Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device. The method comprises the steps that a first network element receives a control strategy from a second network element, a first message is sent to network equipment according to the control strategy, and the control strategy is used for controlling the network equipment to transmit data of terminal equipment; the control strategy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network equipment for transmitting the data of the terminal equipment and a first energy consumption limit corresponding to the terminal equipment, and the first energy consumption limit represents the maximum value of the energy consumption of the network equipment for transmitting the data of the terminal equipment; the first message is used for requesting to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. A network side determines a control strategy based on a relationship between energy consumption of a network device for transmitting data of a terminal device and a first energy consumption limit, and requests the network device to reduce the energy consumption for transmitting the data of the terminal device based on the control strategy. Therefore, the network side can perform strategy control on data transmission of the terminal equipment based on the energy consumption.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Currently, in response to climate change and global energy shortages, many countries and regions have introduced relevant policies and requirements for controlling carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency. These policies and requirements have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for many telecommunications operators globally. For example, energy consumption has a relatively large impact on the operating costs of mobile network operators (MNOs). In addition, based on the proportion of the energy components powering the network, energy consumption may also have a certain impact on the environment.

[0003] In response to the above problems, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) has started relevant research on energy conservation. For example, 3GPP has conducted relevant research on "specific services (such as services without quality of service (QoS) standards)" based on energy-related subscriptions and policy control to achieve control of energy usage, thereby providing certain support for achieving energy saving (ES). However, how to implement policy control of data transmission of terminal devices based on energy consumption remains to be further studied. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for implementing policy control of data transmission of terminal devices by the network side based on energy consumption.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first network element or a module of the first network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, this method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network element. Exemplarily, hereinafter, the case where the first network element executes the communication method is taken as an example. The method may include the following steps: The first network element receives a control policy from a second network element. After that, the first network element may send a first message to a network device according to the control policy, where the control policy is used to control the network device to transmit data of a terminal device, and the control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device, and the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0006] In this method, by enabling the network side to determine the control policy based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and requesting the network device to reduce the energy consumption of transmitting data of the terminal device based on the control policy, the network side can realize policy control of the data transmission of the terminal device based on energy consumption, which helps to reduce the energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network side to a certain extent.

[0007] Correspondingly, in a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network device or a module of the network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, this method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. Exemplarily, hereinafter, the case where the network device executes the communication method is taken as an example. The method may include the following steps: The network device receives a first message from the first network element. After that, the network device may transmit data of the terminal device according to a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, where the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0008] For the technical effects that can be achieved in the second aspect, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect above, and details are not described herein again.

[0009] Correspondingly, in a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a fourth network element or a module of the fourth network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fourth network element. Exemplarily, the following takes the fourth network element executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: The fourth network element receives a seventh message from a first network element. After that, the fourth network element may send an eighth message to the first network element, where the seventh message is used to request a first energy consumption quota, the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of a first session, and the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus a second energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device.

[0010] For the technical effects that can be achieved by the third aspect, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved by the first aspect above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0011] Correspondingly, in a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device or a module of the terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the following takes the terminal device executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: The terminal device receives a fifth message from a first network element. After that, the terminal device may update the data transmission policy of the application program according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, or may send a third message to the first network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, where the fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0012] In this method, based on the fifth message, it is possible to directly and effectively adjust the data transmission policy of the terminal device, or it is also possible to enable the user to instruct the network side for precise policy control according to their own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized. This helps to directly control the terminal device and can, to a certain extent, make the data transmission volume of the terminal device less affected.

[0013] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, the method further includes: the first network element sends a second message to the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, where the second message is used to request the control policy.

[0014] In the above implementation, by sending the second message based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the sending of the second message can be made more accurate and reasonable, which helps to avoid blindly (or wrongly) sending the second message to the second network element, thereby reducing the power consumption caused by blindly (or wrongly) sending the second message to a certain extent.

[0015] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the first network element sending a second message to the second network element includes: when the subscription information of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element may send a second message to the second network element.

[0016] In the above implementation, when the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the sending of the second message by the first network element can be made more accurate and more in line with the actual requirements, thereby avoiding the situation where the control policy is blindly requested but the data transmission of the terminal device cannot be controlled by the policy.

[0017] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, before the first network element sends a second message to the second network element, the method further includes: the first network element receives a third message from the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate an updated control policy.

[0018] In the above implementation, based on the third message and in combination with the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the sending of the second message can be made targeted, which helps to avoid blindly (or wrongly) sending the second message to the second network element, thereby reducing the power consumption caused by blindly (or wrongly) sending the second message to a certain extent.

[0019] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, before the first network element receives a third message from the terminal device, the method further includes: the first network element receives a fourth message from the network device, and then, according to the fourth message, the first network element may send a fifth message to the terminal device, where the fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for data transmission, and the fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0020] In the above implementation, by determining the energy consumption quota usage situation based on the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device reported by the network device (which can be understood as the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, such as the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is about to be used up), it is convenient to trigger the terminal device to update the data transmission policy in a timely manner or trigger the terminal device to request the first network element to execute a process of policy control based on energy consumption for data transmission of the terminal device.

[0021] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0022] In the above implementation, in the case where the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is about to be used up, request a corresponding control policy from the second network element so as to transmit data of the terminal device according to the corresponding control policy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0023] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element receives the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element, where the subscription information includes the first energy consumption quota.

[0024] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element receives a sixth message from the network device, where the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0025] In the above implementation, by calculating the difference between the first energy consumption quota included in the subscription information and the energy consumption determined by the sixth message, the difference can be accurately calculated, so as to accurately determine whether the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0026] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, when the data of the terminal device is the data of the first session of the terminal device, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, where the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting the data of other sessions of the terminal device.

[0027] In the above implementation, when the remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient, a corresponding control policy is requested from the second network element, so that the network device can transmit the data of the terminal device according to the corresponding control policy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0028] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element may send a seventh message to the fourth network element, and then, the first network element may receive an eighth message from the fourth network element, where the seventh message is used to request the first energy consumption quota, and the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0029] In the above implementation, when the first network element applies for the first energy consumption quota from the fourth network element, if the fourth network element determines that the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is less than the first energy consumption quota, the fourth network element may notify the first network element of the insufficient remaining energy consumption quota, so that the first network element can take corresponding measures in time to trigger the network device to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0030] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element may receive the updated first energy consumption quota, and then, the first network element may send a ninth message to the second network element according to the updated first energy consumption quota, where the ninth message is used to request an updated control policy.

[0031] In the above implementation, when the first energy consumption quota is updated, the first network element may request an updated control policy from the second network element, which can facilitate the network device to adopt a new control policy for subsequent transmission of the data of the terminal device, so that the data transmission can be more reasonable and help to improve the user experience.

[0032] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the control policy includes a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0033] In the above implementation manner, the network device can subsequently transmit the data of the terminal device according to a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, so as to achieve energy-saving transmission of the data of the terminal device by the network device, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the policy includes at least one of the following manners: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, or updating the data radio bearer of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0035] In the above implementation manner, by adopting one or more of the above manners, it is possible to achieve energy-saving transmission of the data of the terminal device by the network device, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the data of the terminal device is the user plane data of the terminal device.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner provided in the third aspect, the method further includes: the fourth network element sends a tenth message to the third network element, and then, the fourth network element can receive the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element, where the tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the terminal device, and the subscription information may include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0038] In the above implementation manner, by obtaining the total energy consumption quota from the third network element, it is convenient for the fourth network element to accurately allocate corresponding energy consumption quotas for different sessions of the terminal device based on the total energy consumption quota, and in the case where the remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient, it is convenient for the first network element to timely request a corresponding control policy from the second network element, so that the network device can transmit the data of the terminal device according to the corresponding control policy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner provided in the third aspect, the method further includes: the fourth network element receives the updated total energy consumption quota from the third network element, then, the fourth network element can update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota, and then, the fourth network element can send the updated first energy consumption quota to the first network element.

[0040] In the above implementation manner, based on the updated total energy consumption quota, the updated first energy consumption quota can be accurately calculated, which helps the first network element accurately request a control strategy matching the updated first energy consumption quota from the second network element.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fourth aspect, the data transmission strategy includes at least one of the following methods: delaying the automatic update time of the application or delaying the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud.

[0042] In the above implementation manner, by adopting one or more of the above methods, energy-saving control for the terminal device can be achieved, and to a certain extent, it can be avoided that the critical services of the terminal device are affected due to the automatic update of the application or the data synchronization between the application and the cloud occupying busy-hour resources.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a fifth network element or a module of the fifth network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, this method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fifth network element. Exemplarily, below, the communication method executed by the fifth network element is taken as an example. The method may include the following steps: The fifth network element receives first information from the second network element. After that, the fifth network element can update the data transmission strategy according to the first information, where the first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the data transmission strategy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0044] In this method, by updating the data transmission strategy corresponding to the terminal device based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, energy-saving control for the terminal device can be achieved, and to a certain extent, it can be realized that the data transmission content and data transmission volume corresponding to the terminal device are minimally affected as much as possible.

[0045] Accordingly, in a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second network element or a module of the second network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system, or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network element. Exemplarily, below, the communication method executed by the second network element is taken as an example. The method may include the following steps: The second network element receives third information from the first network element. After that, the second network element can determine the session information associated with the terminal device according to the third information, and can determine the corresponding fifth network element according to the session information associated with the terminal device. Then, the second network element can send first information to the fifth network element, where the third information can be used to request the control policy corresponding to the terminal device, the third information can include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit the data of the terminal device.

[0046] For the technical effects that can be achieved in the sixth aspect, please refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the above fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the method further includes: The fifth network element sends second information to the terminal device, where the second information is used to indicate that the data transmission policy is updated due to energy consumption reasons.

[0048] In the above implementation manner, by sending the second information to the terminal device, it can facilitate the terminal device to timely learn the reason for the change in the data transmission policy.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the data transmission policy may include at least one of the following methods: updating the sending time of downlink data, adjusting the data synchronization time, or adjusting the cloud service streaming clarity, etc.

[0050] In the above implementation manner, by adopting one or more of the above methods, it is possible to implement timely and effective energy-saving control of the terminal device without reducing the data transmission volume of the terminal device as much as possible.

[0051] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which can implement the method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the above first aspect to the sixth aspect. 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.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the method shown above. The communication device may further include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface for supporting communication between the communication device and other devices.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules respectively for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the structure of the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, and these modules can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples. For specific descriptions, refer to the methods in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, and details are not described here.

[0055] In a eighth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor implements the method in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect through logic circuits or by executing computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions.

[0056] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a plurality of communication devices (such as multiple of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device). Among them, the implementation of the relevant functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device can refer to the relevant descriptions mentioned in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect, and details are not described here.

[0057] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method in any possible implementation manner in any one of the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0058] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the first to sixth aspects described above.

[0059] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which may include a processor and may also include a memory (or the chip is coupled to a storage device). The chip executes program instructions in the storage device to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the first to sixth aspects described above. Herein, "coupled" means that two components are directly or indirectly combined with each other. For example, coupling may refer to an electrical connection between two components.

[0060] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of any one of the first to sixth aspects described above. In a possible implementation manner, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary programs and data of the computer device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0061] Based on the implementation manners provided in the above aspects, the present application may be further combined to provide more implementation manners. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] Figure 1 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 2 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 3 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 4 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 5 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 6 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 7 Exemplarily shows a schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 8 Exemplarily shown is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 9 Exemplarily shown is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Figure 10 Exemplarily shown is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0072] Before introducing the technical solutions provided by the present application, some terms involved in the present application are first explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0073] (1) Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF): mainly used for analyzing various types of network data. Among them, the sources of network data can include, but are not limited to, network operation data collected from network functions (NFs), or statistical data related to terminal devices and the network obtained from operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM), or application data obtained from third-party application function (AF) network elements. Correspondingly, the analysis results generated by NWDAF can also be output to NF, OAM, or a third-party AF. Furthermore, NF, OAM, or AF can use the analysis results of NWDAF for different optimization operations.

[0074] (2) OAM: a general term for a set of network management functions, including fault monitoring, fault reporting, fault location, and fault repair, etc. Generally, there is a corresponding OAM on the access network side, which can be called access network OAM, and there is a corresponding OAM on the core network side, called core network OAM. There may be a transmission interface between different OAMs. OAM can be an element management system (EMS), or it can also be a network management system (NMS), manage authorization and execution (MAE), or an operations support system (OSS) / business support system (BSS), or any collection of management units.

[0075] (3) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session: A logical connection between a terminal device and a data network (DN), which provides a user plane connection from the terminal device to the DN for the terminal device. The PDU session includes: sessions between the terminal device and the access network device, between the access network device and the user plane function (UPF) network element, and between the UPF network element and the DN. A PDU session includes at least one Quality of Service (QoS) flow.

[0076] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, "sending a message (or information)" can be understood as a device sending a message (or information) to another device, or it can also be understood as a logical module inside a device sending a message (or information) to another logical module. For example, "the first network element sends a message" can be understood as the first network element sending a message to another device (such as the second network element), or it can be understood as the logical module 1 in the first network element sending a message to the logical module 2 in the second network element.

[0077] In the embodiments of this application, "receiving a message (or information)" can be understood as a device receiving a message (or information) from another device, or it can also be understood as a logical module inside a device receiving a message (or information) from another logical module. For example, "the first network element receives a message" can be understood as the first network element receiving a message from another device (such as the second network element), or it can be understood as the logical module 1 in the first network element receiving a message from the logical module 2 in the second network element.

[0078] In the embodiments of this application, "sending a message (or information) to the second network element" can be understood as the destination of the message (or information) being the second network element. It can include directly or indirectly sending a message (or information) to the second network element. "Receiving a message (or information) from the second network element" can be understood as the source of the message (or information) being the second network element, and it can include directly or indirectly receiving a message (or information) from the second network element. Necessary processing may be performed on the message (or information) between the source and destination of the message (or information) being sent, such as format changes, etc., but the destination can understand the valid message from the source. Similar expressions in the embodiments of this application can be understood similarly, and will not be elaborated here.

[0079] Next, the embodiments of this application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] Next, the communication system architecture applicable to the communication method provided in this application will be introduced. It should be noted that these introductions are for the convenience of those skilled in the art to understand and do not limit the scope of protection required by this application.

[0081] Figure 1 An exemplary schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application is shown. Among them, Figure 1 The illustrated communication system architecture is the fifth-generation (5G) communication system architecture standardized by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). This communication system architecture includes terminal devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)), an access network (AN) (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)), a core network (CN), and a data network. Optionally, the terminal device can be connected to the access network device (such as an (R)AN device) wirelessly, and the access network device can be connected to the core network wirelessly or wired. The core network device and the radio access network device can be independent different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device can be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of part of the core network device and part of the radio access network device can be integrated on one physical device. Terminal devices can be connected to each other and access network devices can be connected to each other either wired or wirelessly. Exemplarily, other network devices (such as wireless relay devices or wireless backhaul devices, etc.) can also be included in this communication system architecture.

[0082] Next, the functions of some devices included in the communication system architecture will be briefly introduced.

[0083] Terminal device: It is an entity on the user side with the function of transmitting and receiving signals, and can provide service functions such as video, voice, and data connectivity to users. For example, the terminal device is the entry point for mobile users to interact with the network, capable of providing basic computing and storage capabilities, displaying service windows to users, and receiving user operation inputs. The NextGen UE can adopt new air interface technologies to establish signal connections and data connections with access network devices, thereby transmitting control signals and service data to the mobile network.

[0084] Optionally, the terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal device, in-vehicle terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal device, terminal device, wireless communication device, UE agent, or UE device, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be fixed in position or mobile, and the present application does not limit this. Exemplarily, the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or in-vehicle, or may also be deployed on the water (such as a ship, etc.), or may also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, balloon, or satellite, etc.).

[0085] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a wireless modem, a handset, a laptop computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a factory machine / device, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a ship or a robot, etc. For example, the vehicle may include, but is not limited to: a smart car or intelligent car, a digital car, an unmanned car or driverless car or pilotless car or automobile, a self-driving car or autonomous car, a pure electric vehicle (pure EV or Battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a range extended electric vehicle (REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or a new energy vehicle, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal device.

[0086] Access network device: A device that connects terminal devices to a wireless network. An access network device can also be referred to as an access network apparatus, or a wireless access network device, or an (R)AN entity, or a network device, or an access node, or an (R)AN node, or an (R)AN device, etc. For example, an access network device can provide network access functions for authorized users in a specific area and can determine transmission tunnels of different qualities to transmit user data according to the user level, service requirements, etc. The access network device can manage its own resources, utilize them reasonably, provide access services for terminal devices on demand, and is responsible for forwarding control signals and user data between the terminal devices and the core network.

[0087] Exemplarily, the access network device can include, but is not limited to: the next generation NodeB (gNB) in the fifth generation (5G) communication system, the next generation NodeB in the sixth generation (6G) communication system, a base station in a future communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc.

[0088] Optionally, in a network architecture, the access network device may include a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). This architecture can split the protocol layers of the access network device. The functions of some protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining or all protocol layers are distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. For example, the functions of the protocol layers above the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below PDCP (such as the RLC layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer, etc.) can be set in the DU. It should be noted that this division of protocol layers is only an example, and it can also be divided at other protocol layers. The radio frequency device can be remote, not placed in the DU, or integrated in the DU, or partially remote and partially integrated in the DU, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any restrictions. Additionally, in some embodiments, the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can also be separated and implemented as different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity).

[0089] Exemplarily, taking the access network device as a base station as an example, the base station can communicate with the terminal device, or can communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. The terminal device can communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies.

[0090] In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, or can also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the radio access network device.

[0091] Data network: A data network that provides service to users. Generally, the client is located in the terminal device, and the server is located in the data network. The data network can be a private network, such as a local area network, or an external network not controlled by the operator, such as the Internet, or a proprietary network jointly deployed by operators, such as a network that provides IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) services.

[0092] Core Network: Responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network, managing the network elements of the mobile network, and providing functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for terminal devices. When a terminal device attaches, it provides network access authentication for the terminal device; when the terminal device has a service request, it allocates network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device moves, it updates the network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device is idle, it provides a fast recovery mechanism for the terminal device; when the terminal device detaches, it releases the network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device has service data, it provides a data routing function for the terminal device, such as forwarding uplink data to the data network; or receiving the downlink data of the terminal device from the data network and forwarding it to the access network device, so that the access network device can send it to the terminal device. Optionally, in terms of functional logic, the network elements of the core network can be divided into two parts: user plane network elements and control plane network elements. Among them, the user plane network elements are responsible for the transmission of service data. For example, the user plane network elements can include, but are not limited to, UPF network elements. The control plane network elements are responsible for the management of the mobile network. For example, the control plane can include, but is not limited to, access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, AF network elements, authentication server function (AUSF) network elements, network slice selection function (NSSF) network elements. Of course, the core network can also include other network elements (such as network exposure function (NEF) network elements, network function repository function (NRF) network elements, unified data repository (UDR) network elements, network slice-specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) network elements, etc., which are not listed one by one here).

[0093] Optionally, the core network control plane adopts a service-based architecture, and the interaction between control plane network elements uses service invocation to replace the point-to-point communication method in the traditional architecture. In the service-based architecture, a control plane network element will open services to other control plane network elements for other control plane network elements to invoke; in point-to-point communication, a set of specific messages will be stored in the communication interface between control plane network elements and can only be used by the control plane network elements at both ends of the interface during communication.

[0094] The following briefly introduces the functions of some network elements included in the core network:

[0095] (1) SMF network element: mainly used for session management, IP address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of manageable user equipment plane functions, policy control, or termination points of charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification, etc. For example, it can complete processes such as establishment, release, and update related to protocol data unit (PDU) sessions. In a 5G communication system, the session management network element can be an SMF network element. In future communications such as the 6th-generation (6G) communication system, the session management function network element can still be an SMF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nsmf is a service-based interface provided by the SMF network element, and the SMF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nsmf.

[0096] (2) AMF network element: mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. For example, it can receive non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of terminal devices (including mobility management (MM) signaling and session management (SM) signaling) and relevant signaling of access network devices (such as N2 signaling at the base station granularity interacting with the AMF network element), and complete the user registration process, forwarding of SM signaling, and mobility management. For example, it can be a mobility management entity (MME) in a 4th-generation (4G) communication system or an AMF network element in a 5G communication system. In future communication systems such as the 6G communication system, the access management network element can still be an AMF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Namf is a service-based interface provided by the AMF network element, and the AMF network element can communicate with other network functions through Namf.

[0097] (3) UDM Network Element: It is used to process user identification, subscription, access authentication, registration, or mobility management, etc. In a 5G communication system, the data management network element can be a UDM network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the data management network element can still be a UDM network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Among them, Nudm is a service-based interface provided by the UDM network element, and the UDM network element can communicate with other network functions through Nudm.

[0098] (4) PCF Network Element: It is a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior and provides policy rule information (such as mobility-related policies or PDU session-related policies (such as quality of service (QoS) policies, charging policies, etc.) or slice selection policies) for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.). In a 5G communication system, the policy control network element can be a PCF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the policy control network element can still be a PCF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Among them, Npcf is a service-based interface provided by the PCF network element, and the PCF network element can communicate with other network functions through Npcf.

[0099] (5) AF Network Element: It is used for data routing that affects applications, access network open functions, or interacts with the policy framework for policy control, etc. In a 5G communication system, the application network element can be an AF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the application network element can still be an AF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Naf is a service-based interface provided by AF, and the AF network element can communicate with other network functions through Naf.

[0100] (6) UPF Network Element: It is used for packet routing and forwarding, or QoS processing of user plane data, etc. In a 5G communication system, the user plane network element can be a UPF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the user plane network element can still be a UPF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0101] (7) AUSF Network Element: It is mainly used for user authentication, etc. In a 5G communication system, the authentication service network element can be an AUSF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the authentication service network element can still be an AUSF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nausf is a service-based interface provided by the AUSF network element, and the AUSF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nausf.

[0102] (8) NSSF network element: It is used to select a network slice for a terminal device. In a 5G communication system, the network slice selection function network element can be an NSSF network element. In future communication systems such as a 6G communication system, the network slice selection function network element can still be an NSSF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0103] (9) NEF network element: It is used to securely open services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to the outside. In a 5G communication system, the network openness network element can be a NEF network element. In future communication systems such as a 6G communication system, the network openness function network element can still be a NEF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Among them, Nnef is the service-based interface provided by the NEF network element, and the NEF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nnef.

[0104] (10) NRF network element: It is used to provide service registration, discovery, and authorization, and maintain information about available network function (NF) instances. It can realize the on-demand configuration of network functions and services and the interconnection between NFs. In a 5G communication system, the network storage network element can be an NRF network element. In future communication systems such as a 6G communication system, the network storage function network element can still be an NRF network element, or it may have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nnrf is the service-based interface provided by the NRF network element, and the NRF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nnrf.

[0105] (11) NSSAAF network element: It is mainly responsible for the authentication and authorization of network slices and can interact with an authentication, authorization, and accounting server (AAA-S) through an authentication, authorization, and accounting proxy (AAA-P).

[0106] (12) UDR network element: It is used for the UDM network element to store subscription data or read subscription data, and for the PCF network element to store policy data or read policy data.

[0107] It can be understood that the above network elements or functions can be network components in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). Optionally, the above network elements or functions can be implemented by one device, jointly implemented by multiple devices, or can also be a functional module within a device, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0108] Such asFigure 1 As shown in the figure, the terminal device can access the 5G communication system through access network devices such as (R)AN devices. The terminal device can communicate with the AMF network element through the next generation (NG) 1 interface (abbreviated as N1), the access network device communicates with the AMF network element through the N2 interface (abbreviated as N2), the access network device communicates with the UPF network element through the N3 interface (abbreviated as N3), the SMF network element communicates with the UPF network element through the N4 interface (abbreviated as N4), and the UPF network element accesses the data network through the N6 interface (abbreviated as N6).

[0109] Optionally, in Figure 1 the shown communication system architecture, there are also included OAM, the energy consumption network element, and the charging function (CHF) network element (or the charging enablement function (CEF) network element). The energy consumption network element is used to determine the energy consumption information and send the energy consumption information to other network elements, such as the AF network element. The energy consumption network element can be a newly introduced network element in the core network, or the energy consumption network element can be an original network element in the core network, and the function of determining the energy consumption information is realized by using this original network element. For example, the energy consumption network element can be the NWDAF network element, or the PCF network element, etc. In this way, the energy consumption network element may not be included in the core network anymore. The energy consumption network element can be set separately, or can be set together with other core network elements. For example, it can be set together with the SMF network element, etc. For example, the energy consumption information may include the energy consumption of the access network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device or the energy efficiency (abbreviated as energy efficiency) of the access network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. The CHF network element is used to support scenarios such as online charging, offline charging, and convergent charging, undertakes the charging gateway function, completes the generation, merging, sorting, formatting, etc. of call detail records, and can also provide the quota required for online charging for the SMF network element.

[0110] It can be understood that the access network device, the terminal device, the network elements in the core network, and OAM, etc. can be referred to as communication devices. For example, the access network device can be understood as a communication device with base station functions. The terminal device can be understood as a communication device with terminal functions. The network elements in the core network can be understood as devices with core network element functions. For example, AMF can be understood as a communication device with AMF functions, and OAM can be understood as a device with OAM functions.

[0111] It should be understood that Figure 1The communication system architecture shown is for a clearer illustration of 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. As known to those of ordinary skill in the art, with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0112] The following will introduce in detail the specific implementation of the communication method in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0113] It can be understood that in the following Figures 2 to 8 multiple communication devices (such as the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device or the terminal device, etc.) are taken as an example of the execution subject of this interaction illustration, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction illustration. For example, the first network element can be an SMF network element (or an NWDAF network element), the second network element can be a PCF network element, the third network element can be a UDM network element (or a UDR network element), the fourth network element can be a CHF network element (or a CEF network element or other network elements for energy consumption quota allocation of the session of the terminal device), the fifth network element can be an AF network element, the terminal device can be a UE, and the network device can be a RAN device.

[0114] It should be understood that the method executed by the first network element in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the first network element, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network element. The method executed by the second network element in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the second network element, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network element. The method executed by the third network element in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the third network element, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the third network element. The method executed by the fourth network element in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the fourth network element, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fourth network element. The method executed by the fifth network element in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the fifth network element, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fifth network element. The method executed by the network device in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. The method executed by the terminal device in this application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the terminal device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0115] Figure 2 Exemplarily shown is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. This method is applicable to Figure 1 the communication system architecture shown. As Figure 2 shown, this method includes:

[0116] Step 201: The second network element sends a control policy to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element.

[0117] Optionally, in the embodiment of this application, if the first network element is replaced with a functional module such as a chip system, this functional module may not perceive which device the received information comes from; if the second network element is replaced with a functional module such as a chip system, this functional module may also not perceive which device the sent information is sent to.

[0118] For example, the control policy may refer to a Policy Control and Charging (PCC) rule. The control policy may be carried (or borne) in a certain message. The message may include (or carry) the reason for updating and sending the control policy, such as an energy consumption reason indication, which is used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to an energy consumption reason (such as the reason for insufficient energy consumption quota), or the name of the message may be Update Control Policy Due to Energy Consumption Reason.

[0119] Among them, the control policy can be used to control the network device to transmit data of the terminal device. The control policy may be determined by the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to represent the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device. For example, the data of the terminal device may refer to the user plane data of the terminal device.

[0120] For example, the control policy may include a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. For example, the policy may include, but is not limited to: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the retransmission times of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, updating the data radio bearer of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, combining / reducing the transmission times of the carrier or changing the transmission time of the carrier, etc.

[0121] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit under what circumstances the second network element sends the control policy. For example, in one example, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, the first network element may send a second message to the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Among them, the second message is used to request the control policy. Optionally, the second message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. In another example, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, another first network element sends a message for requesting the control policy to the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device and the third energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device (that is, the maximum value of the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device). Optionally, the message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the other data of the terminal device and the third energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. After that, the second network element may send the control policy to each of the multiple first network elements according to the message. Among them, the multiple first network elements include the first network element and other first network elements.

[0122] For example, before sending the control policy, the second network element may also combine the local policy to determine whether policy control needs to be performed on the data transmission of the terminal device. When it is determined that policy control needs to be performed on the data transmission of the terminal device in combination with the local policy, the second network element may update (or modify) the existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy, and may send the updated control policy. For example, taking the control policy as the Qos policy as an example. When it is determined that policy control needs to be performed on the data transmission of the terminal device in combination with the local policy, the second network element may modify the existing Qos policy (i.e., modify the Qos parameters) to obtain an updated Qos policy, and may send the updated Qos policy.

[0123] Exemplarily, the following several possible examples are used to introduce the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0124] Example 1: The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0125] For example, the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device included in the subscription information may be the energy usage quota corresponding to the terminal device (such as daily / monthly / maximum / idle / busy time, etc. energy usage quota, and the unit may be joule (J)). Among them, the energy usage quota has the following characteristics:

[0126] (1) The unit may be joule, watt-hour (w·h), kilowatt-hour (kw·h), or other energy consumption units, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It should be understood that the units of energy consumption or the first energy consumption quota or the second energy consumption quota or the third energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota or the remaining energy consumption quota may also adopt these units.

[0127] (2) The time period may be per minute, per hour, per day, per month or per year, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For example, taking the energy usage quota as 10 kw·h per hour as an example, the network device can consume at most 10 kw·h of energy to transmit data to the terminal device per hour. It should be understood that the time periods of energy consumption or the first energy consumption quota or the second energy consumption quota or the third energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota or the remaining energy consumption quota may also adopt these time periods.

[0128] (3) The energy usage quota can be divided into time periods, such as idle time, busy time, night, day, peak period or valley period, etc. For example, taking the time period as the peak period as an example, the energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data to the terminal device during the peak period of each month is 100 kw·h.

[0129] Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a certain session associated with the terminal device, whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc. For example, whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption may include: for a certain type of service, allowing the network device to adjust the QoS policy (such as adjusting the packet loss rate or the maximum transmission rate of data transmission) at a specific time (such as the peak power consumption period or the busy power consumption period or the idle power consumption period, etc.) or not allowing the network device to adjust the QoS policy. For example, a certain type of service may be a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) service or a non-GBR service, etc.

[0130] For example, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device may include: the energy consumption of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device, the energy consumption of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device, or the sum of the energy consumption of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device and the energy consumption of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device. It should be understood that the above energy consumption does not refer to the energy consumption of the terminal device itself, but the energy consumption generated by the network device for transmitting data (such as sending data and / or receiving data) to the terminal device.

[0131] The energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device (such as the first energy consumption quota or the second energy consumption quota or the third energy consumption quota) may include: the energy consumption credit of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device, the energy consumption quota of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device, or the sum of the energy consumption credit of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device and the energy consumption quota of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device. It should be understood that the energy consumption quota refers to the quota of the energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network device. For example, for the network device to transmit data to the terminal device, at most how many watt-hours of energy (such as electricity) can be consumed.

[0132] In a possible implementation manner, the first network element may first receive the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element and receive a sixth message from the network device (such as a RAN device or an AMF network element). The subscription information of the terminal device includes a first energy consumption quota, and the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. For example, the sixth message may be a NAS message. Then, the first network element may determine the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with a first threshold to determine whether to request a control policy from the second network element.

[0133] For example, the first threshold value can be 0, or the first threshold value can also be 20% of the first energy consumption quota. For example, if the first energy consumption quota is a, then the first threshold value is 0.2a. Optionally, the first energy consumption quota can refer to the maximum value of the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of a certain session of the terminal device.

[0134] In one example, taking the first energy consumption quota as a, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device (such as data of a certain PDU session) as b, and the first threshold value as 0. The first network element can calculate the difference (a - b) between the first energy consumption quota a and the energy consumption b. If the difference (a - b) is less than or equal to 0 or the difference (a - b) is greater than 0, then the first network element can send a message for requesting a control policy to the second network element. Optionally, the message can include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 0, or the message can also include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is greater than 0.

[0135] In another example, taking the first energy consumption quota as a, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device as b, and the first threshold value as 0.2a. The first network element can calculate the difference (a - b) between the first energy consumption quota a and the energy consumption b. If the difference (a - b) is less than or equal to 0.2a, then the first network element can send a message for requesting a control policy to the second network element. Optionally, the message can include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 20% of the first energy consumption quota.

[0136] The following introduces the implementation process of the first network element receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element through the following several possible scenarios.

[0137] Scenario 1: After the terminal device establishes a session connection (such as a PDU session connection (such as a PDU session modification process)), or during the process of the terminal device establishing a session connection, the first network element can send a subscription information query request to the third network element. The subscription information query request is used to query the subscription information (or can be called subscription data) of the terminal device. For example, the subscription information query request can include the identification (or index or name) of the terminal device or the identification of a certain session (such as the identification of a certain PDU session), etc. Then, the third network element can determine the subscription information of the terminal device according to the subscription information query request. Then, the third network element can send the subscription information of the terminal device to the first network element. It can be understood that the query of the subscription information of the terminal device can be carried out multiple times, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0138] Scenario 2: The first network element may subscribe to the subscription information of the terminal device in advance. When the subscription information of the terminal device exists in the third network element, the third network element may send the subscription information of the terminal device to the first network element. Optionally, the third network element may also actively push the subscription information of the terminal device to the first network element after determining that the subscription information of the terminal device exists locally.

[0139] The following describes the implementation process of the first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device through the following possible scenarios.

[0140] Scenario 1: The sixth message is triggered and reported by default by the network device.

[0141] Scenario 2: The sixth message is reported by the network device according to the message sent by the first network element for requesting the network device to periodically report the energy consumption of the terminal device (i.e., the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device).

[0142] For example, taking the terminal device as a UE, the network device as a RAN device, and the first network element as an SMF network element. In the mode of default-triggered reporting of the sixth message or in the mode of requesting periodic reporting of the energy consumption of the UE based on the request of the SMF network element, the RAN device may directly report the energy consumption of the UE (such as 6 w·h per hour) to the SMF network element through the N interface or report the energy consumption along with the user plane, or may also report the energy consumption of the UE to the AMF network element through the N2 interface, and the AMF network element reports the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element.

[0143] It can be understood that the RAN device may report the specific value of the energy consumption to the SMF network element through the N2 interface, or may also report the indication information corresponding to the energy consumption (such as an index) through the N2 interface. For example, taking the RAN device reporting the indication information corresponding to the energy consumption through the N2 interface as an example. The SMF network element may determine the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE according to the indication information corresponding to the energy consumption reported by the RAN device.

[0144] For example, the correspondence between energy consumption values and indexes can be established in advance, and of course it is not limited to: establishing the correspondence between energy consumption value ranges and indexes. The RAN device can determine the index corresponding to the energy consumption according to the determined magnitude of the energy consumption value. After that, the RAN device can report the index corresponding to the energy consumption to the SMF network element. For example, the correspondence between energy consumption values and indexes established in advance can include: energy consumption of 0 joules corresponds to index 1; energy consumption of 10 joules corresponds to index 2; energy consumption of 20 joules corresponds to index 3; energy consumption of 30 joules corresponds to index 4,.... Optionally, the index corresponding to the energy consumption reported by the RAN device is used to indicate the energy consumption level. For example, three energy consumption levels are pre-divided, such as high, medium, and low levels. The RAN device determines the energy consumption level of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE and reports the energy consumption level to the SMF network element. The SMF network element can request from the management network element (or NWDAF network element, etc.) to obtain the mapping relationship (or can be called the correspondence relationship) between the energy consumption level reported by the RAN device and the energy consumption. For example, taking the energy consumption level of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE as "low" as an example, the SMF network element can determine according to the mapping relationship between the energy consumption level and the energy consumption that the energy consumption corresponding to the energy consumption level "low" is 10 joules.

[0145] In another possible implementation, another first network element receives the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element and receives the eleventh message from the network device. The subscription information of the terminal device includes the third energy consumption quota, and the eleventh message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device. For example, the eleventh message can be a NAS message. After that, the first network element can determine the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with the second threshold to determine whether to request a control policy from the second network element. In this implementation, the second network element can send control policies to multiple first network elements respectively. In this way, the control policy can be general, so the network device can adopt the control policy to perform corresponding energy consumption control on the data of multiple sessions for transmitting the terminal device respectively. The data of the multiple sessions are managed by multiple first network elements respectively.

[0146] For example, the second threshold can be 0, or it can also be 20% of the third energy consumption quota. For example, if the third energy consumption quota is c, then the first threshold is 0.2c. Optionally, the third energy consumption quota can refer to the maximum value of the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of another session of the terminal device.

[0147] In one example, taking the third energy consumption quota as c, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device (such as the data of a certain other PDU session) as d, and the second threshold as 0 as an example. The first network element can calculate the difference (c - d) between the first energy consumption quota a and this energy consumption b. If this difference (c - d) is less than or equal to 0, the first network element can send a message for requesting a control policy to the second network element. Optionally, this message can include that the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 0.

[0148] In another example, taking the third energy consumption quota as c, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device as d, and the second threshold as 0.2c as an example, the first network element can calculate the difference (c - d) between the first energy consumption quota c and this energy consumption d. If this difference (c - d) is less than or equal to 0.2c, the first network element can send a message for requesting a control policy to the second network element. Optionally, this message can include that the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 20% of the third energy consumption quota.

[0149] It should be understood that the implementation process of a certain other first network element receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element can refer to the implementation process of the first network element receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element above. The implementation process of a certain other first network element receiving the eleventh message from the network device can refer to the implementation process of the first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0150] Example 2: When the data of the terminal device is the data of the first session of the terminal device, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0151] Among them, the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting the data of other sessions of the terminal device.

[0152] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network element can first send a seventh message to the fourth network element. Among them, the seventh message can be used to request the first energy consumption quota. For example, the seventh message can include the identifier (or index or name) of the first session. After that, the fourth network element can send an eighth message to the first network element. Among them, the eighth message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. It should be understood that before the first network element sends the seventh message to the fourth network element, the terminal device has established a session connection (such as a PDU session connection).

[0153] It can be understood that before the fourth network element sends the eighth message to the first network element, the fourth network element may send the tenth message (such as a subscription information query request) to the third network element. The tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the terminal device. For example, the tenth message may include the identifier of the terminal device. After that, the third network element may determine the subscription information of the terminal device according to the tenth message, and may send the subscription information of the terminal device to the fourth network element. Among them, the subscription information of the terminal device may include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may further include whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption. Then, after the fourth network element receives the seventh message from the first network element, it may calculate (or count) the second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other sessions of the terminal device, and may determine the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device according to the total energy consumption quota included in the subscription information of the terminal device and the second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other sessions of the terminal device. When the first energy consumption quota requested by the first network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the fourth network element sends the eighth message to the first network element.

[0154] For example, taking the first session as a PDU session, the identifier of the PDU session is 1, the first network element is an SMF network element, the fourth network element is a CHF network element, the seventh message is a quota application request, and the eighth message is a quota indication as an example. The SMF network element may send a quota application request to the CHF network element. The quota application request is used to request an energy consumption quota for the PDU session of the terminal device. Among them, the quota application request may include the identifier 1 of the PDU session. Optionally, the quota application request may further include the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied by the SMF network element.

[0155] In one example, when the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is included in the quota application request, the CHF network element can calculate the energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other PDU sessions of the terminal device, and can determine the current remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device based on the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other PDU sessions of the terminal device. Subsequently, the CHF network element can determine whether the current remaining energy consumption quota is greater than the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element. When the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is less than or equal to the current remaining energy consumption quota, the CHF network element can send the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element to the SMF network element. When the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is greater than the current remaining energy consumption quota, the CHF network element can send a quota indication to the SMF. Among them, the quota indication can be used to indicate that the current remaining energy consumption quota is less than the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element. For example, the quota indication can indicate an energy consumption value. For instance, the energy consumption value is the current remaining energy consumption quota (such as 100 joules), and the SMF network element can learn that the current remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient (i.e., the current remaining energy consumption quota is less than the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element) through the current remaining energy consumption quota. Optionally, the quota indication can also be directly used to indicate that the current remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient, or the name of the quota indication is that the current remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient.

[0156] In another example, when the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is not included in the quota application request, the CHF network element can determine the specific value of the energy consumption quota that each SMF network element needs to apply for each time according to the preset quota configuration information. Subsequently, the CHF network element can calculate the energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other PDU sessions of the terminal device, and can determine the current remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device based on the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other PDU sessions of the terminal device. Then, the CHF network element can determine whether the current remaining energy consumption quota is greater than the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element. When the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is less than or equal to the current remaining energy consumption quota, the CHF network element can send the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element to the SMF network element. When the specific value of the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is greater than the current remaining energy consumption quota, the CHF network element can send a quota indication to the SMF. For example, the preset quota configuration information can include how much the energy consumption quota that each SMF network element applies for each time is pre-configured, or the preset quota configuration information can also include the proportion of the energy consumption quota that each SMF network element applies for each time in the total energy consumption quota.

[0157] The implementation process of the first network element sending a second message to the second network element is introduced below through the following possible implementation methods.

[0158] Method 1: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Subsequently, when the subscription information of the terminal device requested by the first network element for query includes that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0159] Method 2: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. And the first network element can receive a third message from the terminal device. Among them, the third message is used to indicate an updated control policy. For example, the third message may include indication information, and this indication information is used to indicate an updated control policy (or can be understood as being used to let the network side determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device). Subsequently, when the subscription information of the terminal device requested by the first network element for query includes that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element can send a second message to the second network element according to the third message and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the third message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0160] Method 3: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Subsequently, the first network element can directly send a second message to the second network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0161] Method 4: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. And the first network element can receive a third message from the terminal device. Among them, the third message is used to indicate an updated control policy. For example, the third message may include indication information, and this indication information is used to indicate an updated control policy (or can be understood as being used to let the network side determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device). Subsequently, the first network element can directly send a second message to the second network element according to the third message and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the third message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0162] Optionally, before the first network element receives the third message from the terminal device, the first network element may also receive a fourth message from the network device. The fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. After that, the first network element may determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device according to the fourth message, and may determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device according to the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. Then, the first network element may send a fifth message to the terminal device. For example, the fifth message may include the energy consumption quota usage (which can be understood as the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, such as the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is about to be used up), or the fifth message may include indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the fifth message may further include a busy / idle calendar. For example, the fifth message may be an N1 message, such as a NAS message. It should be noted that the implementation process of the first network element receiving the fourth message from the network device may refer to the implementation process of the first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device below, which will not be elaborated here.

[0163] The following introduces the corresponding operations performed by the terminal device after receiving the fifth message through several possible implementation manners.

[0164] Implementation manner 1: The terminal device updates the data transmission policy of the application program of the terminal device according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device included in the fifth message.

[0165] For example, after learning the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the terminal device may also combine the locally pre-configured policy to update the data transmission policy of the application program of the terminal device.

[0166] Exemplarily, the application program of the terminal device may include an operating system (OS), a system interface (such as an OS interface), or a third-party application program, etc. For example, the data transmission policy may include at least one of the following: delaying the automatic update time of the application program or delaying the data synchronization time between the application program and the cloud, etc.

[0167] In one example, when the fifth message includes a busy / idle calendar, the terminal device may determine at which specific time to postpone the automatic update time of the application or the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud based on the relationship between the busy / idle calendar, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. In another example, when the fifth message does not include a busy / idle calendar, the terminal device may also determine the busy / idle time according to the pre-configured manner of the terminal device. Then, the terminal device may determine at which specific time to postpone the automatic update time of the application or the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud based on the relationship between the busy / idle calendar, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. For example, the automatic update time of the application is postponed to be executed at night, or the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud is postponed to be executed during the idle time.

[0168] Implementation manner 2: The terminal device sends a third message to the first network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device included in the fifth message and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0169] For example, the terminal device may send a notification message to an application (such as an application interface) according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device included in the fifth message and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Among them, the notification message may be used to prompt (or remind) the user that "the current energy consumption increases, which may increase the network billing". Then, the terminal device will also send an indication for the user to adjust the control policy to the application. Among them, the indication for the user to adjust the control policy may be an indication to wait for the user to confirm whether to adjust the control policy. In response to the first operation triggered by the user (such as clicking the confirmation operation), the application may send a message for the user to confirm the adjustment of the control policy to the terminal device. After receiving the message for the user to confirm the adjustment of the control policy, the terminal device may send a third message to the first network element. For example, the third message may be a non-access stratum (NAS) message. For example, the NAS message may include indication information (such as a user energy consumption feedback indication), and the user energy consumption feedback indication is used to enable the network side to determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device (or can be understood as being used to indicate the network side to update the control policy). The first network element may enable the energy consumption control for the terminal device according to the user energy consumption feedback indication. In this way, this method allows the user to indicate the network side to perform precise policy control according to their own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized.

[0170] Optionally, when the network status changes (e.g., the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device changes or the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device changes), the network side can update (or adjust) the control policy corresponding to the terminal device. The following introduces the update process of the control policy through several possible implementation methods.

[0171] Method 1: When the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is updated, the third network element can determine the corresponding first network element according to the pre-configured policy, and can send a first update message to the first network element. The first update message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The first update message can include the updated first energy consumption quota. Then, the first network element can send a ninth message to the second network element according to the first update message. The ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy. Optionally, the ninth message can include that the difference between the updated first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is greater than the first threshold. After receiving the ninth message, the second network element can send the updated control policy to the first network element. It should be understood that the updated control policy corresponds to the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0172] For example, the pre-configured policy can be that the first network element subscribes to the subscription information of the terminal device, and when the subscription information of the terminal device is updated, the third network element sends the updated subscription information to the first network element. The updated subscription information can include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0173] Method 2: When the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is updated, the third network element can determine the corresponding fourth network element according to the pre-configured policy, and can send a second update message to the fourth network element. The second update message can be used to indicate that the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The second update message can include the updated total energy consumption quota. Then, the fourth network element can update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota, and can send a third update message to the first network element. The third update message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The third update message can include the updated first energy consumption quota. Then, the first network element can send a ninth message to the second network element according to the third update message. The ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy. After receiving the ninth message, the second network element can send the updated control policy to the first network element. In this way, when the control policy of the terminal device is associated with the charging process, the first network element can dynamically request the control policy according to the indication of the fourth network element.

[0174] For example, the pre-configured policy can be: the fourth network element subscribes to the subscription information of the terminal device, and when the subscription information of the terminal device is updated, the third network element sends the updated subscription information to the fourth network element. The updated subscription information may include the updated total energy consumption limit.

[0175] Optionally, the fourth network element can determine the updated first energy consumption limit according to the updated total energy consumption limit and in combination with the energy consumption limit configuration information of the network device for transmitting the data of the first session. For example, the energy consumption limit configuration information may include the proportion of the energy consumption limit of the network device for transmitting the data of the first session in the total energy consumption limit pre-configured.

[0176] For example, the update of the first energy consumption limit corresponding to the terminal device in the above method 1 or the update of the total energy consumption limit corresponding to the terminal device in the above method 2 can be obtained through the indication information from the AF network element. The indication information can indicate an increase in a new energy consumption limit. For example, when the energy limit is used up, the terminal device performs a recharge operation, and the AF network element can send indication information to the third network element.

[0177] It can be understood that the execution of the above method 1 or the above method 2 can make the policy control of the data transmission of the terminal device by the network side more refined, so that when the network state changes, the network side can timely and effectively adjust the control policy of the terminal device.

[0178] Step 202: The first network element sends a first message to the network device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first message.

[0179] Among them, the first message can be used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, or the first message can be used to improve the energy efficiency of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. For example, the first message may include an energy consumption reason indication and / or a control policy. Optionally, the first message may further include the identifier of the PDU session and / or the identifier of the terminal device. For example, the first message may be a PDU session modification request.

[0180] For example, the energy efficiency of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device may include: the energy efficiency of the network device for sending downlink data, the energy efficiency of the network device for receiving uplink data, or other energy efficiencies determined according to the energy efficiency of downlink data and the energy efficiency of uplink data, etc.

[0181] It should be understood that improving the energy efficiency of a network device for transmitting data of a terminal device can be understood as reducing the energy consumption per unit of data of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. Per unit of data can refer to per bit of data. For example, reducing the energy consumption per unit of data of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting 1 bit of data. For example, the unit of energy efficiency can be joules per bit (J / bit), or watt-hours per bit (W / h / bit), etc.

[0182] In an embodiment of this application, after the first network element receives a control policy (such as an updated control policy) from the second network element, it may send a first message to the network device. For example, when the message carrying the control policy also includes an energy consumption reason indication, the first network element may also determine whether to perform adjustment of the control policy of the terminal device based on the energy consumption reason indication and in combination with the local policy. When the first network element needs to perform adjustment of the control policy of the terminal device, the first network element may send a first message to the network device.

[0183] After receiving the first message, the network device may transmit (such as receive or send) data of the terminal device according to a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. For example, when the first message includes an energy consumption reason indication, the network device may also determine whether to perform an energy-saving policy (which can be understood as a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device) based on the energy consumption reason indication and in combination with the local policy. When the network device needs to perform the energy-saving policy, the network device may transmit data of the terminal device based on the energy-saving policy, thereby directly reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. In this way, after receiving the first message, the network device can decide whether to perform the energy-saving policy according to its actual situation to provide services for the terminal device. It should be understood that the network device's execution of the energy-saving policy for the terminal device is not the network device's own energy saving, but rather the network device transmits data of one or more terminal devices in an energy-saving manner without changing the transmission mode of other terminal devices except the one or more terminal devices.

[0184] It can be seen from the above steps 201 to 202 that by allowing the network side to determine (or update or adjust) the control policy based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and requesting the network device to reduce the energy consumption of transmitting data of the terminal device based on the control policy, the network side can realize policy control over the data transmission of the terminal device based on energy consumption, which helps to reduce the energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network side to a certain extent.

[0185] Based on the above Figure 2 technical solution of the communication method as illustrated, the following is through Figures 3 to 5Specific examples shown above will be used to introduce in detail the Figure 2 communication method illustrated above. Among them, in the Figures 3 to 5 specific example shown above, the terminal device is a UE, the network device is a RAN device, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is a PCF network element, the third network element is a UDM network element, the fourth network element is a CHF network element, and the first session is a PDU session.

[0186] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As Figure 3 shown, the specific process of this method may include:

[0187] Step 301: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0188] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 301 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be elaborated here.

[0189] Step 302: The SMF network element sends a subscription information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the subscription information query request from the SMF network element.

[0190] Among them, the subscription information query request can be used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the subscription information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0191] It can be understood that the UDM network element can send the queried subscription information of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the subscription information of the UE from the UDM network element.

[0192] Among them, the subscription information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a certain session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc.

[0193] Step 303: The RAN device sends the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the energy consumption of the UE from the RAN device.

[0194] It should be understood that the executions of step 302 and step 303 have no sequence. For example, step 302 may be executed before step 303, or may be executed after step 303, or may be executed in parallel with step 303.

[0195] For example, the RAN device can directly send the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element, or can also directly send the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element periodically, or can also send the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element through the AMF network element, or can also send the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element through the AMF network element periodically.

[0196] It can be understood that the RAN device in the above step 303 can be replaced by a UPF network element, an NWDAF network element, an OAM, an energy consumption network element, etc., mainly depending on who the SMF network element subscribes to for the energy consumption of the UE.

[0197] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 303 can refer to the relevant description of the sixth message in the above step 201, which will not be elaborated here.

[0198] Step 304: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0199] Among them, the second message is used to request a control policy. Optionally, the second message may include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device at a certain time is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0200] For example, for the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device each time, when the subscribed information of the UE includes that the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, when the difference between the first energy consumption quota included in the subscribed information and the energy consumption of the UE reported this time is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element can send a second message to the PCF network element.

[0201] Step 305: The PCF network element sends a control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0202] Optionally, the PCF network element can also send an energy consumption reason indication to the SMF network element, and this energy consumption reason indication can be used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to insufficient energy consumption quota.

[0203] Optionally, the relevant description of the control policy in step 305 can refer to the relevant description of the control policy in the above step 201, which will not be elaborated here.

[0204] Step 306: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0205] Among them, the first message can be used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE, or the first message can be used to improve the energy efficiency of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE. The first message may include an energy consumption reason indication and / or a control policy. Optionally, the first message may further include an identifier of a PDU session and / or an identifier of the UE.

[0206] In one example, after receiving the energy consumption reason indication, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform adjustment of the control policy of the UE according to the energy consumption reason indication and in combination with the local policy. When it is necessary to perform adjustment of the control policy of the UE, the SMF network element may send the first message to the RAN device.

[0207] In another example, after receiving the energy consumption reason indication, the SMF network element may determine whether to perform adjustment of the control policy of the UE according to the energy consumption reason indication and the policy control based on energy consumption supported by the terminal device included in the subscription information, and in combination with the local policy. When it is necessary to perform adjustment of the control policy of the UE, the SMF network element may send the first message to the RAN device. It should be understood that the policy control based on energy consumption supported by the terminal device included in the subscription information may be queried in the above step 302, or may also be queried by other subscription information query requests sent by the SMF network element to the UDM network element at other times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0208] Step 307: The RAN device transmits the data of the UE according to the policy for reducing the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE.

[0209] For example, when the first message includes an energy consumption reason indication, the RAN device may determine whether to perform an energy-saving policy (which can be understood as a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE) according to the energy consumption reason indication and in combination with the local policy. When the RAN device needs to perform the energy-saving policy, the RAN device may transmit the data of the UE based on the energy-saving policy, so as to directly reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE.

[0210] Step 308: When the RAN device needs to transmit the data of the UE in a transmission manner of reducing energy consumption, send a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit the data of the UE in a transmission manner of reducing energy consumption, send a notification message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or the notification message from the RAN device.

[0211] The above step 308 is an optional step.

[0212] Among them, the response message is used to instruct the RAN device to transmit the data of the UE in a transmission mode (or can be called a transmission pattern) that reduces energy consumption (i.e., reduces the energy consumption for transmitting the data of the UE), that is, the RAN device executes a policy (which can be understood as an energy-saving policy) for reducing the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE. The notification message is used to indicate that the transmission mode for transmitting the data of the UE remains unchanged. Optionally, the notification message may include a cause value, which is used to indicate the reason why the transmission mode for transmitting the data of the UE remains unchanged.

[0213] For example, when the RAN device determines that it needs to execute an energy-saving policy, it can send the above-mentioned response message to the SMF network element. When the RAN device determines that it does not need to execute an energy-saving policy, it can send the above-mentioned notification message to the SMF network element.

[0214] It can be seen from the above steps 301 to 308 that by enabling the network side to adjust the policy used by the RAN device to transmit the data of the UE according to the energy consumption usage of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE, the network side can implement policy control over the data transmission of the UE based on energy consumption, and to a certain extent, reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the data of the UE.

[0215] Figure 4 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As Figure 4 shown, the specific process of this method may include:

[0216] Step 401: The CHF network element sends a tenth message to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the tenth message from the CHF network element.

[0217] Among them, the tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the tenth message may include the identifier of the UE.

[0218] It can be understood that the UDM network element can send the queried subscription information of the UE to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the subscription information of the UE from the UDM network element.

[0219] Among them, the subscription information of the UE may include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may further include whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0220] Step 402: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0221] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 402 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be elaborated here.

[0222] Step 403: The SMF network element sends the seventh message to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the seventh message from the SMF network element.

[0223] Among them, the seventh message can be used to request the first energy consumption quota for the RAN device to transmit the data of the first session of the UE. For example, the seventh message may include the identifier of the first session.

[0224] Step 404: The CHF network element determines the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE according to the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE and the second energy consumption quota of the data of other sessions of the UE.

[0225] In the embodiment of the present application, the CHF network element calculates the difference between the total energy consumption quota and the second energy consumption quota of the data of other sessions of the UE, and determines the difference as the remaining energy consumption quota.

[0226] Step 405: The CHF network element sends the eighth message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the eighth message from the CHF network element.

[0227] Among them, the eighth message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0228] Optionally, when the first energy consumption quota is less than or equal to the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, the CHF network element may send the first energy consumption quota to the SMF network element.

[0229] Step 406: The SMF network element sends a subscription information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the subscription information query request from the SMF network element.

[0230] The above step 406 is an optional step.

[0231] Among them, the subscription information query request can be used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the subscription information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0232] It can be understood that the UDM network element can send the queried subscription information of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the subscription information of the UE from the UDM network element.

[0233] Among them, the subscription information of the UE may include whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may further include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0234] It should be understood that performing the above step 406 is to determine whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0235] Step 407: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0236] The second message is used to request a control policy. Optionally, the second message may include that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0237] Optionally, if the above step 406 is executed, the SMF network element may determine whether to send the second message to the PCF network element according to whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption and the local policy. For example, in the case where the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, if the subscription information of the UE includes that the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, the SMF network element may send the second message to the PCF network element in combination with the local policy. If the above step 406 is not executed, the SMF network element may trigger the sending of the second message based on the pre-configuration of the SMF network element.

[0238] Step 408: The PCF network element sends a control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0239] Optionally, the PCF network element may also send an energy consumption reason indication to the SMF network element, and the energy consumption reason indication may be used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to insufficient energy consumption quota.

[0240] Optionally, in the embodiments of the present application, the PCF network element may also query from the UDM network element whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption. If the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, the PCF network element may send the corresponding control policy to the SMF network element, or send the type (or identifier or index) of the control policy to the SMF network element. If the UE does not support policy control based on energy consumption or the pre-configuration indication cannot adjust the session-related control policy, the PCF network element may send a failure message to the SMF network element. The failure message is used to indicate that the control policy cannot be adjusted.

[0241] Optionally, the relevant description of the control policy in step 408 may refer to the relevant description of the control policy in step 201 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0242] Step 409: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0243] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 409 may refer to the relevant implementation manner of step 306 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0244] Step 410: The RAN device transmits data of the UE according to a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE.

[0245] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 410 may refer to the relevant implementation manner of step 307 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0246] Step 411: When the RAN device needs to transmit data of the UE in a transmission manner with reduced energy consumption, send a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit data of the UE in a transmission manner with reduced energy consumption, send a notification message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or the notification message from the RAN device.

[0247] The above step 411 is an optional step.

[0248] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 411 may refer to the relevant implementation manner of step 308 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0249] It can be seen from the above steps 401 to 411 that by allowing the network side to adjust the policy used by the RAN device to transmit data of the UE when the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is less than the first energy consumption quota, the network side can implement policy control over the data transmission of the UE based on energy consumption, and can reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE to a certain extent.

[0250] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 5 shown, the specific process of this method may include:

[0251] Step 501: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0252] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 501 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be elaborated here.

[0253] Step 502: The SMF network element sends a subscription information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the subscription information query request from the SMF network element.

[0254] Among them, the subscription information query request can be used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the subscription information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0255] It can be understood that the UDM network element may send the queried subscription information of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the subscription information of the UE from the UDM network element.

[0256] Among them, the subscribed information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscribed information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a certain session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc.

[0257] Step 503: The RAN device sends the energy consumption of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the energy consumption of the UE from the RAN device.

[0258] It should be understood that there is no sequence requirement for the execution of the above steps 502 and 503. For example, step 502 may be executed before step 503, or may be executed after step 503, or may be executed in parallel with step 503.

[0259] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 503 may refer to the implementation manner of the above step 303, which will not be elaborated here.

[0260] Step 504: The SMF network element sends the fifth message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the fifth message from the SMF network element.

[0261] Optionally, the relevant description of the fifth message in step 504 may refer to the relevant description of the fifth message in the above step 201, which will not be elaborated here.

[0262] In the embodiment of this application, for the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device each time, the SMF network element may calculate the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported this time. When the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element may send the fifth message to the UE.

[0263] Optionally, before the SMF network element sends the fifth message to the UE, the SMF network element may also send a message for requesting a control policy to the PCF network element when the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold. For example, this message may include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device at a certain time is less than or equal to the first threshold. Then, the PCF network element may combine the local policy to determine whether to perform policy control on the data transmission of the UE. When it is determined that policy control is required for the data transmission of the UE by combining the local policy, the PCF network element may update the existing control policy to obtain the updated control policy, and may send the updated control policy to the SMF network element. Then, the SMF network element may trigger policy control on the data transmission of the UE according to the updated control policy and / or the local policy, and may send the fifth message to the UE.

[0264] It can be understood that the "implementation process of steps 501 to 503" can be replaced with the "implementation process of steps 401 to 406". Optionally, before the SMF network element sends the fifth message to the UE, the SMF network element can also send a message for requesting a control policy to the PCF network element when the first energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. For example, the message can include that the first energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. After that, the PCF network element can combine local policies to determine whether to perform policy control on the data transmission of the UE. When it is determined that policy control on the data transmission of the UE is required in combination with local policies, the PCF network element can update the existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy, and can send the updated control policy to the SMF network element. Then, the SMF network element can trigger policy control on the data transmission of the UE according to the updated control policy and / or local policies, and can send the fifth message to the UE.

[0265] Optionally, after step 504 is executed, the UE can execute step 505 or execute steps 506 to 512. By executing step 505 or executing steps 506 to 512, direct control of the UE can be achieved based on the fifth message (such as the usage situation of the energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE included in the fifth message), so as to realize the adjustment of the UE data transmission policy. This helps to reduce the impact of policy control on the data transmission volume of the UE to a certain extent, and can enable the user to instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to their own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized.

[0266] Step 505: The UE updates the data transmission policy of the application according to the fifth message.

[0267] Optionally, the implementation method of step 505 can refer to the relevant implementation methods for updating the data transmission policy of the application in step 201 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0268] Step 506: The UE sends a third message to the SMF network element according to the fifth message. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the third message from the UE.

[0269] Optionally, the implementation method of step 506 can refer to the relevant implementation methods for the terminal device to send a third message to the first network element according to the fifth message in step 201 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0270] Step 507: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element according to the third message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0271] Optionally, the implementation method of step 507 may refer to the relevant implementation method of the first network element sending the second message to the second network element according to the third message in the above step 201, which will not be repeated here.

[0272] Step 508: The PCF network element sends the control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0273] Optionally, the implementation of step 508 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 305 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0274] Step 509: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0275] Optionally, the implementation of step 509 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 306 above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0276] Step 510: The RAN device transmits the UE data according to a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE data.

[0277] Optionally, the implementation of step 510 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 307 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0278] Step 511: When the RAN device needs to transmit the UE data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit the UE data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a notification message to the SMF network element. Accordingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or notification message from the RAN device.

[0279] The above step 511 is an optional step.

[0280] Optionally, the implementation of step 511 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 308 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0281] It can be seen from the above steps 501 to 511 that, based on the fifth message, direct and effective adjustment of the UE data transmission policy can be achieved, or the user can instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to his own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized, which helps to achieve direct control of the UE and can reduce the impact on the UE's data transmission volume to a certain extent.

[0282] Based on the above Figures 3 to 5For the technical solution of the communication method shown, if the subscribed information of the UE stored in the UDM network element (such as the first energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota) changes, it may also trigger an update of the control policy corresponding to the UE. The following combines Figure 6 to introduce the implementation process of the update of the control policy corresponding to the UE.

[0283] Figure 6 It is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 6 shown, the specific process of this method may include:

[0284] Step 601: When the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is updated in the UDM network element, the UDM network element sends a first update message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the first update message from the UDM network element.

[0285] Among them, the first update message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The first update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0286] Step 602: The SMF network element sends a ninth message to the PCF network element according to the first update message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the ninth message from the SMF network element.

[0287] Among them, the ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy. Optionally, the ninth message may include an energy consumption reason indication, which is used to indicate that the control policy is updated because the energy consumption quota is relatively sufficient (that is, the difference between the updated first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE is greater than the first threshold).

[0288] Step 603: When the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is updated in the UDM network element, the UDM network element sends a second update message to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the second update message from the UDM network element.

[0289] Among them, the second update message can be used to indicate that the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The second update message may include the updated total energy consumption quota.

[0290] Step 604: The CHF network element sends a third update message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the third update message from the CHF network element.

[0291] Among them, the third update message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The third update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0292] In the embodiment of the present application, the CHF network element may update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota to obtain the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0293] For example, the CHF network element can determine an updated first energy consumption quota based on and in combination with the energy consumption configuration information of the network side for transmitting data of the first session. For example, the energy consumption quota configuration information can refer to the proportion of the energy consumption quota of the network side for transmitting data of the first session in the total energy consumption quota that is pre-configured.

[0294] Step 605: The SMF network element sends a ninth message to the PCF network element according to the third update message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the ninth message from the SMF network element.

[0295] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 605 can refer to the relevant implementation manner of step 602 above, and will not be elaborated here.

[0296] It should be understood that when steps 601 to 602 are executed or steps 603 to 605 are executed above, the subsequent steps 606 to 610 can be triggered to execute.

[0297] Step 606: The PCF network element sends an updated control policy to the SMF network element according to the ninth message. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the updated control policy from the PCF network element.

[0298] It can be understood that the updated control policy corresponds to the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0299] Step 607: The SMF network element sends a twelfth message to the RAN device according to the updated control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the twelfth message from the SMF network element.

[0300] Among them, the twelfth message can be used to request to adjust the transmission mode (or can be called transmission mode or transmission policy) used by the RAN device to transmit data of the UE. Optionally, the twelfth message can include an energy consumption reason indication, which is used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to the relatively sufficient energy consumption quota.

[0301] Step 608: The RAN device updates the transmission mode for reducing the energy consumption of transmitting data of the UE to the normal transmission mode according to the twelfth message.

[0302] For example, taking the transmission mode for reducing the energy consumption of transmitting data of the UE as the energy-saving transmission mode (or can be called energy-saving transmission mode or energy-saving transmission policy) as an example. The RAN device can update the transmission mode used to transmit data of the UE from the energy-saving transmission mode to the normal transmission mode (or can be called normal transmission mode or normal transmission policy or normal transmission mode or normal transmission strategy).

[0303] Step 609: The RAN device transmits the data of the UE according to the normal transmission mode.

[0304] Step 610: When the RAN device transmits the data of the UE according to the normal transmission mode, it sends a response message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the response message from the RAN device.

[0305] The above Step 610 is an optional step.

[0306] Among them, the response message is used to indicate that the RAN device transmits the data of the UE according to the normal transmission mode, that is, the RAN device adjusts the transmission mode used to transmit the data of the UE.

[0307] It can be seen from the above Steps 601 to 610 that when the subscription information of the UE (such as the first energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota) changes, the message indicating the change in the energy consumption quota is notified to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element can timely request the PCF network element to update the control policy, so as to achieve more refined policy control of the data transmission of the UE by the network side, so as to timely and effectively adjust the corresponding control policy of the UE.

[0308] It can be understood that the above Figures 3 to 6 shown communication solutions can be implemented separately or in combination, and there is no specific limitation. For example, Figures 3 to 5 the shown communication solutions can be combined with Figure 6 the shown communication solutions respectively. In a possible implementation manner, Figure 6 the shown communication solutions may be executed after all the steps of Figure 3 or Figure 4 or Figure 5 the shown communication solutions, or may be executed after some steps of Figure 3 or Figure 4 or Figure 5 the shown communication solutions. Similarly, Figure 3 some steps of the shown communication solutions may also be combined with Figure 4 or Figure 5 the shown communication solutions, and there is no specific limitation on this. In addition, the step numbers in the above Figures 3 to 6 described flowcharts are only an example of the execution process, and do not constitute a limitation on the execution order of the steps. The steps in each implementation manner of the present application that have no timing dependency relationship with each other have no strict execution order. In addition, not all the steps shown in each flowchart are steps that must be executed, and some steps can be added or deleted according to actual needs on the basis of each flowchart.

[0309] Figure 7Schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. This method is applicable to Figure 1 the communication system architecture shown. As Figure 7 shown, the method includes:

[0310] Step 701: The second network element sends the first information to the fifth network element. Correspondingly, the fifth network element receives the first information from the second network element.

[0311] Among them, the first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in step 701 may refer to the relevant description of the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in the above step 201, which will not be elaborated here.

[0312] For example, the first information may be carried (or carried) in a certain message. Optionally, the message may further include at least one of the following: busy / idle calendar, control policy corresponding to the terminal device, or energy consumption reason indication, etc. Among them, the energy consumption reason indication is used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to an energy consumption reason (such as the reason for insufficient energy consumption quota).

[0313] In an embodiment of the present application, before sending the first information to the fifth network element, the second network element may receive the third information from the first network element. The third information is used to request the control policy corresponding to the terminal device. The third information may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The second network element may determine the session information associated with the terminal device according to the third information. Then, the second network element may determine the corresponding fifth network element according to the session information associated with the terminal device. Then, the second network element may send the first information to the fifth network element.

[0314] In a possible implementation manner, before sending the third information, the first network element may receive the sixth message from the network device and the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element. Among them, the subscription information of the terminal device includes the first energy consumption quota, and the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a certain session associated with the terminal device, or whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc.

[0315] After that, the first network element can determine the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with a first threshold to determine whether to request a control policy from the second network element. When the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first network element can send third information to the second network element.

[0316] In another possible implementation, before sending the third information, the first network element can first send a seventh message to a fourth network element. The seventh message can be used to request the first energy consumption quota. For example, the seventh message can include an identifier of a first session. After that, the fourth network element can send an eighth message to the first network element. The eighth message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Then, the first network element can send the third information to the second network element according to the eighth message.

[0317] Step 702: The fifth network element updates the data transmission policy according to the first information.

[0318] The data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit data of the terminal device. For example, the data of the terminal device can be non-real-time downlink data (such as background data transfer (BDT) data).

[0319] For example, the data transmission policy can include at least one of the following: updating the sending time of downlink data, adjusting the data synchronization time, or adjusting the cloud service streaming clarity, etc. Optionally, when the message carrying the first information also includes a busy / idle calendar, the fifth network element can determine at which specific time to postpone the sending time of the downlink data or the data synchronization time according to the relationship between the busy / idle calendar and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0320] Optionally, after updating the data transmission policy, the fifth network element can also send second information to the terminal device. The second information is used to indicate that the data transmission policy is updated due to energy consumption reasons (such as insufficient energy consumption quota). Correspondingly, after receiving the second information, the terminal device can learn the reason for the service change operation on the network side.

[0321] As can be seen from the above steps 701 to 702, by updating the data transmission policy corresponding to the terminal device based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, energy-saving control of the terminal device can be achieved based on energy consumption, and to a certain extent, the data transmission content and data transmission volume corresponding to the terminal device can be minimized. It should be understood that the energy-saving control of the terminal device is not the energy-saving of the terminal device itself, but the transmission of the data of the terminal device by the network in an energy-saving manner.

[0322] Based on the above Figure 7 technical solution of the communication method shown, the following Figure 8 specific example shown is used to introduce the above Figure 7 shown communication method in detail. Among them, in the Figure 8 specific example shown, the terminal device is a UE, the network device is a RAN device, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is a PCF network element, the third network element is a UDM network element, the fourth network element is a CHF network element, and the fifth network element is an AF network element.

[0323] Figure 8 This is a schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 8 shown, the specific process of this method may include:

[0324] Step 801: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0325] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 801 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be elaborated here.

[0326] Step 802: The SMF network element sends a subscription information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the subscription information query request from the SMF network element.

[0327] Among them, the subscription information query request may be used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the subscription information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0328] It can be understood that the UDM network element may send the queried subscription information of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the subscription information of the UE from the UDM network element.

[0329] Among them, the subscription information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a certain session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc.

[0330] Step 803: The RAN device sends the power consumption of the UE to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the power consumption of the UE from the RAN device.

[0331] It should be understood that there is no sequence requirement for the execution of the above Step 802 and Step 803. For example, Step 802 can be executed before Step 803, or after Step 803, or in parallel with Step 803.

[0332] Optionally, the implementation manner of Step 803 can refer to the implementation manner of the above Step 303, which will not be elaborated here.

[0333] Step 804: The SMF network element sends the third information to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the third information from the SMF network element.

[0334] Among them, the third information is used to request the control policy corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the third information may include the relationship between the power consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE and the first power consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0335] For example, taking the relationship between the power consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE and the first power consumption quota corresponding to the UE as an example, where the difference between the first power consumption quota and the power consumption is less than or equal to the first threshold. For the power consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device each time, when the difference between the first power consumption quota included in the subscription information and the power consumption reported this time is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element may send the third information to the PCF network element.

[0336] Step 805: The PCF network element determines the AF network element associated with the terminal device according to the third information.

[0337] In the embodiment of the present application, the PCF network element may determine the session information associated with the UE according to the third information. Then, the PCF network element may determine the corresponding AF network element according to the session information associated with the UE.

[0338] Step 806: The PCF network element sends the first information to the AF network element. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the first information from the PCF network element.

[0339] Optionally, the relevant description of the first information in Step 806 can refer to the relevant description of the first information in the above Step 701, which will not be elaborated here.

[0340] Step 807: The AF network element updates the data transmission policy according to the first information.

[0341] Optionally, the implementation manner of Step 807 can refer to the relevant implementation manner of updating the data transmission policy in the above Step 702, which will not be elaborated here.

[0342] Step 808: The AF network element sends the second information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second information from the AF network element.

[0343] The above step 808 is an optional step.

[0344] Optionally, the implementation manner of step 808 may refer to the relevant implementation manner of sending the second information in the above step 702, which will not be elaborated here.

[0345] It can be seen from the above steps 801 to 808 that by updating the data transmission policy corresponding to the UE based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE's data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, it is possible to achieve timely and effective energy-saving control of the UE without reducing the UE's data transmission volume as much as possible.

[0346] It should be noted that in the description of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or multiple items (items). For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Also, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first", "second", and "third" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. In addition, the terms "include", "comprise", "have" and their variants appearing in this application all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0347] In addition, it should be noted that each step involved in the above embodiments may be executed by the corresponding device, or may be executed by components such as a chip, a processor, or a chip system in the device. The embodiments of this application do not limit this. The above embodiments are only described by taking the execution by the corresponding device as an example.

[0348] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, some steps can be selected for implementation, and the order of the steps in the figure can also be adjusted for implementation. This application does not limit this. It should be understood that implementing some steps in the figure, adjusting the order of the steps, or combining them with each other for specific implementation all fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0349] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, each device involved in the above embodiments includes a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0350] It should be understood that the "steps" in the embodiments of this application are only for illustration, which is a presentation method for better understanding the embodiments, and do not constitute a substantial limitation on the execution of the solution of this application. For example, the "steps" can also be understood as "features". In addition, the steps do not constitute any limitation on the execution order of the solution of this application. Any operation such as changing the step order, combining steps, or splitting steps that does not affect the implementation of the overall solution and forms a new technical solution is also within the scope disclosed in this application.

[0351] The following is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided by the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments.

[0352] As Figure 9 shown, the communication device 900 includes a transceiver module 901 (which may also be referred to as a communication module, a transceiver unit, or a communication unit for sending and receiving data) and a processing module 902 (which may also be referred to as a processing unit). The communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in the above Figures 2 to 8 above.

[0353] Optionally, the transceiver module 901 may include a receiving module and / or a sending module. The receiving module may be used for the communication device 900 to receive signals (information, data, etc.); the sending module may be used for the communication device 900 to send signals (information, data, etc.). The sending module may send signals (information, data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902, and the receiving module may receive signals (information, data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902.

[0354] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 2 to 8When implementing the functions of the first network element in the method embodiment shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a control policy from a second network element. The control policy can be used to control a network device to transmit data of a terminal device. The control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to represent the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device. The transceiver module 901 is further configured to send a first message to the network device according to the control policy. The first message can be used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as calculating the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device reported once for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0355] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 2 to 8 functions of the second network element in the method embodiment shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to send a control policy to the first network element. The control policy can be used to control a network device to transmit data of a terminal device. The control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to represent the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as updating an existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy.

[0356] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 2 to 8 functions of the third network element in the method embodiment shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to send subscription information of the terminal device to the first network element or the fourth network element. The subscription information may include a first energy consumption quota or a total energy consumption quota. For example, the subscription information of the terminal device may further include whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption. The processing module 902 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as storing user data (such as subscription information or authentication / authorization information, etc.).

[0357] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figure 2 and Figures 4 to 8When implementing the functions of the fourth network element in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a seventh message from the first network element. The seventh message may be used to request a first energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data of a first session of the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to represent the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the first session. The transceiver module 901 is further configured to send an eighth message to the first network element. The eighth message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus a second energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as calculating the remaining energy consumption quota, or determining whether the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0358] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 7 to 8 functions of the fifth network element in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a first piece of information from the second network element. The first piece of information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to update the data transmission policy corresponding to the terminal device according to the first piece of information. The data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0359] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 2 to 6 functions of the network device in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a first message from the first network element. The first message may be used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to transmit data of the terminal device according to the policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0360] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figures 2 to 6When implementing the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown: The transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a fifth message from a first network element. The fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to represent the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to update the data transmission policy of the application program according to the relationship between the energy consumption for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, or send a third message to the first network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption for the network device to transmit data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The third message may be used to indicate an update control policy. The control policy may be used to control the network device to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0361] Among them, for a more detailed description of the transceiver module 901 and the processing module 902, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown above. Figures 2 to 8 Details are not described herein again.

[0362] It should be understood that the transceiver module 901 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a communication interface or a communication interface-related circuit component, and the processing module 902 may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component.

[0363] It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional unit may be integrated in a processing unit, may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The above integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0364] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods in the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc that can store program codes.

[0365] As another possible product form, such as Figure 10 shown, the communication device 1000 includes: a communication interface 1001 and a processor 1002. Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a memory 1003. Among them, the communication interface 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 are interconnected. When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element or the third network element or the fourth network element or the fifth network element or the network device or the terminal device) in the above embodiments, the communication interface 1001 can be used to implement the functions of the above transceiver module 901 when executing the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element or the third network element or the fourth network element or the fifth network element or the network device or the terminal device), and the processor 1002 is used to implement the functions of the above processing module 902 when executing the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element or the third network element or the fourth network element or the fifth network element or the network device or the terminal device).

[0366] Optionally, the communication interface 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 are interconnected through a bus 1004. The bus 1004 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of easy representation, Figure 10 only a thick line is used to represent it in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0367] The communication interface 1001 is used to receive and send data. For example, when the communication device 1000 is a UE as Figure 1 shown in the figure, the communication interface 1001 can communicate with the RAN device as Figure 1 shown in the figure, or can also communicate with the AMF network element as Figure 1 shown in the figure, or can also communicate with other devices outside the communication system architecture as Figure 1 shown in the figure (such as other terminal devices or servers). In one example, the communication interface can be a transceiver device integrated with data transceiver functions. In another example, the communication interface can also be composed of a transmitter and a receiver, where the transmitter is used to send data and the receiver is used to receive data.

[0368] Optionally, the communication interface 1001 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transmitter is used to send signals, messages, information, data, etc. The receiver is used to receive signals, messages, information, data, etc. Exemplarily, the transmitter sends signals, messages, information, data, etc. under the control of the processor 1002. The receiver receives signals, messages, information, data, etc. under the control of the processor 1002.

[0369] The functions of the processor 1002 may refer to the descriptions of the corresponding functions involved in the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be elaborated herein. Among them, the processor 1002 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP, etc. The processor 1002 may further include a hardware chip. The above-mentioned hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When implementing the above functions, the processor 1002 may be implemented by hardware, and of course, it may also implement the corresponding software through hardware.

[0370] The memory 1003 is used to store program instructions, etc. Specifically, the program instructions may include program codes, and the program codes include computer operation instructions. The memory 1003 may include a random access memory (RAM), and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk memory. The processor 1002 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 1003 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method steps required to be executed by the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the foregoing embodiments.

[0371] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes multiple communication devices (such as multiple of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device). Among them, the first network element can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the first network element in the above embodiments. The second network element can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the second network element in the above embodiments. The third network element can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the third network element in the above embodiments. The fourth network element can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the fourth network element in the above embodiments. The fifth network element can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the fifth network element in the above embodiments. The network device can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the network device in the above embodiments. The terminal device can be used to implement the technical solutions related to the terminal device in the above embodiments.

[0372] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0373] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further 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 computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0374] Among them, the storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limited to: the computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0375] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which may include a processor and may also include a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory). The chip executes the program instructions in the memory to execute the method provided in the above embodiments. Among them, "coupling" means that two components are directly or indirectly combined with each other. For example, coupling may mean an electrical connection between two components.

[0376] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of this application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in the communication device (such as the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, a network device, a terminal device, etc.) in the above embodiments. In a possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data of the computer device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0377] In the method provided by the embodiments of this application, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one 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 may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0378] The steps of the method described in the embodiments of this application may be directly embedded in hardware, a software unit executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software unit may be stored in a RAM, ROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium may be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium may also be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be provided in an ASIC.

[0379] This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, as well as the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processors of general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, embedded processors, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processors of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate means for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flows Figure 1 one or more flows and / or blocks Figure 1 or means for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the blocks.

[0380] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, such that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flows Figure 1 one or more flows and / or blocks Figure 1 or steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the blocks.

[0381] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, this application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first network element, the method includes: Receiving a control policy from a second network element, where the control policy is used to control a network device to transmit data of a terminal device, and the control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data; According to the control policy, sending a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before receiving the control policy from the second network element, the method further includes: According to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, sending a second message to the second network element, where the second message is used to request the control policy.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sending the second message to the second network element includes: When the subscription information of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, sending the second message to the second network element.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Before sending the second message to the second network element, the method further includes: Receiving a third message from the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate an update to the control policy.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Before receiving the third message from the terminal device, the method further includes: Receiving a fourth message from the network device, where the fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data; According to the fourth message, sending a fifth message to the terminal device, where the fifth message includes the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: The difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to a first threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from a third network element, where the subscription information includes the first energy consumption quota.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving a sixth message from the network device, where the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The data is the data of a first session of the terminal device, and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: The first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting the data of other sessions of the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The method further includes: Sending a seventh message to a fourth network element, where the seventh message is used to request the first energy consumption quota; Receiving an eighth message from the fourth network element, where the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving the updated first energy consumption quota; Send a ninth message to the second network element according to the updated first energy consumption quota, where the ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The control policy includes a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The policy includes at least one of the following methods: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting the data, or updating the data radio bearer of the network device for transmitting the data.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The data is the user plane data of the terminal device.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the fourth network element, the method includes: Receive a seventh message from the first network element, where the seventh message is used to request a first energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of a first session of the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the first session; Send an eighth message to the first network element, where the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus a second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other sessions of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a tenth message to the third network element, where the tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the terminal device; Receive the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element, where the subscription information includes the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The method further includes: Receive the updated total energy consumption quota from the third network element; Update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota; Send the updated first energy consumption quota to the first network element.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to the terminal device, the method includes: Receive a fifth message from the first network element, where the fifth message includes the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data; Update the data transmission policy of the application according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device; or, Send a third message to the first network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate an update of the control policy, and the control policy is used to control the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to a first threshold; or, The data is data of a first session of the terminal device, and the relationship between the energy consumption for the network device to transmit the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The data transmission strategy includes at least one of the following methods: delaying the automatic update time of the application or delaying the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18-20, characterized in that, The control strategy includes a strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The strategy includes at least one of the following methods: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, or updating the data radio bearer of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18 - 22, characterized in that, The data is user plane data of the terminal device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of claims 1-14, or includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of claims 15-17, or includes a module or unit for executing the method described in any one of claims 18-23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: a communication interface for receiving and sending data; a memory for storing computer program instructions and data; a processor for executing and calling the computer program instructions and data in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of claims 1-14 or the method described in any one of claims 15-17 or the method described in any one of claims 18-23.

26. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first network element and a second network element; The first network element is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-14; The second network element is used to send a control strategy.

27. The communication system according to claim 26, wherein The communication system further includes a network device; The network device is used to receive a first message from the first network element, and the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device; The network device is further used to transmit the data of the terminal device according to the strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer is made to execute the method described in any one of claims 1-14 or the method described in any one of claims 15-17 or the method described in any one of claims 18-23.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or the method according to any one of claims 15-17 or the method according to any one of claims 18-23.

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