Communication method and related device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device, which are applied to the technical field of communication. In the technical scheme provided by the invention, first index information is acquired through a first module in the terminal, the first index information indicates a value of a first measurement index of user experience quality of a first application in the terminal, and the terminal sends the first index information to network equipment. In the method, under the condition that the first application does not acquire or does not report the user experience quality of the first application, the user experience quality of the first application can be acquired and reported through the first module, so that network equipment can optimize a network, the communication effect of the first application is ensured, and the user experience is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to communication methods and related devices. Background Art

[0002] In a communication system, in order to optimize the network to ensure better user experience and overall network energy efficiency, a quality of experience measurement collection (QMC) mechanism has been proposed.

[0003] In this QMC mechanism, the network side collects a quality of experience report (QoE report) about services reported by third-party user applications (UE APPs) on the terminal, and optimizes the network based on this QoE report.

[0004] However, the QMC mechanism has the following problems: If the UE APP does not cooperate in reporting the QoE report, then the network side cannot perform network optimization, resulting in poor user experience and network energy efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and related devices, which can solve the problem that the network side cannot perform network optimization when the UE APP does not cooperate in reporting the QoE report.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method and related devices. The method is applied to a terminal, and the terminal includes a first module and a first application. The method includes: obtaining first metric information through the first module, where the first metric information indicates the value of a first metric for measuring the quality of experience of the first application; sending the first metric information to a network device.

[0007] In this method, in the case where the first application does not collect or report the quality of experience of the first application, the quality of experience of the first application can also be obtained and reported through the first module, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0008] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: obtaining second metric information through a second module in the terminal, where the second metric information indicates the value of a second metric for measuring the application experience quality of the first application; sending the second metric information to the network device.

[0009] In this method, when the second module and the first module report different metric values, the metric values reported by the second module and the first module are both reported, which increases the diversity of the reported metrics, helps improve the accuracy of the quality of experience, and improves network optimization.

[0010] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: transmitting first configuration information to a second module, where the first configuration information instructs the second module to obtain a value of a second metric.

[0011] In this implementation manner, configuring the metrics that the second module should report can avoid the second module from reporting irrelevant metric qualities, thereby avoiding the second module wasting resources on collecting and reporting irrelevant metrics.

[0012] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: obtaining capability information of the second module, where the capability information indicates that the second module is capable of obtaining metrics of a first type of service, and where the second metric is included in the metrics of the first type of service.

[0013] In this implementation manner, configuring the values of the metrics that the second module should report based on the reporting capabilities of the second module can avoid configuring metrics that exceed the capabilities of the second module, avoid invalid configurations, and improve configuration efficiency.

[0014] In some possible implementation manners, the second module is a first application or an operating system of a terminal.

[0015] In this implementation manner, collecting and reporting metrics of the user experience quality of the first application by the first application or the operating system of the terminal can improve the accuracy of the metrics.

[0016] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: obtaining third metric information through a first module, where the third metric information indicates a value of a third metric of the application experience quality of the first application; obtaining fourth metric information through the second module, where the fourth metric information indicates a value of the third metric; and transmitting the fourth metric information to a network device.

[0017] In this method, when the values of the metrics reported by the second module and the first module are the same, preferentially reporting the metrics reported by the second module can improve the accuracy of the metrics.

[0018] In some possible implementation manners, the second module is the first application, and where the method further includes: obtaining fifth metric information through an operating system of a terminal device, where the fifth metric information indicates a value of the third metric.

[0019] In some possible implementation manners, the first module is a modem.

[0020] In some possible implementation manners, the first application includes game services, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game state, or game video quality.

[0021] In this implementation manner, the above-mentioned measurement metrics can more accurately reflect the quality of experience of users for game services.

[0022] In some possible implementation manners, the first application includes OTT video call services, and the first measurement metric includes at least one of the following metrics: audio-video coding quality, audio-video playback quality, or audio-video data packet transmission performance.

[0023] In this implementation manner, the above-mentioned measurement metrics can more accurately reflect the quality of experience of users for OTT video call services.

[0024] In some possible implementation manners, the first measurement metric includes an evaluation metric for the subjective quality of experience of users.

[0025] In this method, by adding the evaluation of the subjective experience of users and improving the diversity of the reported measurement metrics, it helps to more accurately report the quality of experience of users to the network side.

[0026] In some possible implementation manners, the first measurement metric includes the evaluation period of the evaluation metric for the subjective quality of experience of users.

[0027] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: receiving second configuration information from a network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first measurement metric.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network device, and the method includes:

[0029] Receiving first metric information from a terminal device, where the first metric information indicates the value of a first measurement metric for the quality of experience of users of a first application; and performing network optimization according to the first metric information.

[0030] In this method, in the case where the first application does not collect or report the quality of experience of users of the first application, the first module can also obtain and report the quality of experience of users of the first application, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0031] In some possible implementation manners, sending second configuration information to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first measurement metric.

[0032] In some possible implementation manners, the first measurement metric is a measurement metric for game services, and the first measurement metric includes at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game state, or game video quality.

[0033] In this implementation manner, the above-mentioned measurement metrics can more accurately reflect the quality of experience of users for game services.

[0034] In some possible implementation manners, the first metric is a metric for OTT video call services, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: audio and video coding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

[0035] In this implementation manner, the above metrics can more accurately reflect the quality of experience of users for OTT video call services.

[0036] In some possible implementation manners, the first metric includes a user subjective quality of experience evaluation metric.

[0037] In this method, adding the evaluation of the user's subjective experience and improving the diversity of the reported metrics helps to more accurately report the quality of experience of users to the network side.

[0038] In some possible implementation manners, the first metric includes the evaluation period of the user subjective quality of experience evaluation metric.

[0039] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a module or unit for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a module or unit for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, and the processor is used to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. This communication device can be a chip or a chip system applied to a terminal device.

[0042] The device may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the above first aspect or any of its possible implementation manners can be implemented. The device may further include a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0043] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, and the processor is used to execute the communication method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. This communication device can be a chip or a chip system applied to a network device.

[0044] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof can be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating the apparatus with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0045] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code for a communication device to execute, and the program code includes instructions for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code for a communication device to execute, and the program code includes instructions for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0047] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, and when the computer program product runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, and when the computer program product runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0049] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system including a communication device for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect and / or a communication device for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a QMC reporting method;

[0052] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a functional module of a modem provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a method for reporting measurement metrics inside a terminal provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 6 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 7 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of this application. Detailed implementation manners

[0057] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application.

[0058] For the convenience of clearly describing the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, in the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0059] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Exactly speaking, using words such as "exemplary" or "for example" aims to present relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0060] In the embodiments 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 can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can 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 below refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0061] In the process of the evolution of communication technology, a variety of emerging wireless multimedia services have emerged, including high-definition video live broadcast, cloud games, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), etc. These services have put forward higher bandwidth and lower interaction delay requirements for the network.

[0062] To ensure a better user experience and overall network energy efficiency, a QMC mechanism is proposed in the communication system. Under the premise of ensuring that the terminal meets the service requirements, the radio access side of the base station or the network management side of the core network obtains a real-time estimate of the user experience. Thus, the base station can allocate space-time-frequency resources more efficiently, the core network can better manage and allocate slice resources and perform network operation management well, and provide better pipeline services to the UE APP.

[0063] Combined with the application of the QMC mechanism in the communication field, the technical solution provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the fifth-generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, the long-term evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, the wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the satellite communication system, future communication systems, such as the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a fusion system of multiple systems, etc. In the following, this application will be described by taking the 5G system as an example.

[0064] A device in a communication system can send a signal to another device or receive a signal from another device. The signal can include information, signaling, data, etc. Herein, the device can also be replaced with an entity, a network entity, a communication device, a communication module, a node, a communication node, etc. In this application, the device is used as an example for description. For example, a communication system can include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device can send a downlink signal to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device can send an uplink signal to the network device.

[0065] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile device, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device.

[0066] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data. For example, it can be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminals are: mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, palmtop computer, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, VR device, AR device, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grid, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart city, wireless terminals in smart home, cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, wearable device, terminal devices in a 5G network, or terminal devices in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0067] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. A wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable intelligent device, which is the general term for devices developed by applying wearable technologies to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes, etc. A wearable device is a portable device that is either directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. A wearable device is not just a hardware device, but more importantly, it realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include those with complete functions and large sizes that can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for physical sign monitoring.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device may be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement such functions, such as a chip system. This device may be installed in the terminal device or used in matching with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the case where the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device is the terminal device is used as an example for illustration, which does not limit the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0069] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device. This network device can also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. The base station can generally cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names. For example: Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, slave station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip disposed in the foregoing device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the function of a base station in D2D, V2X, M2M communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the function of a base station in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an in-vehicle device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the network device.In some deployments, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (Central Unit Control Plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (Central Unit User Plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0070] For example, when the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application is applied to a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an LTE communication system, an NR communication system, or a 6G communication system, the network device may be a traditional macro base station; in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenario, the network device may be a micro base station; in a distributed base station scenario, the network device may be a baseband processing unit and a radio frequency unit; in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, the network device may be a baseband pool and a radio frequency unit; in a future wireless communication system, the network device may be a gNB.

[0071] In addition, the network device may also be a Core Network (CN) device, which is mainly used to provide user connections, manage users, and carry services. It can be used as a bearer network to provide an interface to an external network to process and distribute services across the entire network.

[0072] The network device may also be an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) entity, which is mainly a network entity responsible for network operation and management in a 5G network.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device may be the network device; it may also be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a combination of a hardware circuit and a software module. The device may be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the case where the device for implementing the functions of the network device is the network device is used as an example for illustration, which does not limit the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0074] Network devices and / or terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and satellites in the air. In the embodiments of this application, the scenarios where the network devices and terminal devices are located are not limited. In addition, the terminal devices and network devices can be hardware devices, or software functions running on dedicated hardware or software functions running on general hardware. For example, they are virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific forms of the terminal devices and network devices.

[0075] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the method of the embodiments of this application. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 100 may include network devices (such as Figure 1 the OAM device 110 and / or the radio access network device 120 in Figure 1 ), and at least one terminal device (such as

[0076] the terminal device 130 in

[0077] Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram. Other network devices may also be included in this communication system. For example, a core network device may also be included, which is not shown in Figure 1 . The embodiments of this application do not limit the number of OAM devices, radio access network devices, and terminal devices included in this communication system.

[0078] In the current QMC mechanism, the network side collects the QoE report about services reported by the APP on the terminal and optimizes the network based on this QoE report. Figure 2 is a flowchart of a QMC reporting method. Figure 2 The method shown includes S201 to S208.

[0079] S201. The UE access stratum (UE AS) layer reports the capability information of the current UE to the next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN). Here, the UE AS layer is the entity in the UE responsible for functions such as NR-related control and access.

[0080] As an example, the capability information includes at least one of the following: whether the UE can support reporting QoE report, the supported service types, and the supported reporting period.

[0081] S202. The OAM entity sends the QoE measurement configuration information to the core network. Here, the OAM entity is the network entity in the 5G network responsible for network operation and management.

[0082] As an example, the QoE measurement configuration information includes at least one of the following: the service types that the UE needs to report, service metrics, and reporting period.

[0083] S203. The core network forwards the QoE measurement configuration information to the NG-RAN and attempts to activate the measurement reporting of the QoE metric.

[0084] S204. The NG-RAN sends the QoE measurement configuration information to the UE AS layer through radio resource control (RRC) messages.

[0085] S205. When the UE AS layer receives the QoE measurement configuration information and determines that it can report according to the measurement requirements, it informs the UE APP of the QoE measurement configuration information through AT commands.

[0086] S206. The UE APP obtains the relevant QoE metric information in the QoE report according to the QoE measurement configuration requirements, encapsulates the QoE report in the form of a container, and reports the QoE report to the UE AS layer through AT instructions.

[0087] S207. The UE AS layer forwards the QoE report obtained from the UE APP to the NG-RAN through RRC messages. Here, the UE AS layer cannot perform any operations on the QoE report, including reading and modification.

[0088] In S208, the NG-RAN forwards the QoE report to the OAM entity, and thus the entire QMC reporting process is completed.

[0089] The above method has the following problems: The UE APP needs to cooperate with the reporting of the corresponding QoE report according to the QoE measurement configuration requirements. If the UE APP does not cooperate, the terminal cannot complete the reporting of the QoE report, so the QMC mechanism cannot operate normally, and the network side cannot complete subsequent network optimization.

[0090] Therefore, this application provides a new technical solution. In this technical solution, other modules in the terminal except the UE APP can obtain the QoE report and complete the reporting, so as to ensure the normal operation of network side optimization.

[0091] In the technical solution of this application, optionally, the Capability Information can be modified to include a "whether support calculating MOS" field and support game and OTT video call services.

[0092] In the technical solution of this application, optionally, the QoE measurement configuration message can be modified to be visible to the modem of the terminal, and the service types include game and OTT video call services.

[0093] In the technical solution of this application, optionally, the QoE report message needs to be modified to be visible to the terminal modem.

[0094] In the technical solution of this application, optionally, a user subjective experience quality evaluation metric such as the "MOS" field can be added to the QoE report, and game type, OTT video call type services and their corresponding objective performance metrics can be newly added.

[0095] In the technical solution of this application, optionally, an estimation module for all QoE metrics in the QoE report can be added inside the modem. When the UE APP fails to report the QoE report normally according to the configuration in the QoE measurement configuration, the estimation module in the modem can complete the content of the QoE report and complete the normal reporting.

[0096] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application. As Figure 3 shown, the method can include S310 and S320.

[0097] S310, the terminal obtains first metric information through a first module, where the first metric information indicates the value of a first metric for measuring the quality of user experience of a first application in the terminal.

[0098] Herein, the first module may be other modules in the terminal except the first application.

[0099] For ease of description, the module in the terminal that executes this step may be referred to as a control module.

[0100] S320, the terminal sends the first metric information to a network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first metric information from the terminal.

[0101] As an example, the first metric information may be carried in an RRC message.

[0102] As an example, the network device may be a base station or may be an OAM.

[0103] In the method of this embodiment, the network device can obtain the QoE report from the first module in the terminal except the UE APP. In this way, even when the first application does not collect or report the quality of user experience of the first application, the quality of user experience of the first application can be obtained and reported through the first module, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0104] In this embodiment, as an example, the first module may be a modem in the physical layer of the terminal, may also be an operating system (OS), or other modules in the application service layer, framework layer, or operating system layer.

[0105] As an example, the service type of the first application may include at least one of the following types: game service, third-party (over the top, OTT) video call service. <T

[0106] As an example, the first metric may include at least one of the following metrics: user objective experience quality metric, user subjective experience quality evaluation metric, evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation metric.

[0107] The value of the metric can also be understood as a service characteristic value, or referred to as a QoE metric.

[0108] As an example, the value of the user subjective experience quality evaluation metric may include the mean opinion score (MOS) value.

[0109] When the first application is a game service, the user's objective experience quality metrics may include at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game state, or game video quality.

[0110] As an example, the end-to-end packet transmission performance may include at least one of the following features: average end-to-end delay, maximum end-to-end delay, end-to-end delay jitter, end-to-end packet loss rate, etc.; the game state may include at least one of the following states: game preparation, game in progress, etc.; the game video quality may include at least one of the following metrics: average game bitrate, game display window size, game video resolution, game video bitrate, game video frame rate, etc.

[0111] When the first application is an OTT video call service, the user's objective experience quality metrics may include at least one of the following metrics: audio-video coding quality, audio-video playback quality, or audio-video data packet transmission performance.

[0112] As an example, the audio-video coding quality may include at least one of the following qualities: video bitrate, indicating the video bitrate adopted by the video encoder, video codec, audio bitrate, audio codec, etc.; the audio-video playback quality may include at least one of the following qualities: call establishment time, indicating the time from when the user initiates a video call to when it is successfully connected, video frame rate, indicating the number of video frames per second, video resolution, key video frame interval, video playback window size, etc.; the audio-video data packet transmission performance may include at least one of the following performances: average video delay, video data packet loss rate, average audio delay, audio packet loss rate, average time of audio-video out-of-sync, etc. [[ID=,11]]

[0113] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the service type of the first application, and other service types applicable to the method of the present application can be included in the protection scope of the present application. In addition, the present application does not limit the first metric for game services and OTT video call services, and metrics applicable to these two service types can be included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0114] In this embodiment, the first metric information obtained from the first module may be included in the QoE report reported by the first module. For example, obtain the QoE report reported by the first module, and the QoE report contains the first metric information.

[0115] In this embodiment, the first metric information sent by the terminal to the network device may be included in the QoE report. For example, the terminal sends a QoE report to the network device, and the QoE report contains the first metric information.

[0116] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: the terminal obtains second metric information through a second module in the terminal, and the second metric information indicates the value of a second metric for the application experience quality of the first application; the terminal sends the second metric information to the network device.

[0117] This implementation manner can be understood as: if the first module and the second module report the values of different metrics, the terminal can report the values of these different metrics to the network device. In this way, the metrics of the application experience quality of the first application can be collected through the second module different from the first module, and the metrics collected by the second module and the metrics collected by the first module can include different metrics.

[0118] In this way, the metrics reported by the terminal can be made complete, which helps to further improve the effect of network optimization.

[0119] In this implementation manner, the second metric information obtained from the second module can be included in the QoE report reported by the second module. For example, obtain the QoE report reported by the second module, and the QoE report includes the second metric information. Among them, the QoE report reported by the second module can be visible to the control module.

[0120] Optionally, the first metric information and the second metric information sent by the terminal to the network device can be included in the same message or signaling, or can be included in different messages or different signalings. For example, the first metric information and the second metric information sent by the terminal to the network device can be included in the same QoE report.

[0121] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: transmitting first configuration information to the second module, and the first configuration information indicates that the second module obtains the value of the second metric. Or rather, which metric values the second module collects and reports is configured by the terminal. This step can be executed by the control module in the terminal.

[0122] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: obtaining the capability information of the second module, and the capability information indicates that the second module can obtain the metrics of the first type of service, where the second metric is included in the metrics of the first type of service.

[0123] Or rather, when the terminal configures which metrics the second module should report, it is configured based on the reporting capability information of the second module. Or rather, for which metrics the second module can report for the first type of service, the control module can configure the second module to report these metrics.

[0124] In some implementation manners, the second module includes the first application and / or the operating system of the terminal.

[0125] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: obtaining third metric information through a first module, where the third metric information indicates the value of a third metric for measuring the application experience quality of a first application; obtaining fourth metric information through a second module, where the fourth metric information indicates the value of the third metric; and sending the fourth metric information to a network device.

[0126] This implementation manner can be understood as: if the values reported by the first module and the second module for the same metric are different, the terminal can preferentially report the value collected by the second module to the network device. This can improve the accuracy of the value taken by the metric.

[0127] For example, when the first module is a modem and the second module is the first application, if the modem and the first application collect different values for the same metric, the terminal reports the value collected by the first application for this metric.

[0128] For another example, when the first module is a modem and the second module is an operating system, if the modem and the operating system collect different values for the same metric, the terminal reports the value collected by the operating system for this metric.

[0129] For still another example, when the first module is a modem and the second module includes the first application and the operating system, if the modem, the first application, and the operating system collect different values for the same metric, the terminal reports the value collected by the first application for this metric. That is to say, the priority of the modem is lower than that of the first application, and the priority of the first application is lower than that of the operating system.

[0130] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: the network device sending configuration information, where the configuration information is used to configure metrics. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information for configuring metrics.

[0131] Or rather, which metrics should be reported for which service or application by the terminal is configured by the network device. This configuration can be visible to the control module, so that the control module can learn this configuration and configure the metrics to be reported for the first module or even the second module based on this configuration of the network device.

[0132] Optionally, the configuration information is specifically used to configure which types of services or applications should report which metrics.

[0133] In some implementation manners, this configuration information is visible to the control module, so that the control module configures the metrics to be reported for the first module or even the second module based on this configuration information.

[0134] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, it further includes: OAM sends configuration information to a network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the configuration information. Or rather, the configuration information sent by the network device is received from OAM.

[0135] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, the control module may be located in the modem of the terminal, or rather, it may be a module in the modem. For example, the control module may be referred to as a QoE Controller (QoE Controller).

[0136] In some implementation manners of this embodiment, the first module may be referred to as a QoE Metric Estimator (QoE Metric Estimator), or as a metric evaluation module, or as an evaluation module.

[0137] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a functional module of the modem provided for the embodiments of this application. Figure 4 As shown, the modem may internally include two logical functional modules, namely a QoE control module and a QoE metric evaluation module.

[0138] Among them, the QoE control module can obtain the reporting capabilities of the UE APP and the OS, and obtain the QoE metric information to be reported according to the QoE measurement configuration information. The QoE measurement configuration information may be the configuration information from the network device. For example, the RRC message sent by the NG-RAN to the modem, and this message carries the QoE measurement configuration content originating from OAM and makes this content visible to the modem.

[0139] As an example, the QoE control module can integrate the QoE metric information reported by the QoE metric evaluation module, the UE APP or the OS, and then output a QoE report to the outside. The outside here may include the network device.

[0140] The QoE metric evaluation module can estimate all the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report according to the internal information of the modem, for estimating the QoE metric information that cannot be obtained by the UE APP and the OS but must be reported, and estimating the MOS score of the user experience under different services.

[0141] As an example, the internal information of the modem may include error code information, packet transmission information, traffic information, etc.

[0142] The UE APP can transmit the QoE report to the QoE control module inside the modem via an address target (AT) command, and this AT command carries some or all of the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report that the UE APP can collect.

[0143] The OS can transmit the QoE report to the QoE control module inside the modem via an AT command, and this AT command carries some of the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report that the OS can collect.

[0144] As an example, the OS can obtain audio and video format information through the audio and video software and hardware modules, such as video resolution, frame rate, bit rate, playback window size, etc. These service characteristic information are some of the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report.

[0145] In this implementation method, the QoE report reported by the OS or the UE APP is visible to the modem, and the modem can perform operations such as modifying the reported QoE report.

[0146] In some implementation methods of this embodiment, if the metric includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation metric, then a user subjective experience quality evaluation metric field can be added to the QoE measurement configuration, QoE report, and Capability Information messages, and this field can be called the "MOS" field.

[0147] For example, the following field can be added to the QoE measurement configuration message: the evaluation period of MOS.

[0148] As an example, the evaluation period of MOS can be configured to 1 second.

[0149] For example, the following field can be added to the QoE report message: MOS score.

[0150] As an example, if the reporting period of the QoE report is several times the MOS evaluation period, the reporting quantity of the MOS score is a vector from far to near in time.

[0151] For example, the following field can be added to the Capability Information message: whether it supports evaluating the MOS score of the service.

[0152] Since the MOS score of the user's subjective experience is not easily obtained online, this application lists objective evaluation models for MOS scores that can be used for different services. As an example, for the game service, the ITU-T G.1072 model is used; for the OTT video call service, the ITU-T G.1070 model is used; for the multimedia telephone service (MTSI), the ITU-T G.107 model is used for voice calls and the ITU-T G.107 model is used for video calls; for the dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH) service, the ITU-T P.1203 model is used.

[0153] The following combines Figure 5 to introduce an example of the method for reporting measurement metrics inside the terminal. As Figure 5 shown, this method may include S510 to S540.

[0154] S510, the UE APP and / or the OS respectively report first capability information and second capability information to the modem. Correspondingly, the QoE control module inside the modem analyzes the capability information.

[0155] For example, when the UE APP is enabled or in an active state, the QoE control module inside the modem obtains the capability information reported by the UE APP and / or the OS, and obtains the reporting capabilities of the UE APP and / or the OS from the capability information. If the QoE control module inside the modem fails to obtain the capability information of the UE APP and / or the OS, it is processed as if the UE APP and / or the OS did not report capabilities.

[0156] If the UE APP and the OS have reporting capabilities, execute S520; if the OS has reporting capabilities and the UE APP does not have reporting capabilities, execute S530; if neither the OS nor the UE APP has reporting capabilities, execute S540.

[0157] In this embodiment, S520 may include S520-1, S520-2, S520-3, S520-4, S520-5, S520-6, S520-7.

[0158] S520-1, the QoE control module transmits first QoE measurement configuration information to the UE APP.

[0159] As an example, this first QoE measurement configuration information is configured by the QoE control module inside the modem according to the reporting capabilities of the UE APP.

[0160] S520 - 2 : The QoE control module transmits second QoE measurement configuration information to the OS.

[0161] As an example, the second QoE measurement configuration information is configured by a QoE control module inside the modem according to a reporting capability of the OS.

[0162] S520 - 3 : The QoE control module transmits third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0163] In this embodiment, the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information may be the same, different, or not completely the same. For example, the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information are the same, but the third QoE measurement configuration information is different from the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0164] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information are the same, only S520 - 4 needs to be executed.

[0165] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information are different, S520 - 4 , S520 - 5 , and S520 - 6 are respectively executed.

[0166] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information are the same, but the third QoE measurement configuration information is different from the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information, S520 - 4 and S520 - 6 are performed.

[0167] If the first, second, and third QoE measurement configuration information are not identical, the identical parts may perform corresponding operations based on the reporting priorities. For example, the UE APP reporting priority is higher than the OS priority, and the OS reporting priority is higher than the QoE metric evaluation module reporting priority. Furthermore, the different parts may be reported separately.

[0168] S520-4: The UE APP outputs a corresponding QoEreport to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the first QoE measurement configuration information.

[0169] As an example, the UE APP module reports the maximum set of metric information in the available QoEreport to the QoE control module in the modem according to the requirements in the first QoE measurement configuration.

[0170] S520-5, The OS outputs the corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0171] As an example, the OS module reports the largest set of metric information in the QoE report that can be obtained to the QoE control module in the modem according to the requirements in the second QoE measurement configuration.

[0172] S520-6, The QoE metric evaluation module outputs the corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0173] As an example, the QoE metric evaluation module obtains all the metric information of the QoE report required in the measurement configuration by estimation, and outputs all the metric information involved in the QoE report to the QoE Controller according to the requirements.

[0174] As an example, the objective model estimation of MOS is also included in all the metric information.

[0175] As an example, the QoE metric evaluation module estimates according to the internal information of the modem, and the internal information can include error code information, packet transmission information or traffic information, etc.

[0176] S520-7, The QoE control module integrates the QoE reports reported by the UE APP, the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0177] In some implementation manners, the integrated QoE report is the largest set of QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the UE APP, the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0178] In this implementation manner, the same or duplicate QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the UE APP, the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module can be avoided, and thus resource waste can be reduced.

[0179] In this embodiment, S530 may include S530-1, S530-2, S530-3, S53-4, S530-5.

[0180] S530-1, The QoE control module transmits the second QoE measurement configuration information to the OS.

[0181] S530-2, The QoE control module transmits the third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0182] In this embodiment, the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information may be the same or different.

[0183] As an example, when the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information are the same, only S530-3 needs to be executed.

[0184] As an example, when the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information are different, S530-3 and S530-4 are executed respectively.

[0185] S530-3, the OS outputs the corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0186] S530-4, the QoE metric evaluation module outputs the corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0187] S530-5, the QoE control module integrates the QoE reports reported by the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0188] In some implementation manners, the integrated QoE report is the largest set of QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0189] In this implementation manner, the same or duplicate QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module can be avoided, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0190] In this embodiment, S540 may include S540-1, S540-2, and S540-3.

[0191] S540-1, the QoE control module transmits the third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0192] S540-2, the QoE metric evaluation module outputs the QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0193] S540-3, the QoE control module reports the QoE report reported by the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0194] In this embodiment, before executing S520, S530 or S540, S515 is further included.

[0195] In S515, the network device sends QoE measurement configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the QoE measurement configuration information from the network device.

[0196] As an example, the QoE control module inside the modem in the terminal can parse the QoE measurement configuration information and obtain the QoE metrics to be reported.

[0197] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the execution order of S515 and S510. The network device sending the QoE measurement configuration information to the terminal can be either before the UE APP and / or the OS sends the capability information, or after the UE APP and / or the OS sends the capability information.

[0198] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 6 shown, the device 600 may include a processing module 601 and a communication module 602.

[0199] As a first example, the device 600 can be used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the communication method implemented by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown. For example, the processing module 601 is used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the processing-related steps executed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown, and the communication module 602 is used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the sending and / or receiving and other steps executed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown.

[0200] As a second example, the device 600 can be used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the communication method implemented by the network device in any of the embodiments shown. For example, the processing module 601 is used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the processing-related steps executed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown, and the communication module 602 is used to implement Figures 3 to 5 the sending and / or receiving and other steps executed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown.

[0201] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application. As Figure 7As shown, device 700 includes a processor 701 and a communication circuit 702. The processor 701 and the communication circuit 702 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the communication circuit 702 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the device 700 may further include a memory 703 for storing instructions executed by the processor 701, or for storing input data required for the processor 701 to run instructions, or for storing data generated after the processor 701 runs instructions. It can be understood that the memory 703 can be located outside the processor 701, or inside the processor 701.

[0202] As an example, the processor 701 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing module 601, and the communication circuit 702 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned communication module 602.

[0203] The device 700 can be a communication device or a chip applied in a communication device. For example, the device 700 can be a terminal or a chip applied in a terminal, and can be a network device or a chip applied in a network device. It can be understood that when the device 700 is a terminal or a network device, the communication circuit 702 can be a transceiver.

[0204] In some embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is further provided. When the computer program product runs on a processor, it can implement the methods implemented by the terminal in any of the above embodiments, or can implement the methods implemented by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0205] In some embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided. The computer-readable storage medium contains computer instructions. When the computer instructions run on a processor, they can implement the methods implemented by the terminal in any of the above embodiments, or can implement the methods implemented by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0206] In some embodiments of the present application, a communication system is further provided. The system can implement the methods implemented by the terminal and the network device in any of the above embodiments.

[0207] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be the following devices or all or part of the circuits for processing functions in the following devices: a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0208] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in a hardware manner or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, removable hard disks, CD-ROMs or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0209] In the above embodiments, 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 the form of a computer program product in whole or in part. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it may be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state drive.

[0210] In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special indication and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0211] It can be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitude of the serial numbers of the above processes does not mean the sequence of execution. The execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal, the terminal including a first module and a first application, the method comprising: Acquire, through a first module, first indicator information, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of the first application; Send the first indicator information to the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire, by a second module in the terminal, second indicator information, where the second indicator information indicates a value of a second measurement indicator of application experience quality of the first application; Send the second indicator information to the network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: First configuration information is transmitted to the second module, where the first configuration information instructs the second module to obtain a value of the second metric.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Capability information of the second module is obtained, where the capability information indicates that the second module is capable of obtaining measurement indicators of a first type of business, wherein the second measurement indicators are measurement indicators included in the first type of business.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The second module is the first application or the operating system of the terminal.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire, through the first module, third indicator information, where the third indicator information indicates a value of a third metric of application experience quality of the first application; Acquire, through the second module, fourth indicator information, where the fourth indicator information indicates a value of the third metric; The fourth indicator information is sent to the network device.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The second module is the first application, wherein the method further includes: The fifth indicator information is obtained through the operating system of the terminal device, and the fifth indicator information indicates the value of the third measurement indicator.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first module is a modem.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first application includes a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first application includes a third-party OTT video call service, and the first measurement indicator includes at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second configuration information is received from the network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method includes: Receiving first indicator information from a terminal device, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of the first application; Perform network optimization based on the first indicator information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second configuration information is sent to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first metric is a metric of a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

17. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first metric is a metric of a third-party OTT video call service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: memory and processor; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is configured to execute program instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a program code for computer execution, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for implementing the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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