Quality of experience reporting for secondary cell group deactivation in dual connectivity

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to deactivated Quality of Experience (QoE) reporting for Secondary Cell Groups (SCGs) in dual connectivity (DC). In one aspect, a terminal device receives a quality of experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with signaling radio bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG) from a network device in dual connectivity. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmission of the QoE report when the SCG is deactivated. The QoE report is configured to be transmitted via SRB5. When the SCG is deactivated, the terminal device performs at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration. By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, an enhanced QoE report of SCG deactivation in a DC based on a QoE policy can be supported.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments generally relate to the field of communications, and particularly to network devices, terminal devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media relating to Quality of Experience (QoE) reporting for secondary cell group (SCG) deactivation in dual connectivity (DC). Background Technology

[0002] In communications technologies, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) agreed on the feature of Release (Rel)-17, which supports QoE reporting in New Radios (NR) over Signaling Radio Bearer 4 (SRB4). QoE includes RAN Visible QoE (RVQoE) and Container QoE. With the Rel-18 enhancement, 3GPP agreed to extend QoE reporting in NR-DC deployments.

[0003] However, in Rel-17, to enable reasonable user equipment (UE) battery consumption when the NR-DC is configured, and to achieve rapid SCG usage, an activation and deactivation mechanism for the SCG is supported. However, how to handle QoE report transmissions in the NR-DC when the SCG is deactivated is not yet defined. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In general, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide a network device, terminal device, method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for communication, such as an enhanced QoE report for SCG deactivation in a DC, and particularly for an enhanced QoE report for SCG deactivation in a DC based on a QoE policy.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: receive, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) from a network device, the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and when the SCG is deactivated, perform at least one operation related to the QoE reports based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: generate a QoE policy configuration for the terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and transmit the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. This method may include: receiving, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with a signaling radio bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG) from a network device, the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and when the SCG is deactivated, performing at least one operation related to the QoE reports based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. This method may include: generating a QoE policy configuration for the terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and sending the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include: components for receiving, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with a signaling radio bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and components for performing at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration when the SCG is deactivated.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus may include: components for generating a QoE policy configuration for a terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and components for transmitting the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to a third or fourth aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program including instructions is provided that, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to at least: receive, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with a signaling radio bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and, when the SCG is deactivated, perform at least one operation related to the QoE reports based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer program including instructions is provided that, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to at least: generate a QoE policy configuration for the terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and transmit the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include a receiving circuitry configured to: receive, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with a Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a Secondary Cell Group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and an execution circuitry configured to: when the SCG is deactivated, perform at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include a generating circuitry configured to: generate a QoE policy configuration for the terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and a transmitting circuitry configured to: transmit the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0016] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 The illustrations show examples of application scenarios in which some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented;

[0019] Figure 2 The illustration shows an example signaling process for QoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 3 The illustration shows an example signaling process for RVQoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4 The illustration shows an example signaling process for RVQoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC according to some other example embodiments of this disclosure;

[0022] Figure 5 The illustration shows an example signaling process for container QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6 The illustration shows an example signaling process for container QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC, according to some other example embodiments of this disclosure;

[0024] Figure 7 The illustration shows a flowchart of an example method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 8 The illustration shows a flowchart of another example method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 9 The illustration shows an example simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0027] Figure 10 An example block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

[0030] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0031] In this disclosure, references to "an embodiment," "embodiment," and "example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, those skilled in the art will understand that, whether explicitly described or not, combining it with other embodiments to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the scope of their knowledge.

[0032] It should be understood that although the terms “first” and “second”, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0033] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used herein also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further understanding is that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “containing,” and / or “comprise”, as used herein, specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “<at least one of a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0034] As used in this application, the term "circuit system" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementation using only analog and / or digital circuit systems), and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions of (multiple) microprocessors, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation is not required.

[0035] The definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit system" also covers only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or portions of hardware circuitry or a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit system" also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0036] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols and / or higher generation communication protocols. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will naturally be communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody future types of communication technologies and systems. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to the systems described above.

[0037] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Network devices can refer to base stations (BS) or access points (APs), such as Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also known as gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Header (RH), Remote Radio Header (RRH), relay, low-power nodes (such as femtoseconds, picoseconds), etc., depending on the terminology and technology used.

[0038] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, VoIP phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop installed devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, relay nodes, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0039] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink (UL) resource,” or “downlink (DL) resource” can refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, or resources in the code domain, resources in a combination of more than one domain, or any other resource capable of communication. In the following, resources in the time domain (such as subframes) will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0040] As stated above, 3GPP agrees to support QoE reporting in NR-DC scenarios. Rel-18 NR QoE objectives include enhancements such as specifying support for QoE in NR-DC, for example, enabling QoE reporting via the SN. More specifically, objectives include, for example, specifying QoE configuration and measurement reporting on the MN / SN for the NR-DC architecture, and specifying QoE measurement reporting on other DC tributaries to maintain reporting continuity; supporting RAN-visible QoE and radio-related measurement configuration and reporting in NR-DC scenarios; specifying QoE measurement continuity in mobility scenarios within NR-DC; and specifying the alignment of QoE measurements (including legacy QoE and RAN-visible QoE measurements) and radio-related measurements in NR-DC.

[0041] To support QoE reporting in NR-DC, the MCG can be configured with SRB4 for reporting QoE as defined in Rel-17 to the MN. Furthermore, in Rel-18, 3GPP agreed to introduce a new SRB, SRB5, pointing to the SCG for QoE reporting to the SN. The network can then use an explicit indication configured per QoE to specify which SRB is used for QoE reporting.

[0042] In Rel-17, to enable reasonable UE battery consumption when NR-DC is configured, and to achieve rapid SCG usage, an activation and deactivation mechanism for the SCG is supported. When the SCG is deactivated, transmissions will not be carried out via the SCG Radio Link Control (RLC) bearer. This means that the UE will not send Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), or Channel State Information (CSI) reports on the SCG, and the UE does not need to monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or receive the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) on the SCG.

[0043] For cases where SCG is deactivated, 3GPP has reached an agreement on the mechanism by which the UE should send data to the network, for example, when uplink data arrives at the Data Radio Bearer (DRB) and / or SRB3.

[0044] For uplink data arrival on (multiple) SCG bearers or DRBs, 3GPP has agreed that the UE, for example via a UEAssistanceInformation message, indicates to the MN that it has uplink data to send on an SCG bearer. For example, the UE can indicate that it has uplink data to send to a DRB without an MCG RLC bearer while the SCG is deactivated. Activating the SCG to send uplink data on the SCG bearer depends on the network implementation. It has been agreed that when an SCG is deactivated and uplink data exists for one or more SCG bearers, the UE sends an MN RRC message to indicate the presence of uplink data for one or more SCG bearers. The MN RRC message may include the information: "Uplink data exists for one or more SCG bearers." For example, the MN RRC message may include only this information, without other information.

[0045] Regarding UE assistance information, it has been agreed that if the SCG is deactivated and the UE has uplink data to send to the SCG RLC entity, and the UE previously had no uplink data to send to any SCG RLC entity, then if the DRB identifier is not included in any RLC-BearerConfig in the CellGroupConfig associated with the MCG, the transmission of UE assistance information is initiated to indicate that the UE has uplink data to send for the DRB. For example, UE assistance information can be sent as a UEAssistanceInformation message. If the transmission of UE assistance information is initiated to provide an indication that the UE has uplink data related to deactivating the SCG, the UE assistance information message includes a flag indicating the uplink data available for transmission.

[0046] For Protocol Data Units (PDUs) (uplink RRC messages) arriving on SRB3, it has been agreed that a UE-initiated SCG activation request should not be triggered. If the SCG is deactivated, the UE should submit an RRC message (e.g., MeasurementReport) to the MN via SRB1, even if SRB3 is configured in the SN. Otherwise, the UE should send a report to the SN via SRB3.

[0047] As mentioned above, how to handle QoE report transmissions in the NR-DC when the SCG is deactivated remains an open question. In other words, if the SCG is deactivated in the NR-DC and an SRB5 for QoE report transmission is configured for the SN, it is unclear how the UE should send reports to the network for QoE reports explicitly indicated to be sent via SRB5. Furthermore, RVQoE and container QoE may have different requirements, such as time-related requirements, and it may also be unclear how the UE should send RVQoE reports or container QoE reports.

[0048] Therefore, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide a technical solution for enhanced QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC, particularly for enhanced QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC based on a QoE policy. According to embodiments of this disclosure, a terminal device (e.g., a UE) receives a QoE policy configuration associated with an SRB5 for an SCG from a network device in dual connectivity. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be sent via the SRB5. Then, when the SCG is deactivated, the terminal device performs at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0049] It should be understood that the above process steps can work collaboratively, partially collaboratively, or independently in the operation flow described below. By implementing embodiments of this disclosure, enhanced RVQoE reporting and container QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a QoE-based DC can be supported.

[0050] For illustrative purposes, the following will refer to Figures 1 to 10 This disclosure describes the principles and exemplary embodiments of QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a QoE-based DC. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are given to enable those skilled in the art to understand the inventive concepts of this disclosure and implement the technical solutions presented herein, and not to limit the scope of this application in any way.

[0051] Figure 1 The illustration shows an example of an application scenario 100 in which some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The network environment 100, which may be part of a communication network, includes a terminal device 110, a first network device 120-1, and a second network device 120-2.

[0052] like Figure 1As shown, terminal device 110 can also be referred to as user equipment 110 or UE 110. First network device 120-1 can also be referred to as gNB 120-1. Second network device 120-2 can also be referred to as gNB 120-2. Terminal device 110 and first network device 120-1 can communicate with each other. Terminal device 110 and second network device 120-2 can also communicate with each other. First network device 120-1 and second network device 120-2 can also communicate with each other. UE 110 is located in an NR-DC. First network device 120-1 can be a primary node (MN), while second network device 120-2 can be a secondary node (SN). Alternatively, first network device 120-1 can be an SN, while second network device 120-2 can be an MN.

[0053] Figure 2 An example signaling procedure 200 for QoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC, according to some example embodiments of this disclosure, is illustrated. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Describe the process 200.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, terminal device (e.g., UE) 110 can be in dual connectivity with network device (e.g., first network device or MN) 120-1 and secondary node (e.g., second network device or SN) 120-2. SRB4 can be configured by the MCG associated with the first network device 120-1 for reporting QoE to the first network device 120-1. SRB5 can be configured by the SCG associated with the second network device 120-2 for reporting QoE to the second network device 120-2.

[0055] Based on the determination that the terminal device 110 in the dual connection is configured with a QoE configuration associated with SRB5 for the SCG, the first network device 120-1 generates a 205 QoE policy configuration for the terminal device 110. This QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be sent via SRB5 to secondary nodes included in the SCG. Then, the first network device 120-1 sends a 210 QoE policy configuration to the terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 receives the QoE policy configuration associated with SRB5 for the SCG from the network device 120-1 in the dual connection. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may be sent via an RRC message, for example, an RRC message carrying the QoE configuration.

[0056] The first network device 120-1 can determine that the SCG is deactivated (220) and send a message (225) to the terminal device 110 instructing the SCG to be deactivated. When the SCG is deactivated, the first network device 120-1 can perform at least one operation (230) related to QoE reporting based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the QoE report may include at least one of the container QoE report or the RVQoE report.

[0058] Container QoE reports are not time-critical transmissions. Container QoE reports may include application layer measurement reports received from the application layer of end device 110, encapsulated in a transparent container, and may be sent to the network, for example, in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. Container QoE reports are transparent to RAN nodes (e.g., first network device 120-1 or second network device 120-2).

[0059] RVQoE reports are time-critical transmissions and can be used by RAN nodes for network performance optimization. The size of RVQoE reports can be limited.

[0060] In some example embodiments, for RVQoE reports, at least one operation may include discarding the RVQoE report. In this case, considering that RVQoE reports are time-critical transmissions, if a time-critical RVQoE report used for RAN optimization cannot be sent to the RAN node due to SCG deactivation, the report may not need to be stored, and therefore the RVQoE report can be discarded. If the RVQoE report is sent too late, it may be useless.

[0061] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may be configured to directly discard RVQoE reports. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to discard RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to discard RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission for RVQoE reports is suspended. In this case, the suspension of SRB4 transmission for RVQoE reports indicates that SRB4 is suspended for sending RVQoE reports.

[0062] Alternatively or additionally, for RVQoE reporting, at least one operation may include sending the RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the MCG. In this case, the terminal device 110 switches the RVQoE report to be sent via SRB4 instead of SRB5. Since the MCG is active and SRB4 is available, the RVQoE report can be sent via SRB4.

[0063] In some example embodiments, for an RVQoE report, terminal device 110 may be configured to send an RVQoE report via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to send an RVQoE report via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of the RVQoE report has not been suspended. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to trigger the first network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send an RVQoE report based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured.

[0064] In some example embodiments, if a first network device 120-1 is triggered to configure SRB4 to send an RVQoE report, the first network device 120-1 can send an SCG deactivation indication for the terminal device 110 to a second network device 120-2, wherein the second network device 120-2 is included in the SCG. The first network device 120-1 can receive from the second network device 120-2 an indication that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. Based on the indication that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5, the first network device 120-1 can send an SRB4 configuration to the terminal device 110 to configure the SRB4 associated with the MCG including the first network device 120-1.

[0065] Alternatively or additionally, for an RVQoE report, at least one operation may include: sending first UE assistance information to a first network device 120-1 to request activation of the SCG, and after the SCG is activated, sending an RVQoE report to a second network device 120-2 via SRB5. In some example embodiments, the first UE assistance information may notify the first network device 120-1 that an RVQoE report will be reported.

[0066] In some example embodiments, for container QoE reporting, at least one operation may include: sending the container QoE report via SRB4 associated with MCG.

[0067] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may be configured to send container QoE reports via SRB4 based on a determination that SRB4 is configured. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to send container QoE reports via SRB4 based on a determination that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of container QoE reports is not suspended. In this case, the fact that transmission of container reports by SRB4 is not suspended indicates that SRB4 is not suspended for sending container reports. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may be configured to trigger network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send container QoE reports based on a determination that SRB4 is not configured.

[0068] Alternatively or additionally, for container QoE reports, at least one operation may include: sending second UE assistance information to a first network device 120-1 to request activation of the SCG based on determining that the utilization rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store container QoE reports is higher than a threshold, wherein the second UE assistance information may notify the first network device 120-1 that a container QoE report will be reported.

[0069] In some example embodiments, when at least one operation includes terminal device 110 sending second UE assistance information to first network device 120-1, the first network device 120-1 can receive the second UE assistance information from terminal device 110 when the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store container QoE reports is higher than a threshold. In such embodiments, terminal device 110 may suspend the reporting of container QoE reports, store the container QoE reports in the AS buffer, determine whether the utilization rate of the AS buffer is higher than the threshold, and based on the determination that the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store container QoE reports is higher than the threshold, send the second UE assistance information to first network device 120-1. In some example embodiments, the threshold may be predefined in the specification. Alternatively, the threshold may be configured by first network device 120-1.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information may notify the first network device 120-1 that a container QoE report will be reported. For example, the second UE assistance information may include the flag uplinkData-r17 for notifying the container QoE report that it will be reported. In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information may include an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the delay requirement for the QoE report in the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated. For example, the second UE assistance information may include an RRC ID (e.g., measConfigAppLayerId-r17) associated with the priority of the QoE configuration for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0071] Alternatively or additionally, for container QoE reports, the at least one operation may include storing the container QoE report in the AS buffer when SRB4 is not configured or when SRB4 is configured but transmission of the container QoE report is paused. In this case, considering that the container QoE report is not a time-critical transmission, the container QoE report can be stored for later use.

[0072] For example, at least one operation may include discarding the container QoE report. The end device may be made to discard the container QoE report by at least one of the following: directly discarding the container QoE report; discarding the container QoE report based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured; or discarding the container QoE report based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission for the container QoE report is suspended. This may be beneficial if the AS buffer is full or about to be full.

[0073] In some example embodiments, considering the priority or importance of QoE configurations, the first network device 120-1 can configure different QoE policies for different QoE configurations via RRC messages. For example, the QoE configuration can be configured such that when the SCG is deactivated, the QoE report corresponding to the high-priority QoE configuration is sent via SRB4. In another example, the QoE configuration can be configured such that when the SCG is deactivated, the RVQoE report corresponding to the low-priority QoE configuration is discarded. In yet another example, the QoE configuration can be configured such that when the SCG is deactivated, the container QoE report corresponding to the low-priority QoE configuration is stored in the AS buffer.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may be sent from the first network device 120-1 to the terminal device 110 before the SCG is deactivated. Alternatively, the QoE policy configuration may be sent from the first network device 120-1 to the terminal device 110 when the SCG is deactivated.

[0075] By implementing Figure 2 The implementation supports enhanced RVQoE reports and container QoE reports for SCG deactivation in the DC based on QoE policies. Through the aforementioned QoE policy, RVQoE reports and container QoE reports can be distinguished when the SCG is deactivated in the NR-DC. RVQoE reports can be sent via SRB4, ensuring timely QoE report transmission. Furthermore, unnecessary SCG reactivation can be avoided, thereby achieving efficient utilization of UE battery consumption.

[0076] Figure 3 An example signaling procedure 300 for RVQoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC, according to some example embodiments of this disclosure, is illustrated. It should be noted that procedure 300 can be considered as... Figure 2 The illustrated process 200 is an embodiment or a more specific example. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Describe the process 300.

[0077] like Figure 3As shown, terminal device (e.g., UE) 110 can be in dual connectivity with a first network device (e.g., network device or MN) 120-1 and a second network device (e.g., secondary node or SN) 120-2. SRB4 can be configured by the MCG associated with the first network device 120-1 for reporting QoE to the first network device 120-1. SRB5 can be configured by the SCG associated with the second network device 120-2 for reporting QoE to the second network device 120-2.

[0078] At point 305a, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration including QoE configuration 1, which has a reporting tributary of SRB4, to the terminal device 110. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 1 are configured to be reported to the first network device 120-1 via SRB4. At point 305b, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration of QoE configuration 2, which has a reporting tributary of SRB5, to the terminal device 110. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 2 are configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At point 305c, the second network device 120-2 can send a QoE configuration of QoE configuration 3, which has a reporting tributary of SRB5, to the terminal device 110. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 3 are configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. It should be understood that the QoE configurations 1-3 described above are merely examples, and the first network device 120-1 and the second network device 120-2 may send one or more other QoE configurations to the terminal device 110.

[0079] At point 310, the first network device 120-1 can generate a QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be sent via SRB5. The first network device 120-1 can generate the policy based on determining that the terminal device 110 in dual connectivity is configured with QoE configurations 2 and 3 associated with SRB5 for the SCG. The QoE reports configured to be sent via SRB5 may include QoE reports corresponding to QoE configurations 2 and 3. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may include: 1) an instruction for the UE to send an RVQoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured and transmission of RVQoE reports is not suspended; and 2) an instruction for the UE to discard an RVQoE report based on determining that SRB4 is configured but transmission of RVQoE reports is suspended.

[0080] At point 315a, terminal device 110 can send QoE report 1 with QoE configuration 1 to first network device 120-1 via SRB4. At point 315b, terminal device 110 can send QoE report 2 with QoE configuration 2 to second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At point 315c, terminal device 110 can send QoE report 3 with QoE configuration 3 to second network device 120-2 via SRB5. For points 315a to 315c, MCG and SCG are activated, and therefore SRB5 can be used to send QoE reports.

[0081] At point 320, the first network device 120-1 can determine that the SCG has been deactivated. At point 325, the first network device 120-1 can send a message to the terminal device 110 instructing the SCG to be deactivated. In some example embodiments, this message may also instruct the reporting tributary used for QoE configuration 2 to switch from SRB5 to SRB4.

[0082] In some example embodiments, at 330a, terminal device 110 may send RVQoE report 2 of QoE configuration 2 via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured and that transmission for RVQoE report 2 has not been suspended. Therefore, RVQoE can be sent to the first network device 120-1 in a timely manner. Alternatively, at 330b, terminal device 110 may discard RVQoE report 2 of QoE configuration 2 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission for RVQoE report 2 has been suspended.

[0083] Figure 4 An example signaling procedure 400 for RVQoE reporting of SCG deactivation in a DC is illustrated according to some other example embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that procedure 400 can be considered as... Figure 2 The illustrated process 200 is an embodiment or a more specific example. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Describe the process 400.

[0084] like Figure 4 As shown, terminal device (e.g., UE) 110 can be in dual connectivity with a first network device (e.g., network device or MN) 120-1 and a second network device (e.g., secondary node or SN) 120-2. SRB5 can be configured by the SCG associated with the second network device 120-2 for reporting QoE to the second network device 120-2. Figure 4 In the example, SRB4 was not configured in the initial stage.

[0085] At 405a, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration including QoE configuration 1, which has an SRB5 reporting tributary, to the terminal device 110. Therefore, the QoE report of QoE configuration 1 is configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. It should be understood that QoE configuration 1 as described above is merely an example, and the first network device 120-1 and the second network device 120-2 can send one or more other QoE configurations configured to report via SRB5 to the terminal device 110.

[0086] At 410, the first network device 120-1 can generate a QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports via SRB5 when the SCG is deactivated. The first network device 120-1 can generate the policy based on determining that the terminal device 110 in the dual-connection is configured with QoE configuration 1 associated with SRB5 of the SCG. The QoE report configured to be transmitted via SRB5 may include a QoE report corresponding to QoE configuration 1. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may include triggering the first network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send an RVQoE report based on determining that SRB4 is not configured.

[0087] At 405b, the first network device 120-1 may send QoE Configuration 1 with QoE policy configuration to the terminal device 110. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may instruct the reporting tributary of QoE Configuration 1 to switch from SRB5 to SRB4 when the SCG is deactivated.

[0088] At point 415, terminal device 110 can send a QoE report 1 of QoE configuration 1 to second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At point 415, MCG and SCG are activated, and therefore SRB5 can be used to send the QoE report. At point 420, first network device 120-1 can determine that SCG is deactivated.

[0089] Considering that QoE reports sent via SRB5 can be switched to SRB4, and SRB4 is not configured in the initial stage, it is necessary to configure SRB4. SRB4 can be configured for QoE report transmission in several ways, such as RVQoE reports. For example, at 425, the first network device 120-1 can send an SCG deactivation indication to the second network device 120-2. The second network device 120-2 is included in the SCG. At 430, the first network device 120-1 can receive from the second network device 120-2 an indication that RVQoE reports are configured to be sent via SRB5.

[0090] Then, at 435, based on the instruction that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5, the first network device 120-1 can send an SRB4 configuration to the terminal device 110 to configure the SRB4 associated with the MCG including the first network device 120-1.

[0091] At 440, the first network device 120-1 can send a message instructing the terminal device 110 to deactivate the SCG. At 445, the terminal device 110 can perform at least one operation related to QoE reporting based on the QoE policy configuration. For example, at 450, based on the QoE policy configuration, the terminal device 110 can send RVQoE report 1 to the first network device 120-1 via SRB4 according to SRB4 configuration 435.

[0092] Figure 5 An example signaling procedure 500 for container QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC is illustrated according to some example embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that procedure 500 can be considered as... Figure 2 The illustrated process 200 is an embodiment or a more specific example. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Describe the process 500.

[0093] like Figure 5 As shown, terminal device (e.g., UE) 110 can be in dual connectivity with a first network device (e.g., network device or MN) 120-1 and a second network device (e.g., secondary node or SN) 120-2. SRB4 can be configured by the MCG associated with the first network device 120-1 for reporting QoE to the first network device 120-1. SRB5 can be configured by the SCG associated with the second network device 120-2 for reporting QoE to the second network device 120-2.

[0094] At point 505a, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration including QoE configuration 4 to the terminal device 110, which has a reporting tributary of SRB4. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 4 are configured to be reported to the first network device 120-1 via SRB4. At point 505b, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration of QoE configuration 5 to the terminal device 110, which has a reporting tributary of SRB5. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 5 are configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At point 505c, the second network device 120-2 can send a QoE configuration of QoE configuration 6 to the terminal device 110, which has a reporting tributary of SRB5. Therefore, QoE reports for QoE configuration 6 are configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. It should be understood that the QoE configurations 4-6 described above are merely examples, and the first network device 120-1 and the second network device 120-2 may send one or more other QoE configurations to the terminal device 110.

[0095] At point 510, the first network device 120-1 can generate a QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports configured to be sent via SRB5 when the SCG is deactivated. The first network device 120-1 can generate the policy based on determining that the terminal device 110 in dual connectivity is configured with QoE configurations 5 and 6 associated with SRB5 for the SCG. The QoE reports configured to be sent via SRB5 may include QoE reports corresponding to QoE configurations 5 and 6. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may include an instruction for the UE to send UE assistance information to the network device to request SCG activation when the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store container QoE reports is higher than a threshold. The UE assistance information notifies the first network device 120-1 that a container QoE report will be reported.

[0096] At point 515a, terminal device 110 can send a QoE report 4 with QoE configuration 4 to the first network device 120-1 via SRB4. At point 515b, terminal device 110 can send a QoE report 5 with QoE configuration 5 to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At point 515c, terminal device 110 can send a QoE report 6 with QoE configuration 6 to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. For points 515a to 515c, MCG and SCG are activated, and therefore SRB5 can be used to send QoE reports.

[0097] At point 520, the first network device 120-1 can determine that the SCG has been deactivated. At point 525, the first network device 120-1 can send a message to the terminal device 110 instructing the SCG to be deactivated. In some example embodiments, when the usage rate of the AS buffer used to store the container QoE report of QoE configuration 5 is higher than a threshold, the message can also instruct the terminal device 110 to send UE assistance information to the first network device 120-1 to request SCG activation.

[0098] At 530, terminal device 110 may pause the reporting of container QoE reports for QoE configuration 5. At 535, terminal device 110 may store the container QoE reports for QoE configuration 5 in the AS buffer. At 540, terminal device 110 may determine whether the utilization rate of the AS buffer used for storing container QoE reports is higher than a threshold. If terminal device 110 determines that the utilization rate of the AS buffer used for storing container QoE reports is not higher than the threshold, process 500 will proceed to 535, and terminal device 110 may continue to store container QoE reports for QoE configuration 5 in the AS buffer. Otherwise, if terminal device 110 determines that the utilization rate of the AS buffer used for storing container QoE reports is higher than the threshold, process 500 will proceed to 545.

[0099] At point 545, terminal device 110 may send UE assistance information to first network device 120-1 to request SCG activation. For example, the UE assistance information may include the flag uplinkData-r17 for notifying the container that a QoE report will be reported. In some example embodiments, the UE assistance information may include an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of a priority of the QoE configuration or a delay requirement for QoE reporting for the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated. For example, second UE assistance information may include an RRC ID (e.g., measConfigAppLayerId-r17) associated with a priority of the QoE configuration for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0100] At 550, the first network device 120-1 can send a message indicating SCG activation to the terminal device 110. At 555, since the SCG has been reactivated, the terminal device 110 can send a container QoE report 5 to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5.

[0101] Figure 6 An example signaling procedure 600 for container QoE reporting for SCG deactivation in a DC is illustrated according to some other example embodiments of this disclosure. It should be noted that procedure 600 can be considered as... Figure 2The illustrated process 200 is an embodiment or a more specific example. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figure 1 Describe the process 600.

[0102] like Figure 6 As shown, terminal device (e.g., UE) 110 can be in dual connectivity with first network device (e.g., network device or MN) 120-1 and second network device (e.g., secondary node or SN) 120-2. SRB4 may or may not be configured by the MCG associated with the first network device 120-1 for reporting QoE to the first network device 120-1. SRB5 may be configured by the SCG associated with the second network device 120-2 for reporting QoE to the second network device 120-2.

[0103] At 605a, the first network device 120-1 can send a QoE configuration including QoE configuration 4, which has an SRB5 reporting tributary, to the terminal device 110. Therefore, the QoE report for QoE configuration 4 is configured to be reported to the second network device 120-2 via SRB5. It should be understood that QoE configuration 4 as described above is merely an example, and the first network device 120-1 and the second network device 120-2 can send one or more other QoE configurations configured to be reported via SRB5 to the terminal device 110.

[0104] At 610, the first network device 120-1 can generate a QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports via SRB5 when the SCG is deactivated. The first network device 120-1 can generate the policy based on determining that the terminal device 110 in the dual-connection is configured with a QoE configuration 4 associated with SRB5 for the SCG. The QoE report configured to be transmitted via SRB5 may include a QoE report corresponding to QoE configuration 4. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may include: 1) instructions to transmit a container QoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured and transmission of container QoE reports is not suspended; and 2) instructions to store the container QoE report in an AS buffer when SRB4 is not configured or when SRB4 is configured but transmission of container QoE reports is suspended.

[0105] At 605b, the first network device 120-1 may send QoE configuration 4 with QoE policy configuration to the terminal device 110. In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may instruct the reporting tributary of QoE configuration 4 to switch from SRB5 to SRB4 when SCG is deactivated.

[0106] At point 615, terminal device 110 can send a QoE report 4 of QoE configuration 4 to second network device 120-2 via SRB5. At 615, MCG and SCG are activated, and therefore SRB5 can be used to send the QoE report. At point 620, first network device 120-1 can determine that SCG is deactivated. At point 625, first network device 120-1 can send a message to terminal device 110 instructing SCG to be deactivated.

[0107] Based on the message instructing SCG deactivation, terminal device 110 can perform at least one operation related to QoE reporting based on the QoE policy configuration. For example, at 630a, based on the QoE policy configuration, terminal device 110 can send container QoE report 4 to the first network device 120-1 via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured and transmission for RVQoE reports is not suspended. For another example, at 630b, based on the QoE policy configuration, terminal device 110 can store the container QoE report in the AS buffer based on determining that SRB4 is not configured or that SRB4 is configured but transmission for container QoE reports is suspended.

[0108] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example method 700 implemented at a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figures 1-6 Method 700 is described from the perspective of terminal device 110.

[0109] At block 710, terminal device 110 can receive, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG) from network device 120-1. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5. At block 720, when the SCG is deactivated, terminal device 110 can perform at least one operation related to QoE reporting based on the QoE policy configuration.

[0110] In some example embodiments, a QoE report may include at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report. In some example embodiments, for an RVQoE report, at least one operation may include at least one of the following: discarding the RVQoE report; sending the RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or sending first UE assistance information to network device 120-1 to request activation of the SCG, and after the SCG is activated, sending the RVQoE report to network device 120-1 via SRB5, wherein the first UE assistance information notifies network device 120-1 that an RVQoE will be reported.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may be caused to discard the RVQoE report by at least one of the following: directly discarding the RVQoE report; discarding the RVQoE report based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured; or discarding the RVQoE report based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but the transmission of the RVQoE report is suspended.

[0112] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may be caused to send an RVQoE report via SRB4 by at least one of the following: sending an RVQoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured; sending an RVQoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of the RVQoE report has not been suspended; or triggering network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send an RVQoE report based on determining that SRB4 is not configured.

[0113] In some example embodiments, at least one operation may include sending an RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the MCG, and the terminal device 110 may be caused to send an RVQoE report to the network device 120-1 via SRB4.

[0114] In some example embodiments, for container QoE reporting, at least one operation may include at least one of the following: sending the container QoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); sending second UE assistance information to network device 120-1 to request activation of SCG based on determining that the utilization rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than a threshold, wherein the second UE assistance information notifies network device 120-1 that the container QoE report will be reported; or storing the container QoE report in the AS buffer based on determining that SRB4 is not configured or that SRB4 is configured but transmission for container QoE reports is suspended.

[0115] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may be caused to send a container QoE report via SRB4 by at least one of the following: sending a container QoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured; sending a container QoE report via SRB4 based on determining that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of the container QoE report has not been suspended; or triggering network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send a container QoE report based on determining that SRB4 is not configured.

[0116] In some example embodiments, at least one operation may include sending a container QoE report via SRB4 associated with the MCG. Terminal device 110 may be configured to send a container QoE report to network device 120-1 via SRB4. In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may trigger network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to send the container QoE report, and terminal device 110 may also be configured to receive SRB4 configuration from network device 120-1.

[0117] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may be caused to send second UE assistance information by: suspending the container QoE report to be reported; storing the container QoE report in an AS buffer; determining whether the utilization rate of the AS buffer is higher than a threshold; and sending the second UE assistance information to network device 120-1 based on the determination that the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than the threshold.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information may include: an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the delay requirement of the QoE report for the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0119] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating another example method 800 implemented at a network device (e.g., network device 120-1) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For ease of understanding, reference will be made to... Figures 1-6 Method 800 is described from the perspective of network device 120-1.

[0120] At block 810, based on the determination that terminal device 110 in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) of the secondary cell group (SCG), network device 120-1 can generate a QoE policy configuration for terminal device 110. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be sent via SRB5. At block 820, network device 120-1 can send the QoE policy configuration to terminal device 110.

[0121] In some example embodiments, a QoE report may include at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report. In some example embodiments, for an RVQoE report, the QoE policy configuration may instruct at least one of the following: discard the RVQoE report; send the RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or send first UE assistance information to network device 120-1 to request SCG activation, and after the SCG is activated, send the RVQoE report to network device 120-1 via SRB5, wherein the first UE assistance information notifies network device 120-1 that an RVQoE report will be reported.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration indicating the discarding of RVQoE reports may include at least one of the following: directly discarding RVQoE reports; discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured; or discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission of RVQoE reports is suspended.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration instructing the transmission of RVQoE reports via SRB4 may include at least one of the following: transmitting RVQoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured; transmitting RVQoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of RVQoE reports is not suspended; or triggering network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to transmit RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may instruct the transmission of RVQoE reports via SRB4, and network device 120-1 may also be configured to receive RVQoE reports from terminal device 110 via SRB4.

[0125] In some example embodiments, network device 120-1 may be a master node for terminal device 110 and is triggered to configure SRB4 to send RVQoE reports. Network device 120-1 may also be configured to: send an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node 120-2 in terminal device 110, wherein the secondary node 120-2 is included in the SCG; receive an indication from the secondary node 120-2 that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5; and, based on the indication that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5, send an SRB4 configuration to terminal device 110 to configure SRB4 associated with the MCG including master node 120-1.

[0126] In some example embodiments, for container QoE reports, the QoE policy configuration may instruct at least one of the following: sending the container QoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); sending second UE assistance information to network device 120-1 to request activation of SCG when the utilization rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than a threshold, wherein the second UE assistance information notifies network device 120-1 that the container QoE report will be reported; or storing the container QoE report in the AS buffer when SRB4 is not configured or SRB4 is configured but transmission for the container QoE report is suspended.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration instructing the transmission of container QoE reports via SRB4 may include at least one of the following: transmitting container QoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured; transmitting container QoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of container QoE reports is not suspended; or triggering network device 120-1 to configure SRB4 to transmit container QoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may instruct the sending of container QoE reports via SRB4, and network device 120-1 may also be configured to receive container QoE reports from terminal device 110 via SRB4.

[0129] In some example embodiments, network device 120-1 may be a master node for terminal device 110 and is triggered to configure SRB4 to send container QoE reports. Network device 120-1 may also be configured to: send an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node 120-2 in terminal device 110, wherein the secondary node 120-2 is included in the SCG; receive an indication from the secondary node 120-2 that the container QoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5; and, based on the indication that the container QoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5, send an SRB4 configuration to terminal device 110 to configure the SRB4 associated with the MCG including master node 120-1.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration may instruct the transmission of second UE assistance information, and the network device 120-1 may also be configured to receive second UE assistance information from the terminal device 110 when the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store container QoE reports is higher than a threshold.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information may include: an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the delay requirement of the QoE report for the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0132] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 700 (e.g., terminal device 110) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 700. These components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: components for receiving, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with a signaling radio bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be transmitted via the SRB5; and components for performing at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration when the SCG is deactivated.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the QoE report includes at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report.

[0135] In some example embodiments, for RVQoE reporting, the component for performing at least one operation related to QoE reporting based on QoE policy configuration when the SCG is deactivated includes at least one of the following: a component for discarding the RVQoE report; a component for sending the RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or a component for sending first UE assistance information to the network device to request SCG activation and sending the RVQoE report to the network device via SRB5 after the SCG is activated, wherein the first UE assistance information notifies the network device that the RVQoE report will be reported.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the component for discarding RVQoE reports includes at least one of the following: a component for directly discarding RVQoE reports; a component for discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured; or a component for discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission for RVQoE reports is suspended.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the component for sending an RVQoE report via an SRB4 associated with an MCG includes at least one of the following: a component for sending an RVQoE report via an SRB4 based on a determination that the SRB4 is configured; a component for sending an RVQoE report via an SRB4 based on a determination that the SRB4 is configured and that transmission of the RVQoE report has not been suspended; or a component for triggering a network device to configure the SRB4 to send an RVQoE report based on a determination that the SRB4 is not configured.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for sending an RVQoE report to a network device via SRB4.

[0139] In some example embodiments, for container QoE reporting, the components for performing at least one operation related to QoE reporting based on QoE policy configuration when the SCG is deactivated include at least one of the following: components for sending the container QoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); components for sending second UE assistance information to the network device to request SCG activation based on determining that the utilization rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than a threshold, wherein the second UE assistance information notifies the network device that the container QoE report will be reported; or components for storing the container QoE report in the AS buffer based on determining that SRB4 is not configured or that SRB4 is configured but transmission for the container QoE report is suspended.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the component for sending a container QoE report via an SRB4 associated with the MCG includes at least one of the following: a component for sending a container QoE report via an SRB4 based on a determination that the SRB4 is configured; a component for sending a container QoE report via an SRB4 based on a determination that the SRB4 is configured and that the transmission of the container QoE report has not been suspended; or a component for triggering a network device to configure the SRB4 to send a container QoE report based on a determination that the SRB4 is not configured.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for sending container QoE reports to network devices via SRB4.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for receiving SRB4 configuration from a network device.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the components for sending the second UE assistance information include: components for suspending the reporting of container QoE; components for storing the container QoE report in an AS buffer; components for determining whether the utilization rate of the AS buffer is higher than a threshold; and components for sending the second UE assistance information to the network device based on the determination that the utilization rate of the AS buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than the threshold.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information includes: an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the delay requirement of the QoE report for the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0145] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 800 (e.g., network device 120-1) may include components for performing corresponding steps of method 800. These components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: components for generating a QoE policy configuration for a terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via SRB5; and components for transmitting the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the QoE report includes at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report.

[0148] In some example embodiments, for an RVQoE report, the QoE policy configuration instructs at least one of the following: discard the RVQoE report; send the RVQoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or send first UE assistance information to the network device to request activation of the SCG, and after the SCG is activated, send the RVQoE report to the network device via SRB5, wherein the first UE assistance information notifies the network device that an RVQoE report will be reported.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration that instructs the discarding of RVQoE reports includes at least one of the following: directly discarding RVQoE reports; discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured; or discarding RVQoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but transmission for RVQoE reports is suspended.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration that instructs the transmission of RVQoE reports via SRB4 includes at least one of the following: based on determining that SRB4 is configured, transmitting RVQoE reports via SRB4; based on determining that SRB4 is configured and that transmission of RVQoE reports is not suspended, transmitting RVQoE reports via SRB4; or based on determining that SRB4 is not configured, triggering the network device to configure SRB4 to transmit RVQoE reports.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for receiving RVQoE reports from a terminal device via SRB4.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a master node for a terminal device, and the apparatus further includes: components for sending an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node in the terminal device, wherein the secondary node is included in the SCG; components for receiving an indication from the secondary node that is configured to be sent via SRB5 in an RVQoE report; and components for sending an SRB4 configuration to the terminal device based on the indication that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5 to configure an SRB4 associated with the MCG including the master node.

[0153] In some example embodiments, for container QoE reports, the QoE policy configuration instructs at least one of the following: sending the container QoE report via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); sending second UE assistance information to the network device to request activation of the SCG when the utilization rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than a threshold, wherein the second UE assistance information notifies the network device that the container QoE report will be reported; or storing the container QoE report in the AS buffer when SRB4 is not configured or when SRB4 is configured but transmission of the container QoE report is suspended.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the QoE policy configuration that instructs the transmission of container QoE reports via SRB4 includes at least one of the following: transmitting container QoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured; transmitting container QoE reports via SRB4 based on the determination that SRB4 is configured and that the transmission of container QoE reports is not suspended; or triggering the network device to configure SRB4 to transmit container QoE reports based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for receiving container QoE reports from a terminal device via SRB4.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a master node for a terminal device, and the apparatus further includes: components for sending an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node in the terminal device, wherein the secondary node is included in the SCG; components for receiving an indication from the secondary node that a container QoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5; and components for sending an SRB4 configuration to the terminal device based on the indication that the container QoE report is configured to be sent via SRB5 to configure an SRB4 associated with the MCG including the master node.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for receiving second UE assistance information from a terminal device when the usage rate of the AS buffer used for storing container QoE reports is higher than a threshold.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the second UE assistance information includes: an identifier of the QoE configuration associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the delay requirement of the QoE report for the QoE configuration, for determining whether the SCG needs to be activated.

[0159] Figure 9 A simplified example block diagram of an apparatus 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. The apparatus 900 may be provided to implement communication devices or network elements, such as… Figure 1 Network devices 120-1, 120-2, and terminal device 110 are shown. As shown, device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 that can be coupled to processor 910, and one or more communication modules 940 that can be coupled to processor 910.

[0160] The communication module 940 is used for bidirectional communication. The communication module 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements; for example, the communication interface can be a wireless or wired interface to other network elements, or a software-based interface for communication.

[0161] Processor 910 can be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0162] Memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disc (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0163] Computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. Program 930 may be stored in ROM 924. Processor 910 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading program 930 into RAM 922.

[0164] The embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by a program, such that device 900 can execute the reference. Figures 2 to 8 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0165] In some example embodiments, program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 900 (such as memory 920) or other storage device accessible to device 900. Device 900 may load program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 10 An example of a computer-readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. A program 930 is stored on the computer-readable medium.

[0166] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented using hardware, while others can be implemented using firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0167] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above-mentioned... Figure 7 or Figure 8 The method described is 700 or 800. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of a program module can be combined or split among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of a program module can be executed on a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, a program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0168] Program code used to perform the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. This program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0169] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0170] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term "non-transient" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signaling), not a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0171] Furthermore, although operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring the operations to be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or to perform all of the shown operations to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0172] Although this disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: In dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) is received from a network device. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via the SRB5. as well as When the SCG is deactivated, at least one operation related to the QoE report is performed based on the QoE policy configuration.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the QoE report includes at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein for the RVQoE report, the at least one operation includes at least one of the following: Discard the RVQoE report; The RVQoE report is sent via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or The network device is sent a first UE assistance message to request the activation of the SCG, and after the SCG is activated, the network device is sent the RVQoE report via the SRB5, wherein the first UE assistance message informs the network device that the RVQoE will be reported.

4. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the terminal device is configured to discard the RVQoE report by at least one of the following: Discard the RVQoE report directly; Based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured, the RVQoE report is discarded; or Based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but the transmission for the RVQoE report is suspended, the RVQoE report is discarded.

5. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the terminal device is configured to send the RVQoE report via the SRB4 via at least one of the following: Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured, the RVQoE report is sent via the SRB4; Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured and that the transmission for the RVQoE report has not been suspended, the RVQoE report is sent via the SRB4; or Based on the determination that the SRB4 is not configured, the network device is triggered to configure the SRB4 in order to send the RVQoE report.

6. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the at least one operation includes sending the RVQoE report via the SRB4 associated with the MCG, the terminal device being caused to: The RVQoE report is sent to the network device via the SRB4.

7. The terminal device of claim 2, wherein for the container QoE report, the at least one operation includes at least one of the following: The container QoE report is sent via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); Based on the determination that the usage rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than a threshold, a second UE assistance information is sent to the network device to request activation of the SCG, wherein the second UE assistance information informs the network device that the container QoE report will be reported; or Based on the determination that the SRB4 is not configured or that the SRB4 is configured but the transmission of the container QoE report is suspended, the container QoE report is stored in the AS buffer.

8. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the terminal device is configured to send the container QoE report via the SRB4 via at least one of the following: Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured, the container QoE report is sent via the SRB4; Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured and that the transmission of the container QoE report has not been suspended, the container QoE report is sent via the SRB4; or Based on the determination that the SRB4 is not configured, the network device is triggered to configure the SRB4 in order to send the container QoE report.

9. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the at least one operation includes sending the container QoE report via the SRB4 associated with the MCG, the terminal device being caused to: The container QoE report is sent to the network device via the SRB4.

10. The terminal device according to claim 5 or 8, wherein the terminal device triggers the network device to configure the SRB4 to send the container QoE report, and the terminal device is further configured to: Receive SRB4 configuration from the network device.

11. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the terminal device is configured to send the second UE assistance information by: Suspend the QoE reporting for the container that will be reported; Store the container QoE report in the AS buffer; Determine whether the utilization rate of the AS buffer is higher than the threshold; as well as Based on the determination that the usage rate of the AS buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than the threshold, the second UE assistance information is sent to the network device.

12. The terminal device according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the second UE assistance information includes: An identifier of the QoE configuration, associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the requirement for delay in QoE reporting for the QoE configuration, is used to determine whether the SCG needs to be activated.

13. A network device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: Based on the determination that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), a QoE policy configuration is generated for the terminal device, the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be sent via the SRB5. as well as Send the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the QoE report includes at least one of a container QoE report or a radio access network visible QoE (RVQoE) report.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein, for the RVQoE report, the QoE policy configuration indicates at least one of the following: Discard the RVQoE report; The RVQoE report is sent via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); or The network device is sent a first UE assistance message to request the activation of the SCG, and after the SCG is activated, the network device is sent the RVQoE report via the SRB5, wherein the first UE assistance message informs the network device that the RVQoE will be reported.

16. The network device of claim 15, wherein the QoE policy configuration instructing the discarding of the RVQoE report includes at least one of the following: Discard the RVQoE report directly; Based on the determination that SRB4 is not configured, the RVQoE report is discarded; or Based on the determination that SRB4 is configured but the transmission for the RVQoE report is suspended, the RVQoE report is discarded.

17. The network device of claim 15, wherein the QoE policy configuration instructing the transmission of the RVQoE report via the SRB4 includes at least one of the following: Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured, the RVQoE report is sent via the SRB4; Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured and that the transmission for the RVQoE report has not been suspended, the RVQoE report is sent via the SRB4; or Based on the determination that the SRB4 is not configured, the network device is triggered to configure the SRB4 in order to send the RVQoE report.

18. The network device of claim 15, wherein the QoE policy configuration instruction is sent via the SRB4 to the RVQoE report, and the network device is further configured to: The RVQoE report is received from the terminal device via the SRB4.

19. The network device of claim 17, wherein the network device is a master node for the terminal device and is triggered to configure the SRB4 to send the RVQoE report, and the network device is further configured to: Sending an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node for the terminal device, wherein the secondary node is included in the SCG; The instruction to receive the RVQoE report from the secondary node is configured to be sent via the SRB5; and Based on the instruction that the RVQoE report is configured to be sent via the SRB5, an SRB4 configuration is sent to the terminal device to configure the SRB4 associated with the MCG including the master node.

20. The network device of claim 14, wherein, for the container QoE report, the QoE policy configuration indicates at least one of the following: The container QoE report is sent via SRB4 associated with the primary cell group (MCG); When the usage rate of the access stratum (AS) buffer used to store the container QoE report exceeds a threshold, a second UE assistance message is sent to the network device to request activation of the SCG, wherein the second UE assistance message notifies the network device that the container QoE report will be reported; or When the SRB4 is not configured or the SRB4 is configured but the transmission of the container QoE report is paused, the container QoE report is stored in the AS buffer.

21. The network device of claim 20, wherein the QoE policy configuration instructing the transmission of the container QoE report via the SRB4 includes at least one of the following: Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured, the container QoE report is sent via the SRB4; Based on the determination that the SRB4 is configured and that the transmission of the container QoE report has not been suspended, the container QoE report is sent via the SRB4; or Based on the determination that the SRB4 is not configured, the network device is triggered to configure the SRB4 in order to send the container QoE report.

22. The network device of claim 20, wherein the QoE policy configuration instruction is sent via the SRB4 to the container QoE report, and the network device is further configured to: The container QoE report is received from the terminal device via the SRB4.

23. The network device of claim 21, wherein the network device is a master node for the terminal device and is triggered to configure the SRB4 to send the container QoE report, and the network device is further configured to: Sending an SCG deactivation indication to a secondary node for the terminal device, wherein the secondary node is included in the SCG; Receiving the container QoE report from the secondary node is configured to be sent via the SRB5; and Based on the instruction that the container QoE report is configured to be sent via the SRB5, an SRB4 configuration is sent to the terminal device to configure the SRB4 associated with the MCG including the master node.

24. The network device of claim 20, wherein the QoE policy configuration instructs the transmission of the second UE assistance information, and the network device is further configured to: When the usage rate of the AS buffer used to store the container QoE report is higher than the threshold, the second UE assistance information is received from the terminal device.

25. The network device according to any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein the second UE assistance information includes: An identifier of the QoE configuration, associated with at least one of the priority of the QoE configuration or the requirement for delay in QoE reporting for the QoE configuration, is used to determine whether the SCG needs to be activated.

26. A method comprising: In dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) is received from a network device. The QoE policy configuration indicates a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be transmitted via the SRB5. as well as When the SCG is deactivated, at least one operation related to the QoE report is performed based on the QoE policy configuration.

27. A method comprising: Based on the determination that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), a QoE policy configuration is generated for the terminal device, the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting QoE reports when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE reports are configured to be sent via the SRB5. as well as Send the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

28. An apparatus comprising: Components for receiving, in dual connectivity, a Quality of Experience (QoE) policy configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) from a network device, the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be transmitted via the SRB5. as well as A component for performing at least one operation related to the QoE report based on the QoE policy configuration when the SCG is deactivated.

29. An apparatus comprising: A component for generating a QoE policy configuration for a terminal device based on determining that the terminal device in dual connectivity is configured with a Quality of Experience (QoE) configuration associated with Signaling Radio Bearer 5 (SRB5) for a secondary cell group (SCG), the QoE policy configuration indicating a policy for transmitting a QoE report when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the QoE report is configured to be transmitted via the SRB5. as well as A component used to send the QoE policy configuration to the terminal device.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being configured to at least perform the method according to claim 26 or 27.

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