU and the DU can adopt a separated architecture. At least one cell is part or all of the cells of the second network device. The cell switchable situation of the terminal device specifically refers to whether the terminal device can switch cells. The reasons why the terminal device cannot switch cells can include, but are not limited to, that switching cells by the terminal device will cause a greater impact on the communication quality, or the terminal device is performing important services and cannot be interrupted, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the situation where the terminal device cannot switch cells. The cell switchable situation of the terminal device in the cell can be used by the second network device to estimate and determine the impact of shutting down the cell on the terminal device. Optionally, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell. The coverage area of the cell can also be used by the second network device to determine the impact of shutting down the cell on the terminal device. For example, after shutting down the cell, whether it may cause no cell coverage in a certain area, and whether the terminal device cannot access the cell when moving to this area, etc.

[0136] Among them, the first indication information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: information on the switchable situation, the cause value of non-switchability, and auxiliary information of the coverage information.

[0137] The information on the switchable situation may include different specific switching states or switching ratio values such as all terminal devices can be switched, or some terminal devices can be switched, or no terminal device can be switched, such as 0%, 10%, and so on up to 100%; it can also be two situations of true / false; it can also be other information on the switchable situation, which is not limited herein.

[0138] The cause value of non-switchability may include cause values related to the terminal device performance or neighboring cell performance such as the terminal service cannot be satisfied, or the communication quality of the terminal device is poor, or the neighboring cell resources are insufficient, busy, etc., which is not limited herein.

[0139] The auxiliary information of the coverage information may be a relative value of the coverage information, or an absolute value of the area, or a related value of the power intensity, or the state of the coverage range, for example, a small range, a medium range, a large range, and so on. It can also be the coverage information or information related to the coverage information, which is not limited herein.

[0140] Among them, when each terminal device in the cell can be switched, the first indication information may not include the cause value of non-switchability corresponding to the cell.

[0141] In a possible implementation manner, the first network device may send the first indication information to the second network device after receiving the first request. Specifically: the second network device sends the first request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first request sent by the second network device. The first request is used to request to obtain the switchable situation of the terminal devices corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell. Optionally, the first request includes the cell identifier of each cell in the at least one cell and the identifiers of all terminal devices in each cell or the interface identifiers of all terminal devices. Based on this implementation manner, it is beneficial to enable the second network device to quickly trigger a judgment on whether to perform cell shutdown.

[0142] Among them, the timing of the first network device sending the first indication information may also be independent of the first request. For example, the first network device may periodically send the first indication information to the second network device, or the first network device may send the first indication information to the second network device at a preset time point. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the timing of the first network device sending the first indication information to the second network device.

[0143] Optionally, the timing at which the second network device sends a first request to the first network device may be when at least one cell meets a first condition, where the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within the cell shutdown time range.

[0144] Among them, the first conditions for all cells under the second network device may all be the same condition, that is, the first condition for each cell is the same. Or, the first conditions corresponding to different cells under the second network device may not necessarily be the same, that is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the first condition and the cell, each cell corresponds to its own first condition, and the first conditions between two cells may be the same or different.

[0145] Further optionally, the first condition may be configured by the network management or the first network device. Specifically, the second network device receives second indication information from the network management or the first network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives second indication information from the network management or the first network device, and the second indication information indicates the first condition. The second indication information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of a cell identifier, a first threshold, a second threshold, a start time and an end time in the shutdown time range. Among them, the first threshold may be a relative load value or an absolute load value, and the second threshold is an energy consumption value, which may be a relative energy consumption value or an absolute energy consumption value or an energy efficiency. For the description of energy consumption, reference may be made to the description in the corresponding embodiments above. Figure 3 The description in the corresponding embodiments will not be repeated here. In addition, the first condition may also be implemented internally by the second network device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0146] 402. The second network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information.

[0147] 403. The second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of first cells may be one or more. The second network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information. The specific implementation method is to determine that the terminal devices under the first cell can all switch cells based on the first indication information. It can be understood that after it is determined that all the terminal devices under the first cell can switch, shutting down the cell by the second network device will not have a great impact on the terminal devices under the first cell. Based on the method of the embodiments of the present application, while the second network device shuts down the first cell to save energy consumption, it can also avoid having a great impact on the terminal devices after the second network device shuts down the cell.

[0149] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each of at least one cell, and the total coverage area corresponding to all cells other than the first cell in the at least one cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. Specifically, the coverage area of the first cell determined by the second network device from the at least one cell is located within the total coverage area of other cells. Other cells refer to other cells related to the first cell, such as its neighboring cells, which may be under the same second network device or different second network devices. In this case, shutting down the first cell will not affect the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. If the coverage area of a cell is not located within the total coverage area of other cells, then when the cell is shut down, there may be areas within the coverage area of the cell that are not covered by other cells. If a terminal device enters this area, it may not be able to access the cell. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial for the second network device to save energy while shutting down a cell and also avoid the problem of incomplete cell coverage.

[0150] Exemplarily, as Figure 5 shown, there are three cells under the second network device, namely Cell 1, Cell 2, and Cell 3. Among them, the coverage area of Cell 1 includes Area A and Area B, the coverage area of Cell 2 includes Area C and Area B, and the coverage area of Cell 3 is within Area B. The coverage area of Cell 3 is located within the total coverage area (Area A + Area B + Area C) of Cell 1 and Cell 2. Therefore, after shutting down Cell 3, the coverage area of Cell 3 is still covered by Cell 1 and Cell 2, and there will be no problem of incomplete coverage. The coverage area of Cell 1 is not located within the total coverage area (Area B + Area C) of Cell 2 and Cell 3. Therefore, after shutting down Cell 1, Area A will not be covered by any cell, and thus there will be a problem of incomplete coverage.

[0151] In a possible implementation, the second network device also needs to determine the first cell from at least one cell in combination with a first condition, that is, the first cell is required to meet the first condition. The first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within the cell shutdown time range. For the description of the first condition, reference can be made to the description in step 401 above, and details are not elaborated in this embodiment of the present application. Based on this implementation, shutting down the first cell with a smaller load and / or lower energy consumption within the shutdown time range (such as in the early morning when the number of users is small) is beneficial for saving energy and can also avoid affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0152] In a possible implementation, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the second network device sends a second request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, and the second request is used to indicate a request to hand over the terminal device under the first cell. After the first network device receives the second request, the first network device initiates a cell handover for the terminal device. Optionally, after all the terminal devices under the first cell complete the cell handover, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all the terminal devices under the first cell, the first network device will send response information for the second request to the second network device, and the response information indicates that all the terminal devices under the first cell of the second network device have completed the cell handover and the first cell can be shut down. Optionally, the second request includes, but is not limited to, the following information: the identifier of the first cell, a handover request indication, or a handover request cause value. Among them, if there is no terminal device in the first cell, the second network device may not need to send the second request. The cause value of the handover request may be a network energy saving or cell shutdown or other cause values related to energy saving technologies, such as discontinuous transmission of the cell and discontinuous reception of the cell.

[0153] In a possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends third indication information to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the third indication information from the second network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell has been shut down. The third indication information may indicate that the first cell is in a dormant state and no longer provides services for the terminal device. Optionally, after receiving the third indication information, the first network device may send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices, and the coverage adjustment assistance information includes affected cells or synchronization signal block (SSB) information to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage ranges.

[0154] Among them, the content of the third indication information may include at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services for users, or an indication of different levels of dormant modes such as the first cell being in a powered-off state, and the cause value of the first cell shutdown, and the cause value may be a network energy saving or other cause values related to energy saving.

[0155] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all the cells under a second network device connected to a gNB-CU-UP are shut down, that is, all the cells under the second network device connected to the gNB-CU-UP enter the dormant state and there is no user plane scheduling through the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device may close its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0156] To save energy consumption, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, such as Figure 6As shown, the communication method includes steps 601 to 604, where step 604 is an optional step. Figure 6 The execution entities corresponding to the method shown are the second network device and the first network device, or Figure 6 The execution entity of the method shown can be the chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 6 Taking the second network device and the first network device as an example for illustration. The execution entity of the communication method in the embodiments of the present application is not limited. The second network device and the first network device can be Figure 1 The network devices corresponding to the communication system shown. Among them:

[0157] 601. The second network device sends the first information to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first information from the second network device, and the first information includes the energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0158] In the embodiments of the present application, one or more second network devices can be centrally managed by one first network device. Optionally, the first network device can be a CU, and the second network device can be a DU. The CU and the DU can adopt a separated architecture. The at least one cell in the first information is part of the cells or all the cells of the second network device. Optionally, the energy consumption information can include but is not limited to one or more of the following: the energy consumption of the second network device (DU) (node-level energy consumption), cell identifier, cell-level energy consumption, terminal device identifier, terminal device-level energy consumption, DRB identifier, DRB-level energy consumption, slice identifier, slice-level energy consumption, or energy consumption information at other levels, such as PDU session-level energy consumption, QoS flow-level energy consumption, which is not limited here. Among them, for the description of the energy consumption information, reference can be made to the description in the corresponding embodiments above. The description of the embodiments of the present application is the same as that, and will not be repeated here. Optionally, after receiving the first information, the first network device can also send the energy consumption information of the at least one cell to the core network device and / or network management. The energy consumption information can be used for data analysis of the core network and / or data analysis of the network management. Figure 3 Correspondingly, after receiving the first information, the first network device can also send the energy consumption information of the at least one cell to the core network device and / or network management. The energy consumption information can be used for data analysis of the core network and / or data analysis of the network management.

[0159] In a possible implementation, before the second network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a first request to the second network device, and the corresponding second network device receives the first request from the second network device. The first request is used to request the energy consumption information of at least one cell. Optionally, the first request includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: the identifier of the cell, the request indication of the energy consumption information, and the reason value for requesting to report the energy consumption information. The reason value may specifically be network energy saving, energy efficiency as a service, or other reason values related to energy consumption or energy efficiency, etc. Based on this implementation, the first network device can actively trigger a decision on whether the second network device needs to perform cell shutdown.

[0160] Among them, the timing of the second network device sending the first information may also be independent of the first request. For example, the second network device may periodically send the first information to the first network device, or send the first information to the first network device at a predetermined time, or the second network device may also send the first information to the first network device when some conditions are met. For example, the condition may be that the cell energy consumption under the second network device is less than the energy consumption threshold, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the timing of the second network device sending the first information to the first network device.

[0161] 602. The first network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first information.

[0162] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of first cells may be one or more. The first network device determines the first cell with lower energy consumption from at least one cell according to the first information or in combination with other information, such as resource status information, etc. Optionally, the energy consumption of the first cell is less than a preset threshold, and the preset threshold may be a relative energy consumption value, an absolute energy consumption value, or energy efficiency. The lower energy consumption of the first cell indicates that the number of terminal devices in the current first cell is small or there are no terminal devices. Shutting down the first cell with smaller energy consumption is beneficial to saving energy and can also avoid affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0163] 603. The first network device sends a first indication information to the second network device, and the corresponding second network device receives the first indication information from the first network device. The first indication information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell.

[0164] In the embodiments of the present application, the first indication information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down. Optionally, the second network device can directly shut down all the first cells indicated by the first indication information without making a decision based on the first indication information. Alternatively, in addition to the first indication information, the second network device can also refer to its own situation or other parameter information of the first cell, such as the coverage area of the first cell, etc., to decide whether to shut down at least one first cell indicated by the first indication information. The second network device can determine to shut down some or all of the first cells indicated in the first indication information, or the second network device can also determine not to shut down the first cell.

[0165] 604. The second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0166] In a possible implementation manner, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the second network device sends a second request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, and the second request is used to indicate a request to hand over the terminal device under the first cell. After the first network device receives the second request, the first network device initiates a cell handover for the terminal device. Optionally, after all the terminal devices under the first cell complete the cell handover, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all the terminal devices under the first cell, the first network device will send a response message to the second network device for the second request, and the response message indicates that all the terminal devices under the first cell of the second network device have completed the cell handover and the first cell can be shut down. Optionally, the second request includes one or more of the following information: the identifier of the first cell, a handover request indication, or a handover request reason value. Among them, if there is no terminal device in the first cell, the second network device does not need to send the second request.

[0167] In a possible implementation manner, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends second indication information to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second indication information from the second network device, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first cell has been shut down. The second indication information can indicate that the first cell is in a dormant state and no longer provides services for the terminal device. Optionally, after receiving the second indication information, the first network device can send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices, and the coverage adjustment assistance information includes affected cells or SSB information to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage ranges.

[0168] Among them, the content of the second indication information may include at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to the user, or an indication of different levels of sleep modes such as the first cell being in a powered-off state, and the cause value for the first cell to be shut down. This cause value may be for network energy saving or other energy-saving related reasons.

[0169] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all cells under the second network device of a gNB-CU-UP connection are shut down, that is, all cells under the second network device of the gNB-CU-UP connection enter the sleep state and there is no user plane scheduling through the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device may close its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0170] To implement each function in the method provided in the embodiments of the present application above, both the first network device and the second network device may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether a certain function among the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0171] Please refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 which shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. This communication device may be the first network device or the second network device, or a device that can be used in combination with the first network device or the second network device. In a possible implementation, this communication device may include a module or unit that respectively corresponds to the method / operation / step / action executed by the second network device or the first network device in the method embodiments shown above. This unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. Figure 3 、 Figure 4 or Figure 6 The communication device shown may include a processing unit 701 and a communication unit 702. Among them, the processing unit 701 is used for data processing. The communication unit 702 integrates a receiving unit and a sending unit. The communication unit 702 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 702 may be split into a receiving unit and a sending unit.

[0172] Figure 7 The communication device shown may be the second network device, or a device that can be used in combination with the second network device. Among them, this communication device may also be a chip system.

[0173] Figure 7 This communication device is used to execute the above

[0174] This communication device is used to execute the above Figure 3When implementing some or all of the functions of the second network device in the described method embodiments, the communication unit 702 is configured to send a first request to the first network device, where the first request is used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive first information from the first network device, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates the shutdown time range corresponding to each of the at least one first cell.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes the resource status information of at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second information to the first network device, where the second information includes the resource status information of at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0178] In a possible implementation, before the communication unit 702 sends the second information to the first network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a third request from the first network device, where the third request is used to request reporting the energy consumption information of the cell.

[0179] In a possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a second request to the first network device, where the second request is used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device under the first cell to other cells.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive first indication information from the first network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and intensity of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or, the first indication information indicates the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources, and the terminal device under the first cell will be switched to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0181] In a possible implementation, after shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell has been shut down.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0183] When the communication device is used to perform some or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiments described above, the communication unit 702 receives first indication information sent by the first network device, and the first indication information indicates the cell switchable situation corresponding to each cell in at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information; the processing unit 701 is further configured to turn off the first cell. Figure 4 When the communication device is used to perform some or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiments described above, the communication unit 702 receives first indication information sent by the first network device, and the first indication information indicates the cell switchable situation corresponding to each cell in at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information; the processing unit 701 is further configured to turn off the first cell.

[0184] In a possible implementation manner, when the processing unit 701 determines the first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information, it is specifically configured to: determine that the terminal devices in the first cell can all switch cells based on the first indication information.

[0185] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell, and the total coverage area corresponding to all cells other than the first cell in at least one cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell.

[0186] In a possible implementation manner, before receiving the first indication information sent by the first network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a first request to the first network device, and the first request is used to request to obtain the cell switchable situation corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0187] In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from the first network device, and the second indication information indicates a first condition.

[0188] In a possible implementation manner, before turning off the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a second request to the first network device, and the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal devices under the first cell.

[0189] In a possible implementation manner, the first cell satisfies the first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within the cell turn-off time range.

[0190] In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send third indication information to the first network device, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is turned off.

[0191] In a possible implementation manner, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the first cell turn-off.

[0192] When the communication device is used to perform some or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiment described above, the communication unit 702 is configured to send first information to the first network device, where the first information includes energy consumption information of at least one cell; the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive first indication information from the first network device, where the first indication information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell; the processing unit 701 is configured to shut down the first cell. Figure 6 In a possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0193] Before sending the first information to the first network device, in a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a first request from the first network device, where the first request is used to request energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0194] After shutting down the first cell, in a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell has been shut down.

[0195]

[0196] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0197] Figure 7 The communication device shown may be the first network device or a device that can be used in matching with the first network device. Among them, the communication device may also be a chip system.

[0198] Figure 3 When the communication device is used to perform some or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiment described above, the communication unit 702 is configured to receive a first request from the second network device, where the first request is used to request to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the processing unit 701 is configured to perform a state prediction on at least one cell to obtain first information, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down; the communication unit 702 is further configured to send the first information to the second network device.

[0199]

[0200] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0200] In a possible implementation, when the processing unit 701 predicts at least one cell to obtain first information, it is specifically configured to: predict the at least one cell based on second information to obtain first information, where the second information includes one or more of the following: cell resource status information, energy consumption information of the cell, channel quality information of the terminal device under the cell, resource status information of neighboring cells, or mobility information of the terminal device.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0202] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second information sent by a second network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0203] In a possible implementation, before the communication unit 702 receives second information sent by a second network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a third request to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of the energy consumption information of the cell.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a second request sent by a second network device, where the second request is used to request handover of a terminal device under a first cell.

[0205] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and intensity of enhancing the coverage of a second cell, and / or indicates the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources.

[0206] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that a first cell is shut down.

[0207] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

[0208] This communication device is used to perform part or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiments described above Figure 4 When the communication unit 702 is configured to send first indication information to the second network device, the first indication information indicates the handover situation of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0209] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0210] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a first request from a second network device, where the first request is used to request to obtain the handover situation of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0211] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second indication information to the second network device, where the second indication information indicates a first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the cell load is less than a first threshold; or, the cell energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or, the current time is within the cell turn-off time range.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a second request from the second network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to handover the terminal device under a first cell.

[0213] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive third indication information from the second network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is turned off.

[0214] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the first cell turn-off.

[0215] This communication device is used to perform part or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiment described above Figure 6 When, the communication unit 702 is configured to receive first information from the second network device, where the first information includes the energy consumption information of at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is configured to determine a first cell from at least one cell based on the first information; the communication unit 702 is further configured to send first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates to the second network device to turn off the first cell.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0217] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a first request to the second network device, where the first request is used to request the energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0218] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from a second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0219] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, a level of the first cell in a sleep mode, or a cause value for the shutdown of the first cell.

[0220] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send energy consumption information of at least one cell to a core network device.

[0221] Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of another communication device is given. The communication device 800 may be the second network device in the foregoing method embodiment, or may also be a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc. that supports the second network device to implement the foregoing method. The communication device can be used to implement the method described in the foregoing method embodiment, and for details, reference may be made to the description in the foregoing method embodiment.

[0222] Alternatively, the communication device 800 may be the first network device in the foregoing method embodiment, or may also be a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc. that supports the first network device to implement the foregoing method. The communication device can be used to implement the method described in the foregoing method embodiment, and for details, reference may be made to the description in the foregoing method embodiment.

[0223] The communication device 800 may include one or more processors 801. The processor 801 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control a communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a second network device, or a first network device, etc.), execute a software program, and process data of the software program.

[0224] Optionally, the communication device 800 may include one or more memories 802, on which there may be stored instructions 804 that can be run on the processor 801, so that the communication device 800 executes the method described in the foregoing method embodiment. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 802. The processor 801 and the memory 802 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0225] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a transceiver 805 and an antenna 806. The transceiver 805 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., for implementing a transceiver function. The transceiver 805 may include a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing a transmitting function.

[0226] The communication device 800 is a second network device: the processor 801 is used to perform the data processing operation of the second network device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 805 is used to perform the data transceiving operation of the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0227] Alternatively, the communication device 800 is a first network device: the processor 801 is used to perform the data processing operation of the first network device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 805 is used to perform the data transceiving operation of the first network device in the above method embodiment.

[0228] In another possible design, the processor 801 may include a transceiver for implementing the receiving and sending functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and sending functions may be separate or integrated. The above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0229] In another possible design, optionally, the processor 801 may store an instruction 803, and the instruction 803 runs on the processor 801, so that the communication device 800 can execute the method described in the above method embodiment. The instruction 803 may be solidified in the processor 801, in which case the processor 801 may be implemented by hardware.

[0230] In another possible design, the communication device 800 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending or receiving or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc.

[0231] The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a second network device or a first network device. However, the scope of the communication device described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be affected by Figure 8 restrictions. The communication device may be an independent device or may be a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0232] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0233] (2) A set of one or more ICs. Optionally, the IC set may also include a storage component for storing data and instructions;

[0234] (3) An ASIC, such as a mobile station modem (MSM);

[0235] (4) A module that can be embedded in other devices;

[0236] (5) A receiver, a terminal, a smart terminal, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, and so on;

[0237] (6) Others, and so on.

[0238] For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to Figure 9 the schematic structural diagram of the chip shown. Figure 9 The chip shown includes a processor 901 and an interface 902. Optionally, a memory 903 may also be included. Among them, the number of processors 901 may be one or more, and the number of interfaces 902 may be multiple.

[0239] In one design, for the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the second network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0240] The interface 902 is used to input or output signals;

[0241] The processor 901 is used to perform the data processing operations of the second network device in the above method embodiments.

[0242] In another design, for the case where the chip is used to implement the functions of the first network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0243] The interface 902 is used to input or output signals;

[0244] The processor 901 is used to perform the data processing operations of the first network device in the above method embodiments.

[0245] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application can, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently without relying on other features, such as the current solution they are based on, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. In certain scenarios, they can also be combined with other features according to requirements. Correspondingly, the communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application can also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0246] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuit in the hardware of the processor or instructions in software form. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0247] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include but not be limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0248] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0249] The present application also provides a computer program product for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0250] In the above embodiments, all or part of them can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of it can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. 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 a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired manner (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or a wireless manner (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). 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 integrated available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (such as high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (such as solid state drives (SSDs)), etc.

[0251] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have their own emphases. For parts not detailed in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, the method includes: sending a first request to a first network device, the first request being used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; receiving first information from the first network device, the first information indicating that the at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell; determining whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first information further indicates the shutdown time range corresponding to each of the at least one first cell.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, the first request further includes the resource status information of the at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, the method further includes: sending second information to the first network device, the second information including the resource status information of the at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, before sending the second information to the first network device, the method further includes: receiving a third request from the first network device, the third request being used to request reporting the energy consumption information of the cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, before shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending a second request to the first network device, the second request being used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device under the first cell to other cells.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, the method further includes: receiving first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information indicating the time and intensity for enhancing the coverage of a second cell, and / or, the first indication information indicating the time for reserving handover resources for the second cell, and the terminal device under the first cell will be switched to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, after shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the first network device, the second indication information indicating that the first cell has been shut down.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

10. A communication method, characterized in that, the method includes: receiving a first request from a second network device, the first request being used to request predicting or determining whether at least one cell can be shut down; performing a status prediction on the at least one cell; Send the first information to the second network device, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the first information further indicates the shutdown time range corresponding to the at least one first cell.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, the predicting the at least one cell to obtain the first information includes: predicting the at least one cell based on second information to obtain the first information, where the second information includes one or more of the following: resource status information of the cell, energy consumption information of the cell, channel quality information of the terminal device under the cell, resource status information of neighboring cells, or mobility information of the terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the first request further includes the resource status information of the at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, the method further includes: receiving second information sent by the second network device, where the second information includes the resource status information of the at least one cell and / or the energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, before receiving the second information sent by the second network device, the method further includes: sending a third request to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting the energy consumption information of the cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein, the method further includes: receiving a second request sent by the second network device, where the second request is used to request switching the terminal device under the first cell.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein, the method further includes: sending first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and intensity of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or, the indication information indicates the time for the second cell to reserve handover resources.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein, after sending the first information to the second network device, the method further includes: receiving second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, the level of the first cell in the sleep mode, or the cause value of the shutdown of the first cell.

20. A communication device, wherein, the communication device includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or, the communication device includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

21. A communication device, Characterized in that, It includes a processor coupled to a memory, and the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, Characterized in that, The apparatus further includes the memory, and / or a transceiver, and the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data and / or signaling.

23. A communication apparatus, Characterized in that, It includes a processor and an interface circuit, and the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from another communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus and transmit it to the processor or send a signal from the processor to another communication apparatus outside the communication apparatus, and the processor causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 to be executed through a logic circuit or by executing instructions, or the processor causes the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19 to be executed through a logic circuit or by executing instructions.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, Characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a communication apparatus, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19 is executed.

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