Communication method and device for adaptively configuring air interface technology, and network side equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device for adaptively configuring an air interface technology and network side equipment. The method comprises the following steps: determining a first application scene to which a communication service of a terminal belongs; determining one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal, the air interface processing configuration option sets comprising one configuration option selected from one or more selectable configuration options of the air interface processing technical links for each air interface processing technical link; judging whether the first application scene is matched with an air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal or not according to a matching relationship between the application scene and the air interface processing configuration option set; and if yes, communicating with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set matched with the first application scene. According to the method, the network has the characteristics of on-demand service and function flexibility, so that the bloated system design is avoided, and high cost performance can be achieved for each application scene.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, and network-side equipment for adaptive configuration air interface technology. Background Technology

[0002] In second-generation mobile communication technology (2G), third-generation mobile communication technology (3G), fourth-generation mobile communication technology (4G), and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G), a unified air interface technology configuration is used regardless of how many different application scenarios are supported.

[0003] Taking 5G as an example, although application scenarios are divided into Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMMB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), and Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), the basic configurations of air interface technology, such as multiple access schemes and channel coding schemes, are the same for all three application scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a communication method, apparatus, and network-side device for adaptively configuring air interface technologies. This aims to propose a system design method that adaptively configures and uses different air interface technologies for different application scenarios, enabling the network to provide on-demand services and flexible functionality, thereby avoiding bloated system design and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0005] A first aspect of this application provides a communication method applied to a network-side device in an access network, the method comprising:

[0006] Determine the primary application scenario to which the terminal's communication services belong;

[0007] Determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal, wherein the air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step;

[0008] Based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set, determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal;

[0009] If so, communication is conducted with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

[0010] If the first application scenario does not match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the terminal is instructed to disconnect from the network-side device.

[0011] Optionally, the number of application scenarios supported by the system is greater than or equal to the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system.

[0012] Optionally, the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system is less than or equal to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional scheme options of each air interface processing technology link.

[0013] Optionally, the air interface processing technology includes at least one or more of the following:

[0014] Waveform modulation technology, multiple access technology, channel coding technology, and multi-antenna transmission technology.

[0015] Optionally, the optional configuration options for the multiple access technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0016] Frequency division multiple access, time division multiple access, code division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and non-orthogonal multiple access;

[0017] The optional checksum configuration options for the channel coding technique include at least one or more of the following:

[0018] Low-density parity-check codes, enhanced low-density parity-check codes, Hamming codes, and parallel concatenated convolutional codes;

[0019] The optional configuration options for the multi-antenna transmission technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0020] Multi-antenna transmission based on spatial diversity, multi-antenna transmission based on beamforming, multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiplexing, and multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiple access.

[0021] Optionally, the application scenarios include at least one or more of the following:

[0022] Evolving enhanced mobile broadband scenarios, evolving low-latency and high-reliability communication scenarios, evolving massive machine-type communication scenarios, ubiquitous connectivity scenarios, scenarios integrating artificial intelligence and communication, and scenarios integrating sensing and communication.

[0023] Optionally, the network-side device determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal based on the first signaling message sent by the terminal; wherein the first signaling message is provided with a first indication field for indicating the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

[0024] Optionally, the first signaling message is a signaling message used for terminal capability reporting.

[0025] Optionally, the first indication field is set in a non-critical extended field of the first signaling message.

[0026] Optionally, the first signaling message is Msg3 sent by the terminal during the random access process.

[0027] Optionally, the bit width of the first indication field is M, where M is the number of predefined air interface processing configuration option sets.

[0028] Optionally, determining the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs includes:

[0029] According to the second signaling message, the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs is determined; wherein, the second signaling message is provided with a second indication field for indicating the application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs.

[0030] Optionally, the second signaling message originates from the core network.

[0031] Optionally, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the network slice identifier, wherein the network slice identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0032] Optionally, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the radio access technology identifier, wherein the radio access technology identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0033] A second aspect of this application provides a communication device with adaptive configuration of air interface technology, applied to a network-side device of an access network, the device comprising:

[0034] The first determining module is used to determine the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs;

[0035] The second determining module is used to determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. The air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step.

[0036] The judgment module is used to determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set.

[0037] The communication module is used to communicate with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario if the judgment result of the judgment module is yes.

[0038] Optionally, if the first application scenario does not match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the terminal is instructed to disconnect from the network-side device.

[0039] Optionally, the number of application scenarios supported by the system is greater than or equal to the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system.

[0040] Optionally, the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system is less than or equal to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional scheme options of each air interface processing technology link.

[0041] Optionally, the air interface processing technology includes at least one or more of the following:

[0042] Waveform modulation technology, multiple access technology, channel coding technology, and multi-antenna transmission technology.

[0043] Optionally, the optional configuration options for the multiple access technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0044] Frequency division multiple access, time division multiple access, code division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and non-orthogonal multiple access;

[0045] The optional checksum configuration options for the channel coding technique include at least one or more of the following:

[0046] Low-density parity-check codes, enhanced low-density parity-check codes, Hamming codes, and parallel concatenated convolutional codes;

[0047] The optional configuration options for the multi-antenna transmission technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0048] Multi-antenna transmission based on spatial diversity, multi-antenna transmission based on beamforming, multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiplexing, and multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiple access.

[0049] Optionally, the application scenarios include at least one or more of the following:

[0050] Evolving enhanced mobile broadband scenarios, evolving low-latency and high-reliability communication scenarios, evolving massive machine-type communication scenarios, ubiquitous connectivity scenarios, scenarios integrating artificial intelligence and communication, and scenarios integrating sensing and communication.

[0051] Optionally, the network-side device determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal based on the first signaling message sent by the terminal; wherein the first signaling message is provided with a first indication field for indicating the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

[0052] Optionally, the first signaling message is a signaling message used for terminal capability reporting.

[0053] Optionally, the first indication field is set in a non-critical extended field of the first signaling message.

[0054] Optionally, the first signaling message is Msg3 sent by the terminal during the random access process.

[0055] Optionally, the bit width of the first indication field is M, where M is the number of predefined air interface processing configuration option sets.

[0056] Optionally, the first determining module is specifically used to: determine the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs based on the second signaling message; wherein the second signaling message is provided with a second indication field for indicating the application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs.

[0057] Optionally, the second signaling message originates from the core network.

[0058] Optionally, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the network slice identifier, wherein the network slice identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0059] Optionally, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the radio access technology identifier, wherein the radio access technology identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0060] A third aspect of this application provides a network-side device, including a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the communication interface, and the memory communicate with each other through the communication bus.

[0061] Memory, used to store computer programs;

[0062] When a processor executes a program stored in memory, it implements any of the communication method steps described above.

[0063] A fourth aspect of this application is a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements any of the communication method steps described above.

[0064] This invention also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of the methods described above.

[0065] Beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present invention:

[0066] Based on the communication method, apparatus, and network-side device provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the network-side device determines the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs; determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal; determines whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set; if so, communicates with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

[0067] It is evident that, for the next generation of integrated terrestrial and satellite mobile communication systems and the evolution of current mobile communication systems (e.g., the future 6G system and the potential new round of evolution of the 5G system), a system design method is proposed to adaptively configure and use different air interface technologies for different application scenarios. This allows the network to have the characteristics of on-demand service and functional flexibility, thereby avoiding bloated system design and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario.

[0068] Of course, implementing any product or method of the present invention does not necessarily require achieving all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0069] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other embodiments can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0070] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 2 A signaling flow diagram of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 3A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0074] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the present application are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0075] The following explanations of some terms used in this application are provided for clarification.

[0076] A terminal, also known as user equipment (UE), is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. Examples include handheld devices and in-vehicle devices with wireless connectivity. Common terminals include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and wearable devices such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, and pedometers.

[0077] The network-side equipment of the access network, specifically the access network element, can be a regular base station, such as a 3G base station (Node B) or a 4G base station (eNB), a new radio controller (NR controller), a 5G base station (gNB) in a 5G system, a centralized unit (CU), a new radio base station, a radio remote module, a micro base station, a relay, a distributed unit (DU), a transmission reception point (TRP) or a transmission point (TP), or any other wireless access device; it can also be a non-terrestrial network node device, such as a satellite, drone, or spacecraft, etc., which are not limited in this application embodiment.

[0078] Air interface technology refers to the technology used for communication on the wireless link between the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the UE, covering multiple technical aspects, such as multiple access and channel coding.

[0079] In existing related technologies, under the same network standard, the same air interface technology configuration is used for different application scenarios.

[0080] However, different application scenarios may have significantly different requirements for performance or complexity. For example, a performance metric required in application scenario A may be completely unnecessary in application scenario B; the requirements for a certain performance metric in application scenario A, such as reliability in terms of frame error rate, are several orders of magnitude stricter than in application scenario B; application scenario C has extremely low requirements for processing complexity on the terminal side, while the corresponding requirements for other application scenarios are completely different.

[0081] As for the future sixth-generation mobile communication technology (6G), which has one of its visions as an integrated space-ground communication system, there will inevitably be more types of application scenarios that need to be supported, and the requirements for various application scenarios will also vary greatly.

[0082] Therefore, this application proposes a communication method for future mobile communication systems and the evolution of current mobile communication systems, such as 6G mobile communication systems, next-generation communication systems based on low-Earth orbit satellite communication, and a new round of evolution that may occur with 5G mobile communication systems.

[0083] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application is shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0084] S101: Determine the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs.

[0085] In this embodiment, the application scenario is a scenario defined in the communication system, such as the eMMB application scenario, URLLC application scenario, and mMTC application scenario defined in the 5G communication system.

[0086] It is worth noting that this application is applicable to future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems. When applied to 6G communication systems, the corresponding application scenarios are those defined within the 6G communication system. As an example, in the global 6G vision adopted by the International Telecommunication Union's Wireless Communications Sector, the six categories of typical application scenarios currently considered include the evolution of three application scenarios for 5G communication systems: evolved Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB+) application scenarios (also known as immersive communication scenarios), evolved Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) communication scenarios (also known as ultra-reliable and ultra-low-latency communication scenarios), and evolved Massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC+) communication scenarios (also known as ultra-large-scale connectivity scenarios).

[0087] Those skilled in the art will understand that after a terminal completes wireless network access, it needs to initiate authentication with the core network and complete the access and obtain service permissions in the system through a registration process. For terminals that have completed registration and authentication on the core network, the core network can detect the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs through relevant technical means.

[0088] After the core network detects the application scenario to which the current communication service of the terminal belongs through relevant technical means, it informs the network-side equipment of the access network through signaling messages.

[0089] S102: Determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. The air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step.

[0090] In this embodiment of the application, the air interface processing technology refers to the technical aspects involved in air interface technology, which may include, for example, waveform modulation technology, multiple access technology, channel coding technology, multi-antenna transmission technology, etc.

[0091] Each air interface processing technology supports one or more configuration options. As an example, the optional configuration options for multiple access technology include at least one or more of the following: frequency division multiple access, time division multiple access, code division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and non-orthogonal multiple access; the optional parity check code configuration options for channel coding technology include at least one or more of the following: low-density parity check code, enhanced low-density parity check code, Hamming code, and parallel concatenated convolutional code; the optional configuration options for multi-antenna transmission technology include at least one or more of the following: spatial diversity-based multi-antenna transmission, beamforming-based multi-antenna transmission, spatial division multiplexing-based multi-antenna transmission, and spatial division multiple access-based multi-antenna transmission.

[0092] However, in the air interface processing process, each technical step is essential. Each pre-configured air interface processing configuration option set must include configuration options for each air interface processing technical step. That is, each air interface processing configuration option set includes a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of each air interface processing technical step.

[0093] Specifically, for different application scenarios, different scheme options, i.e., different configuration options, can be configured to be used in one or more air interface processing technology stages related to air interface signal processing. This allows different application scenarios to use different sets of air interface processing configuration options.

[0094] For ease of understanding, let L be the number of air interface processing technology steps (L≥1), and let N be the number of optional configuration options for the i-th (L≥i≥1) air interface processing technology step. i .

[0095] In this embodiment of the application, the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system is less than or equal to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional configuration options of each air interface processing technology link.

[0096] Specifically, the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined for the entire air interface processing process is denoted as M (M≥1). Considering that some combinations of optional schemes for different air interface processing technology stages may be unreasonable, the following is obtained: Instead in, This refers to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology stage.

[0097] As an example, channel coding scheme A is suitable for low-cost and low-complexity IoT scenarios, while multi-antenna transmission scheme B is suitable for scenarios requiring extremely high reliability. Therefore, it is unreasonable to combine channel coding scheme A and multi-antenna transmission scheme B in a single air interface processing configuration option set.

[0098] It is worth noting that the focus of this application is not on researching and designing which air interface processing technology links can be adaptively configured, nor on researching which schemes can be adopted as multiple optional schemes for each configurable air interface processing technology link. The focus of this application is to propose a mechanism for adaptively configuring the air interface processing configuration option set for different application scenarios.

[0099] To make it easier to understand, let's illustrate this with a simple example.

[0100] In this example, assume there are two options for the multiple access scheme: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA). Also assume there are two options for the channel coding scheme: enhanced Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) and Hamming code, which has a much lower encoding / decoding complexity. For ease of understanding, other air interface technologies are not configured with multiple options; therefore, L = 2, N1 = 2, and N2 = 2. The system design considers M = 2 air interface processing configuration option sets for the entire air interface process, indicating that M is less than N1 × N2 = 4. Specifically, if we combine the two options of the multiple access scheme and the two options of the channel coding scheme, and then combine them with the unique scheme of each other air interface technology, we can obtain 4 air interface processing configuration option sets. However, considering that two of these configuration option sets are unreasonable, the system only defines two air interface processing configuration option sets. The first air interface processing configuration option set configures the NOMA access scheme and Hamming code; the second air interface processing configuration option set configures the OFDMA access scheme and enhanced LDPC code.

[0101] In the global 6G vision adopted by the International Telecommunication Union's Wireless Communications Sector (ITU-R) in June 2023, the six categories of typical application scenarios currently considered include the evolution of three application scenarios for 5G systems (i.e., eMBB+, URLLC+, and mMTC+). Based on the design in the above example, in future 6G systems, the first air interface processing configuration option set can be configured for application scenarios belonging to mMTC+, and the second air interface processing configuration option set can be configured for application scenarios belonging to eMBB+ and URLLC+.

[0102] In this embodiment, the terminal can send a signaling message to the network-side device of the access network. The signaling message carries a field indicating one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. The network-side device of the access network can parse the relevant fields to determine the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

[0103] S103: Based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set, determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal.

[0104] In this embodiment, the matching relationship between application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets actually represents the air interface processing configuration option set suitable for each application scenario. Which air interface processing configuration option set is most suitable for a given application scenario is determined by the developers based on the application scenario's requirements for various performance indicators. Therefore, the matching relationship between application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets is pre-designed and can be stored in tabular form.

[0105] The following further explains the matching relationship between application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets. For some application scenarios, the basic solutions for each air interface technology link can be the same. Only some additional value-added features need to be designed based on the corresponding basic solutions in certain air interface processing technology links to meet the performance differences of these application scenarios. For other application scenarios, it is necessary to configure and use different basic solutions in certain air interface processing technology links to achieve cost-effective on-demand services for each scenario. In other words, for a specific application scenario, there must be only one most suitable air interface processing configuration option set. However, different application scenarios may correspond to the same air interface processing configuration option set.

[0106] Therefore, if we denote the number of application scenarios defined by the system as K (K≥1) and the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined for the entire air interface processing process as M (M≥1), then K≥M is satisfied.

[0107] Network-side devices in the access network need to store the matching relationship between application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets, which can be stored in tabular form. Since terminals may support more than one air interface processing configuration option set, the terminals also need to store this matching relationship.

[0108] In one implementation of this application, since the matching relationship between application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets has been stored, the network-side device of the access network can determine the unique air interface processing configuration option set corresponding to the first application scenario based on the matching relationship, denoted as the first air interface processing configuration option set. Then, combined with the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal, it is determined whether the first air interface processing configuration option set belongs to the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. If so, it is determined that the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal.

[0109] S104: Communicate with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

[0110] In this embodiment, if step S103 determines that the first application scenario matches the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, then step S104 is executed.

[0111] Specifically, since the first application scenario matches the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the corresponding air interface technology is used to realize communication between the network-side equipment of the access network and the terminal according to the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

[0112] As can be seen, by applying the communication method provided in this application embodiment, the network-side device of the access network determines the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs, and determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal; based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option sets, it determines whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal; if so, it communicates with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario. Therefore, for the next-generation integrated terrestrial-space mobile communication system and the evolution of the current mobile communication system, this system design method proposes an adaptive configuration and use of different air interface technologies for different application scenarios. This allows the network to possess the characteristics of on-demand service and functional flexibility, thereby avoiding bloated system design and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario.

[0113] In one embodiment of this application, if the first application scenario does not match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the terminal is instructed to disconnect from the network-side device of the access network.

[0114] If the first application scenario cannot match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, it means that the terminal cannot support the air interface technology corresponding to the first application scenario, and therefore cannot use the corresponding air interface technology to realize communication between the network-side device of the access network and the terminal. Therefore, it is necessary to instruct the terminal to disconnect from the network-side device of the access network.

[0115] Specifically, the embodiments of this application design the signaling required for implementing the adaptive configuration mechanism. Specifically, between the network side and any terminal, dedicated signaling messages or dedicated parameters are needed in public signaling messages to indicate: 1) the options that the terminal can support in the system-defined set of M air interface processing configuration options; 2) the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs.

[0116] More specific design considerations are described below:

[0117] The first aspect is signaling used to indicate the options that the terminal can support in the system-defined set of M air interface processing configuration options.

[0118] As an example design, in a message transmitted from the terminal to the base station, a field with a bit width of M is defined, where each bit corresponds to a set of air interface processing configuration options defined by the system. If the terminal supports a certain air interface processing configuration option set, the corresponding bit can be set to "1"; otherwise, the corresponding bit can be set to "0". Depending on the terminal manufacturer's implementation strategy, some terminals may support multiple options from the M air interface processing configuration option sets; therefore, for such terminals, multiple bits in the aforementioned field with a bit width of M will be set to "1".

[0119] In one embodiment of this application, the network-side device of the access network determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal based on a first signaling message sent by the terminal; wherein, the first signaling message is provided with a first indication field with a bit width of M for indicating the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

[0120] Although this application primarily focuses on designs for future 6G networks, it can also be considered for implementation in potential new rounds of 5G system evolution, responding to certain deployment needs in 5G network evolution. For example, low-Earth orbit satellite communication networks may use OFDMA for multiple access when serving public consumers, while for serving special users, they may consider using a more interference-resistant scheme based on a combination of OFDM and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), known as Multi-Carrier Multiple Access Communication (MC-CDMA).

[0121] Because the logic of the signaling message design for future 6G networks is very likely to be similar to that of current 5G networks, and as mentioned above, the system design method proposed in this application can also be implemented in the next round of evolution of 5G systems, the following provides an exemplary design for what kind of signaling message the first indication field can be placed in, based on the protocol of the 5G system, that is, an exemplary design for the first signaling message.

[0122] In one embodiment of this application, the first signaling message is a signaling message used for terminal capability reporting.

[0123] Specifically, when a terminal initiates access to the network-side device of the access network, it needs to report its capabilities to the network-side device, i.e., send a signaling message for capability reporting. In this embodiment, the first indication field indicating the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal is considered to be placed in the signaling message for capability reporting by the terminal.

[0124] In one embodiment of this application, the first indication field is placed in a non-critical extension field of the first signaling message. Specifically, one implementation is as follows: taking the terminal capability reporting message in the 5G protocol as the first signaling message as an example, in the core information element UE-NR-Capability of the first signaling message, there is an extension field called nonCriticalExtension, in which the first indication field with a bit width of M can be placed.

[0125] In another embodiment of this application, the first signaling message is Msg3 sent by the terminal during the random access process.

[0126] To facilitate understanding, a brief introduction to the random access process of the terminal will be provided.

[0127] The terminal transmits a random access preamble sequence, i.e., message 1 (Msg1), on the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource; the terminal receives a Random Access Response (RAR) message, i.e., message 2 (Msg2), on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) / Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); the terminal transmits message 3 (Msg3) on the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Depending on the scenario, Msg3 carries various information; for example, when the terminal is in an idle state, Msg3 carries a Radio Resource Control (RRC) establishment request; the terminal receives a contention resolution message, i.e., message 4 (Msg4), on the PDSCH.

[0128] In this embodiment, in order to enable the network side to identify the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal as soon as possible, the first indication field can be placed in Msg3 of the random access procedure.

[0129] Therefore, during the random access process, the terminal carries the aforementioned first indication field in the Msg3 sent by the terminal to the network side, and the network-side equipment of the access network can determine the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal during the random access process.

[0130] In addition, network-side devices in the access network can send query commands to terminals to request a terminal to report the set of air interface processing configuration options it can support.

[0131] Secondly, it is necessary to consider the signaling messages used to indicate the application scenario to which the current communication service of the terminal belongs.

[0132] In one embodiment of this application, determining the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs may specifically include: determining the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs based on a second signaling message; wherein the second signaling message is provided with a second indication field for indicating the application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs.

[0133] As an example design, a bit width is defined as The field (here) (This indicates rounding up), denoted as the second indicator field, and the decimal number corresponding to the binary representation of the second indicator field is used to correspond to the application scenario number.

[0134] In one embodiment of this application, the aforementioned second indication field can be transmitted from the core network to the network-side device of the access network. Specifically, the core network sends a second signaling message, which includes a second indication field used to indicate the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs.

[0135] In addition, in specific implementations, the core network can also determine whether the application scenario of the terminal's current communication service matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal. This is because the terminal's support for the air interface processing configuration option set is usually forwarded to the core network by the network-side equipment of the access network, and the table used to characterize the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set can also be stored in the core network.

[0136] As can be seen, this application embodiment proposes a system design method that adaptively configures and uses different air interface technologies for different application scenarios, considering future mobile communication systems and the evolution of current mobile communication systems (e.g., future 6G systems and the potential new round of evolution of 5G systems). This allows the network to possess the characteristics of on-demand service and functional flexibility, thereby avoiding bloated system designs and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario. Furthermore, this application embodiment also includes a reasonable design for the signaling required to implement the proposed adaptive air interface technology configuration mechanism.

[0137] In one embodiment of this application, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the network slice identifier, wherein the network slice identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0138] Those skilled in the art will understand that after a terminal completes wireless network access, it needs to initiate authentication with the core network and complete the access and obtain service permissions in the system through a registration process. For terminals that have completed registration and authentication on the core network, the core network can detect the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs through relevant technical means.

[0139] In one implementation, the application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs is detected based on the network slice ID. Network slicing is a technology that divides network resources and services into multiple independent logical networks, providing specific network capabilities and quality of service for different application scenarios. This technology enables the programmability and flexibility of network resources, providing more personalized and customized services for various applications. Therefore, there is a correspondence between network slice identifiers and application scenarios, and the core network can determine the application scenario to which the terminal belongs based on the network slice identifier.

[0140] In one embodiment of this application, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the radio access technology identifier, wherein the radio access technology identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0141] Specifically, the application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs is detected based on the Radio Access Technology Type (RAT Type) defined by the system for different application scenarios. For example, in 5G systems, the 3GPP standardization working group, responsible for developing network architecture, protocols, and interfaces, has defined separate RAT Types for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), including New Radio Low Earth Orbit (NR LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (NR MEO), and Geostationary Earth Orbit (NR GEO).

[0142] After the core network detects the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs, it informs the network-side equipment of the access network through signaling messages.

[0143] To facilitate understanding, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be further described below with reference to the signaling flow diagram. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a signaling flow for a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0144] The core network sends signaling to the network-side equipment of the access network, indicating the application scenario to which the terminal's current communication service belongs. Here, the core network is either a space-based or ground-based core network, and the access network is either a space-based or ground-based access network. The access network has prior knowledge of the following two pieces of information: 1) the terminal's reported support for M air interface processing configuration option sets; and 2) the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option sets.

[0145] The access network can determine whether the application scenario of the terminal's current communication service matches the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal. If they do not match, a signaling message is sent to the terminal to instruct it to leave the network. This signaling message may carry the reason for the terminal leaving the network.

[0146] If a match is found, the network-side device in the access network can send a signaling message to the terminal. This signaling message informs the terminal of the application scenario to which the current communication service belongs. After knowing the application scenario, the terminal can also determine the corresponding air interface processing configuration option set based on the matching relationship between its stored application scenarios and air interface processing configuration option sets. Furthermore, if the terminal only supports one air interface processing configuration option set, the network-side device in the access network may not send this signaling message. That is, if the terminal is not denied network access, it will necessarily perform air interface communication based on the only air interface processing configuration option set it supports.

[0147] See Figure 3 This illustration shows a schematic diagram of a communication device using adaptive configuration air interface technology provided in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the device includes:

[0148] The first determining module 301 is used to determine the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs;

[0149] The second determining module 302 is used to determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. The air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step.

[0150] The judgment module 303 is used to determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set.

[0151] The communication module 304 is used to communicate with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario if the judgment result of the judgment module is yes.

[0152] It is evident that, for the next generation of integrated terrestrial and satellite mobile communication systems and the evolution of current mobile communication systems, a system design method that adaptively configures and uses different air interface technologies for different application scenarios is proposed. This allows the network to have the characteristics of on-demand service and functional flexibility, thereby avoiding bloated system design and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario.

[0153] In one embodiment of this application, if the first application scenario does not match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the terminal is instructed to disconnect from the network-side device of the access network.

[0154] In one embodiment of this application, the number of application scenarios supported by the system is greater than or equal to the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system.

[0155] In one embodiment of this application, the number of system-defined air interface processing configuration option sets is less than or equal to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional scheme options of each of the air interface processing technology links.

[0156] In one embodiment of this application, the air interface processing technology includes at least one or more of the following:

[0157] Waveform modulation technology, multiple access technology, channel coding technology, and multi-antenna transmission technology.

[0158] In one embodiment of this application, the optional configuration options of the multiple access technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0159] Frequency division multiple access, time division multiple access, code division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and non-orthogonal multiple access;

[0160] The optional checksum configuration options for the channel coding technique include at least one or more of the following:

[0161] Low-density parity-check codes, enhanced low-density parity-check codes, Hamming codes, and parallel concatenated convolutional codes;

[0162] The optional configuration options for the multi-antenna transmission technology include at least one or more of the following:

[0163] Multi-antenna transmission based on spatial diversity, multi-antenna transmission based on beamforming, multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiplexing, and multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiple access.

[0164] In one embodiment of this application, the application scenario includes at least one or more of the following:

[0165] Evolving enhanced mobile broadband scenarios, evolving low-latency and high-reliability communication scenarios, evolving massive machine-type communication scenarios, ubiquitous connectivity scenarios, scenarios integrating artificial intelligence and communication, and scenarios integrating sensing and communication.

[0166] In one embodiment of this application, the network-side device of the access network determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal based on a first signaling message sent by the terminal; wherein, the first signaling message is provided with a first indication field for indicating the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

[0167] In one embodiment of this application, the first signaling message is a signaling message used for terminal capability reporting.

[0168] In one embodiment of this application, the first indication field is set in a non-critical extended field of the first signaling message.

[0169] In one embodiment of this application, the first signaling message is Msg3 sent by the terminal during the random access process.

[0170] In one embodiment of this application, the bit width of the first indication field is M, where M is the number of predefined air interface processing configuration option sets.

[0171] In one embodiment of this application, the first determining module is specifically used to: determine the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs based on the second signaling message; wherein the second signaling message is provided with a second indication field for indicating the application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs.

[0172] In one embodiment of this application, the second signaling message originates from the core network.

[0173] In one embodiment of this application, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the network slice identifier, wherein the network slice identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0174] In one embodiment of this application, the second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the radio access technology identifier, wherein the radio access technology identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

[0175] This application also provides an electronic device, such as... Figure 4 As shown, it includes a processor 401, a communication interface 402, a memory 403, and a communication bus 404, wherein the processor 401, the communication interface 402, and the memory 403 communicate with each other through the communication bus 404.

[0176] Memory 403 is used to store computer programs;

[0177] When processor 401 executes the program stored in memory 403, it performs the following steps:

[0178] Determine the primary application scenario to which the terminal's communication services belong;

[0179] Determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal, wherein the air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step;

[0180] Based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set, determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal;

[0181] If so, communication is conducted with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

[0182] The communication bus mentioned in the above electronic devices can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used to represent it in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0183] The communication interface is used for communication between the aforementioned electronic devices and other devices.

[0184] The memory may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage device. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the aforementioned processor.

[0185] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, including central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), etc.; they can also be digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0186] It is evident that, for the next generation of integrated terrestrial and satellite mobile communication systems and the evolution of current mobile communication systems, a system design method that adaptively configures and uses different air interface technologies for different application scenarios is proposed. This allows the network to have the characteristics of on-demand service and functional flexibility, thereby avoiding bloated system design and achieving high cost-effectiveness for each application scenario.

[0187] In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the communication method of any of the above-described adaptive configuration air interface technologies.

[0188] In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product containing instructions is also provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the adaptive configuration air interface technology communication methods described in the above embodiments.

[0189] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk (SSD)).

[0190] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0191] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the embodiments of communication devices, network-side equipment, computer-readable storage media, and computer program products are basically similar to the communication method embodiments of adaptive configuration air interface technology, so the descriptions are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to in the descriptions of the communication method embodiments.

[0192] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method for adaptive configuration of air interface technology, characterized in that, The method, applied to network-side devices in an access network, includes: Determine the primary application scenario to which the terminal's communication services belong; Determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal, wherein the air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step; Based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set, determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal; If so, communication is conducted with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the first application scenario does not match the set of air interface processing configuration options supported by the terminal, the terminal is instructed to disconnect from the network-side device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of application scenarios supported by the system is greater than or equal to the number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of air interface processing configuration option sets defined by the system is less than or equal to the theoretical maximum number of air interface processing configuration option sets obtained by combining the optional schemes of each air interface processing technology link.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air interface processing technology includes at least one or more of the following: Waveform modulation technology, multiple access technology, channel coding technology, and multi-antenna transmission technology.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The optional configuration options for the multiple access technology include at least one or more of the following: Frequency division multiple access, time division multiple access, code division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access, and non-orthogonal multiple access; The optional checksum configuration options for the channel coding technique include at least one or more of the following: Low-density parity-check codes, enhanced low-density parity-check codes, Hamming codes, and parallel concatenated convolutional codes; The optional configuration options for the multi-antenna transmission technology include at least one or more of the following: Multi-antenna transmission based on spatial diversity, multi-antenna transmission based on beamforming, multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiplexing, and multi-antenna transmission based on spatial division multiple access.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The application scenarios include at least one or more of the following: Evolving enhanced mobile broadband scenarios, evolving low-latency and high-reliability communication scenarios, evolving massive machine-type communication scenarios, ubiquitous connectivity scenarios, scenarios integrating artificial intelligence and communication, and scenarios integrating sensing and communication.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The network-side device determines one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal based on the first signaling message sent by the terminal; wherein the first signaling message is provided with a first indication field for indicating the air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first signaling message is a signaling message used for terminal capability reporting.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first indication field is set in the non-critical extended fields of the first signaling message.

11. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first signaling message is Msg3 sent by the terminal during the random access process.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that, The first indication field has a bit width of M, where M is the number of predefined air interface processing configuration option sets.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs includes: According to the second signaling message, the first application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs is determined; wherein, the second signaling message is provided with a second indication field for indicating the application scenario to which the communication service of the terminal belongs.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The second signaling message originates from the core network.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the network slice identifier, wherein the network slice identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The second indication field in the second signaling message is determined based on the radio access technology identifier, wherein the radio access technology identifier corresponds to the application scenario.

17. A communication device with adaptive configuration air interface technology, characterized in that, The device is applied to network-side equipment in an access network, and includes: The first determining module is used to determine the first application scenario to which the terminal's communication service belongs; The second determining module is used to determine one or more air interface processing configuration option sets supported by the terminal. The air interface processing configuration option set includes: for each air interface processing technology step, a configuration option selected from one or more optional configuration options of the air interface processing technology step. The judgment module is used to determine whether the first application scenario matches the air interface processing configuration option set supported by the terminal based on the matching relationship between the application scenario and the air interface processing configuration option set. The communication module is used to communicate with the terminal based on the first air interface processing configuration option set that matches the first application scenario if the judgment result of the judgment module is yes.

18. A network-side device, characterized in that, It includes a processor, a communication interface, a memory, and a communication bus, wherein the processor, the communication interface, and the memory communicate with each other through the communication bus; Memory, used to store computer programs; A processor, when executing a program stored in memory, implements the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-16.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-16.

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