Communication method, terminal and network side equipment

Abstract

Disclosed are a communication method, a terminal and a network side device, belonging to the field of communications, the communication method comprising: when a terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in a radio resource control RRC non-connected state, the terminal determining a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes, and executing a first behavior according to the target communication mode, the first behavior including a UE behavior in an RRC non-connection state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a communication method, terminal, and network-side equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In communication systems, terminals may support multiple communication methods to perform RRC connectionless communication. Currently, related technologies do not take into account that terminals will support multiple communication methods to perform RRC connectionless communication, resulting in the inability to improve the overall performance of the communication system, such as spectral efficiency and energy efficiency, based on the communication methods supported by the terminal. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a communication method, a terminal, and a network-side device, which can solve the problem that the performance of a communication system cannot be improved based on the communication methods supported by the terminal.

[0004] Firstly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: When the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the non-connected state of Radio Resource Control (RRC), the terminal determines a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes and performs a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the non-connected state of RRC.

[0005] Secondly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising: The core network device sends the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state, and the terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC non-connection state.

[0006] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, the method comprising at least one of the following: The first access network device receives or sends the sixth information, which includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state. The first access network device receives third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal; The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

[0007] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, the device comprising: The processing module is configured to, when the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state, determine a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes, and perform a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the RRC disconnected state.

[0008] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, the device comprising: The first sending module is used to send sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication mode currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state and the communication mode supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state, and the terminal supports at least two communication modes in the RRC non-connection state.

[0009] Sixthly, a communication device is provided, the device comprising: A first communication module is configured to receive or send sixth information, the sixth information including at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; and / or, The second communication module is used to receive third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal; The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, the device being configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect, or to implement the steps of the method described in the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a terminal is provided, the terminal including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the first aspect.

[0012] A ninth aspect provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to, when the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) disconnected state, determine a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes, and perform a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the RRC disconnected state.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, a network-side device is provided, the network-side device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the steps of the method as described in the second aspect, or, when executed by the processor, the program or instructions implement the steps of the method as described in the third aspect.

[0014] Eleventhly, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to send sixth information of a terminal to a first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication mode currently used by the terminal in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) disconnected state and the communication mode supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state, and the terminal supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive or send sixth information, the sixth information including at least one of the communication mode currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication mode supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; and / or, to receive third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication mode preferred or requested by the terminal; wherein the terminal supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state.

[0016] In a thirteenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect, or the steps of the method described in the third aspect.

[0017] In a fourteenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal, a core network device (i.e., an access network device), wherein the terminal is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the core network device is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the second aspect, and the access network device is configured to perform the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0018] In a fifteenth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to run a program or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or the method as described in the second aspect, or the method as described in the third aspect.

[0019] In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the methods of the first, second, or third aspects.

[0020] In this embodiment, for a terminal that simultaneously supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state, a target communication method can be selected, and the communication method of the UE behavior in the RRC disconnected state can be executed according to the target communication method, so that the needs of the terminal in different scenarios (coverage, power saving) can be met. At the same time, the network side can organically integrate the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal, thereby improving the performance of the entire system. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1A This is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 1B This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the low-power receiver provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method proposed in one embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method proposed in another embodiment of this application.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method proposed in another embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to another embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to another embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of this application.

[0030] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of this application.

[0031] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network-side device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0032] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network-side device according to another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0034] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0035] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as one in which the sender explicitly informs the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc.; an indirect instruction can be understood as one in which the receiver determines the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc., based on the judgment result.

[0036] It is worth noting that the technologies described in this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as with other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes New Radio (NR) systems for illustrative purposes, and the term NR is used in most of the following description; however, these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) radio systems. th Generation 6G communication system.

[0037] Figure 1AThis diagram illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, flight vehicle, vehicle user equipment (VUE), shipboard equipment, pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home devices (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), game consoles, personal computers (PCs), ATMs, or self-service machines, etc. Wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart chains, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among these, in-vehicle devices can also be referred to as in-vehicle terminals, in-vehicle controllers, in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips, or in-vehicle units, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this application embodiment. Network-side equipment 12 may include access network equipment or core network equipment, wherein access network equipment may also be referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, radio access network function, or radio access network unit. Access network equipment may include base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points (AS), or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) nodes, etc.In this context, a base station may be referred to as a Node B (NB), an Evolved Node B (eNB), a Next Generation Node B (gNB), a New Radio Node B (NR Node B), an Access Point, a Relay Base Station (RBS), a Serving Base Station (SBS), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a Radio Base Station, a Radio Transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a Home Node B (HNB), a Home Evolved Node B, a Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), or any other suitable term in the relevant field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved. The base station is not limited to any specific technical terminology. It should be noted that in this application embodiment, only a base station in an NR system is used as an example for introduction, and the specific type of base station is not limited.

[0038] Core network equipment, also known as core network nodes, core network functions, or core network elements, includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (or L-NEF), and Binding Support Function. Support Functions (BSF), Application Functions (AF), Location Management Functions (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centres (GMLC), and Network Data Analytics Functions (NWDAF), etc. It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses core network equipment in a 5G system as an example for description, and does not limit the specific type of core network equipment. If the name of the core network equipment mentioned in this application embodiment changes in subsequent protocol versions (e.g., 6G), it will also be within the scope of protection of this application.

[0039] Optionally, the core network equipment can be implemented by one or more functional modules in a single device, or by multiple devices working together; this application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the aforementioned functional modules can be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0040] To address the problem that the performance of the entire communication system cannot be improved due to the lack of a solution that can organically integrate different communication methods, this application proposes a communication solution that can organically integrate different communication methods.

[0041] In some embodiments, the merged communication methods include at least two communication methods in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) disconnected state.

[0042] The at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0043] The following section introduces technologies related to LPWUS.

[0044] I. Low-power receiver A low-power receiver, also known as a low-power wake-up radio (LP-WUR) or an almost zero-power wake-up radio (AZP-WUR), operates on the principle that the receiver comprises a first module and a second module, as detailed below. Figure 1BAs shown, the first module is the main communication module, used for sending and receiving mobile communication data. The second module is a low-power receiver module (also called a low-power wake-up receiver module), used to receive the wake-up signal. In power-saving mode, the terminal activates the low-power receiver module to monitor LP-WUS and disables the main communication module. When downlink data arrives, the network-side device sends a wake-up signal to the terminal. After the terminal detects the wake-up signal through the low-power receiver module and performs a series of checks, it triggers the main communication module to turn on from off. At this time, the low-power receiver module transitions from the active state to the off state. The low-power wake-up receiver module can be continuously or intermittently activated, and when activated, it can receive low-power wake-up signals.

[0045] II. Low-power wake-up signal LPWUS To reduce receiving activity in standby mode and effectively shut down the radio frequency (RF) and modem modules, thereby significantly reducing power consumption during communication reception, this can be achieved by introducing a near-zero power receiver into the terminal's receiver module. This near-zero power receiver eliminates the need for complex RF module signal detection (such as amplification, filtering, quantization, etc.) and modem signal processing, relying solely on passive matched filtering and low-power signal processing.

[0046] On the base station side, by triggering a wake-up signal on demand, the receiver with near-zero power can be activated to receive the activation notification, thereby triggering a series of processes within the terminal, such as turning on the radio frequency transceiver and baseband processing modules.

[0047] Such wake-up signals are typically simple on-off keying signals, allowing the receiver to detect the wake-up notification through simple energy detection and subsequent sequence detection and recognition. Furthermore, while the terminal activates its low-power wake-up receiver to receive the wake-up signal, the main receiver module can maintain a low power consumption level, thus saving power by receiving the wake-up signal.

[0048] The reception of low-power wake-up signals can be applied to terminals in the RRC idle / inactive state or in the RRC connected state, thereby achieving terminal energy saving.

[0049] To cover more communication methods in the RRC disconnected state, it can be assumed that the at least two communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method. Correspondingly, when the first communication method is a narrowband communication method, the second communication method can be a wideband communication method. For example, narrowband can be 5MHz or less, and wideband can be 20MHz or more. When the first communication method is an LPWUS communication method, the second communication method can be a non-LPWUS communication method, such as communication via a master receiver. When the first communication method is an LPWA communication method, the second communication method can be a non-LPWA communication method, such as eMBB. When the first communication method is a repeated reception method, the second communication method can be a non-repeated reception method. Taking paging reception behavior as an example, the first communication method can allow the terminal to listen to paging multiple times within a paging listening cycle, while the second communication method can allow the terminal to listen to paging only once within a paging listening cycle. When the first communication method is a low-capability communication method, the second communication method can be a non-low-capability communication method. Low capability may include, but is not limited to, low antenna capability, low multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) capability, low operating bandwidth, and low modulation order.

[0050] Among them, the RRC non-connected state includes the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state.

[0051] Before introducing the specific solutions, let's take the first communication method as a narrowband communication method and the second communication method as a broadband communication method as an example to illustrate the network deployment scenario.

[0052] In communication systems that integrate narrowband and broadband communication methods, both broadband and narrowband can be deployed on the same band or frequency. From the perspective of reducing network deployment costs, broadband and narrowband communication methods may be co-located. However, for deployment flexibility, non-co-location deployment is also possible. For example, in mountainous areas, forest areas, or farms, a separate narrowband base station might be deployed to cover LPWA devices within a 10km radius. In co-location scenarios, broadband and narrowband communication methods may be deployed on different frequencies, or they may be deployed on the same frequency using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM). Alternatively, the common signals in the RRC non-connectivity state (such as synchronization signals and system messages) may be segmented, allowing narrowband terminals to receive only part (part 1) and broadband terminals to receive the complete signal (part 2). Based on these possible network deployment scenarios, the network may contain broadband cells, narrowband cells, and cells that simultaneously support both broadband and narrowband.

[0053] Based on the above network deployment assumptions, some terminals may support both broadband and narrowband communication methods simultaneously to improve the performance of both the terminal and the network.

[0054] For example, for a mobile phone, supporting narrowband communication on top of broadband communication may not bring much increase in cost and complexity, but in certain situations (such as areas with poor broadband coverage), it can ensure basic communication by relying on the additional coverage provided by narrowband cells.

[0055] For example, broadband cells may enter a dormant mode based on dynamic changes in services. When a terminal wants to camp on such a cell, it needs to wake up the cell first. If the terminal can camp on a narrowband cell at this time, it does not need to frequently wake up the dormant broadband cell due to the medium-to-high-speed mobility of the RRC non-connectivity state. When the terminal's service is available, it can then access the network through the broadband cell, thereby improving network and terminal energy efficiency.

[0056] Extending this to other communication methods in RRC disconnected states, the network may contain cells that only support the first communication method, cells that only support the second communication method, and cells that support both the first and second communication methods. Correspondingly, some terminals may only support the first communication method, some terminals may only support the second communication method, and some terminals may support both the first and second communication methods.

[0057] Based on the above network deployment assumptions, this application proposes a communication method. The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, details the communication method provided by this application through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0058] like Figure 2 As shown, a communication method proposed in one embodiment of this application may include: Step 201: When the terminal UE supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state, the terminal determines the target communication method from the at least two communication methods and performs a first action according to the target communication method, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the RRC disconnected state.

[0059] In some embodiments, the target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state, or in other words, the target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state. Furthermore, the target communication method may be the communication method initially used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state, or the target communication method may be the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

[0060] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0061] It should be noted that the coverage level can be the number of retransmissions or rereceptions required to achieve a certain coverage target, or the number of retransmissions or rereceptions required to improve coverage by M dB compared to a certain coverage target.

[0062] It is understood that the at least two communication methods may differ in only one of the above features, or the combination of features may be completely different or partially different (for example, the coverage level and the number of transmission antennas of the two communication methods are different). For ease of understanding, the following example is provided: For example, at least two communication methods include a first communication method, a second communication method, and a third communication method. The first communication method, the second communication method, and the third communication method differ only in their coverage levels. The coverage levels of the first communication method, the second communication method, and the third communication method are X1, X2, and X3, respectively.

[0063] For example, the first communication method, the second communication method, and the third communication method differ only in the number of receiving antennas. The number of receiving antennas in the first communication method, the second communication method, and the third communication method are 1, 2, and 4, respectively.

[0064] For example, the first, second, and third communication methods differ in coverage level and the number of receiving antennas. For instance, the first communication method has a coverage level of X1 and 1 receiving antenna, the second communication method has a coverage level of X2 and 2 receiving antennas, and the third communication method has a coverage level of X3 and 4 receiving antennas.

[0065] For example, the first, second, and third communication methods differ in coverage level, number of receiving antennas, and bandwidth. For instance, the first communication method has a bandwidth of 3MHz, a coverage level of X1, and 2 receiving antennas; the second communication method has a bandwidth of 5MHz, a coverage level of X2, and 4 receiving antennas; and the third communication method has a bandwidth of 5MHz, a coverage level of X1, and 2 receiving antennas.

[0066] The at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0067] The first behavior may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Community selection; Community re-selection; Paging reception; Initial access; System information reception; Small data communication includes terminals receiving small data and / or terminals sending small data, wherein small data includes signaling and / or data.

[0068] The following describes the execution of the first action according to the target communication method through several specific embodiments.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first action includes cell selection, and the target communication method is a target communication method. Performing the first action according to the target communication method may include: The terminal performs cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If the terminal finds a suitable cell on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method, it will camp on that cell.

[0070] In some embodiments, the first action includes cell selection, and the target communication method is a target communication method. Performing the first action according to the target communication method may include: The terminal performs cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If the terminal does not find a suitable cell on the frequency corresponding to the target communication mode, it switches the target communication mode to another communication mode and performs cell selection under the other communication mode.

[0071] Wherein, if the target communication method is the first communication method, the other communication method after switching can be the second communication method.

[0072] For example, assuming the first communication method is narrowband communication and the second communication method is broadband communication, when the target communication method is the first communication method, the terminal can use narrowband communication to perform cell search. Specifically, the terminal searches for the strongest cell at each frequency that supports narrowband. Once the terminal finds a suitable narrowband cell, it camps on that cell. If the terminal does not find a suitable cell in narrowband communication, it can switch the target communication method to broadband communication and then search for the strongest cell at each frequency that supports broadband. Once the terminal finds a suitable broadband cell, it camps on that cell.

[0073] The target communication method may be determined by at least one of the following: The agreement stipulates; Network-side device configuration; Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card pre-configuration.

[0074] In some implementations, the terminal can perform cell search based on at least two supported communication methods. In this case, it may simultaneously find at least two of the following types of cells: Type 1 cells, Type 2 cells, and Type 3 cells. Type 1 cells support only the first communication method, Type 2 cells support only the second communication method, and Type 3 cells support both the first and second communication methods. In this situation, the terminal can select a suitable cell to camp on using at least one of the following methods: The terminal selects the appropriate cell to stay in through its own implementation; The terminal selects a suitable cell to camp on based on the priority information of the first type of cell, the second type of cell, and the third type of cell as agreed in the protocol. For example, it is agreed that the UE will preferentially camp on a cell that supports broadband. If the terminal cannot find a suitable broadband cell, then the terminal can camp on a suitable narrowband cell. The terminal selects a suitable suitable cell (Suitable Cell) to camp on based on the priority information of the first, second, and third types of cells configured in the core network equipment, thereby improving the network's control flexibility. This method is also equivalent to the terminal prioritizing the communication mode in the RRC connectionless state (or the initial / default RRC connectionless state communication mode) during the cell selection process.

[0075] Among these, a suitable cell, that is, a cell that can provide normal service, needs to meet the following conditions: 1) Meets the cell selection criterion (S criterion); 2) It is not a prohibited cell, meaning the cell status is not "barred"; 3) The tracking area where the cell is located does not fall under the "Forbidden Tracking Areas"; 4) The cell is located in the public land mobile (communication) area selected by the UE. network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN) or a registered PLMN or an equivalent PLMN.

[0076] The following is a brief introduction to the neighborhood selection criteria (S criterion).

[0077]

[0078] Wherein, Srxlev = Qrxlevmeas – (Qrxlevmin + Qrxlevminoffset ) – Pcompensation – Qoffsettemp; Qrxlevmeas: Measures the RSRP value of a cell; Qrxlevmin: Minimum received signal level; This parameter represents the minimum received signal level of a cell. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for the cell to meet the S rule and become a suitable cell, making it more difficult for the UE to select the cell, and vice versa.

[0079] Qrxlevminoffset: Minimum receive level offset for the cell. Only applicable when the UE is camped on a virtual common land. Mobile network （ Virtual Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN）， This parameter is only used when cell selection is triggered by periodic searches of high-priority PLMNs. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for that cell to meet the S rule and become a suitable cell, thus increasing the difficulty of selecting that cell, and vice versa.

[0080] The formula `Pcompensation = max(PEMAX1 – PPowerClass, 0)` (dB) is used to penalize UEs that do not reach the cell's maximum power. Here, `PEMAX1` is the maximum transmit power allowed for the UE in that cell, and `PPowerClass` is the UE's transmit power capability.

[0081] Qoffsettemp: A temporary offset applied to this cell, used for connection failure control. Where Squal = Qqualmeas – (Qqualmin + Qqualminoffset) - Qoffsettemp, Qqualmeas: Measures the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value of a cell; Qqualmin: Minimum Received Signal Quality; This parameter represents the minimum received signal quality required for cell selection, controlling the ease or difficulty of cell selection. This parameter is issued in System Information Block 5 (SIB5). Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for the cell to meet the S rule, making it less suitable for selection, and vice versa.

[0082] Qqualminoffset: Minimum received signal quality offset value; This parameter represents the minimum received signal quality offset of a cell and is applied to the cell selection criterion (S criterion) formula. This parameter is only used when the UE is camped on a VPLMN and cell selection is triggered due to periodic searches of higher-priority PLMNs. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for that cell to meet the S rule and become a suitable cell, thus increasing the difficulty of selecting that cell, and vice versa.

[0083] When the terminal is in RRC disconnected state, after cell selection, the terminal needs to continuously monitor the signal quality of neighboring cells and the current cell in order to camp on a cell with higher priority or better channel quality. When the signal quality and frequency of a neighboring cell meet the S criterion and certain reselection decision criteria, the UE will camp on that cell.

[0084] In one embodiment, if the at least two communication methods are two communication methods, the other communication method is a communication method other than the target communication method among the two communication methods.

[0085] In another implementation, if the at least two communication methods include at least three communication methods simultaneously, the other method is one of the at least three communication methods other than the target communication method. The specific communication method of the other communication method can be a protocol agreement or a UE implementation.

[0086] In some embodiments, the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal include a first communication method and a second communication method, and the first action includes cell reselection. Executing the first action according to the target communication method may include: The terminal receives at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information sent by the network-side device, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection; The terminal determines target configuration information according to the target communication method, wherein the target configuration information is at least one of first configuration information and second configuration information; The terminal performs cell reselection based on the target configuration information.

[0087] The terminal determining the target configuration information based on the target communication method may include: If the target communication method is the first communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the first configuration information; If the target communication method is the second communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the second configuration information; If the target communication method includes the first communication method and the second communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to include the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0088] In one embodiment, the terminal can receive configuration information sent by the network side corresponding to each of the at least two communication methods. The configuration information corresponding to each communication method is configuration information used to support the terminal of each communication method to perform cell reselection.

[0089] When the terminal supports both the first communication method and the second communication method, the target communication method may include both the first communication method and the second communication method. Accordingly, the terminal determines the target configuration information based on the target communication method, which may include at least one of the following: Method 1 allows the terminal to autonomously decide whether to use the first or second configuration information as the target configuration information. In other words, the terminal decides which set of configuration information to use, for example, based on its current battery level and other status information. It should be noted that in this method, the network-side device assumes the terminal may be operating in either communication mode. Therefore, paging requests for this terminal need to be sent on resources corresponding to both communication modes, such as both broadband and narrowband resources.

[0090] Method 2: The protocol stipulates that the terminal will use one of the first configuration information and the second configuration information as the target configuration information.

[0091] Method 3: The terminal can use two sets of configuration information (first configuration information and second configuration information) simultaneously for cell reselection, and the priorities of different frequencies or cells in the two sets of configuration information can be compared.

[0092] Further, the terminal performs cell reselection based on the target configuration information, including: The terminal determines the priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell according to the target configuration information and / or protocol agreement, and performs cell reselection according to the priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell. The first neighboring cell only supports the first communication method, the second neighboring cell only supports the second communication method, and the third neighboring cell supports both the first communication method and the second communication method.

[0093] The priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell can be determined by at least one of the following: 1) The target configuration information includes frequency priority parameters for the frequencies of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell. For example, the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell are on frequencies A, B, and C, respectively, and the target configuration information includes frequency priority parameters X1, X2, and X3 for frequencies A, B, and C. Furthermore, the frequency of the cell currently camped by the terminal also has a priority parameter (configured by the network side or a default priority if not configured). When the frequency priority of any one of the first, second, or third neighboring cells is higher than the frequency priority of the cell currently camped by the terminal, the terminal reselects to that cell using the higher frequency priority cell reselection criterion. When the frequency priority of any one of the first, second, or third neighboring cells is equal to the frequency priority of the cell currently camped by the terminal, the terminal reselects to that cell using the same frequency priority cell reselection criterion. If the frequency priority of one of the first, second, or third neighboring cells is lower than the frequency priority of the cell currently camped by the terminal, the terminal will reselect to that cell using the low-frequency priority cell reselection criterion.

[0094] 2) The target configuration information includes the cell priority parameters of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell; for example, the target configuration information includes the cell priority parameters of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell as Y1, Y2, and Y3. The terminal can also determine the relative priority between the three cells by comparing the magnitudes of Y1, Y2, and Y3 when the frequency priorities are the same, where Y1, Y2, and Y3 can be the offset values ​​used in the R criterion.

[0095] 3) The cell priority rules for the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell as agreed in the protocol. For example, the protocol may stipulate that broadband cells take precedence over narrowband cells, or that cells that support both modes take precedence over cells that support only one mode.

[0096] Since the target configuration information includes at least one of the first configuration information and the second configuration information, it can be seen from items 1) and 2) above that regardless of whether the terminal supports the second communication method, the first communication method, or both, the network-side device can configure different types of cell / frequency priority parameters for the terminal, for example: Method 1: For neighboring cells that support both communication methods, the cell information or frequency information of the neighboring cell is configured in the first configuration information and the second configuration information; the network can adjust the priority of different types of cells by configuring different priority parameters for different frequencies. This method can also be considered as non-explicit configuration, or transparent to the UE.

[0097] Method 2: The network is configured separately with cell information or frequency information of neighboring cells that support both communication methods. This configuration is used to support cell reselection for terminals using all communication methods. Compared to the first and second configuration information, this configuration can define priority rules. The priority can be protocol-defined, for example, stipulating that this configuration has the highest priority. Alternatively, the priority can be network-configured, and the network can also configure different priority rules for terminals using different communication methods.

[0098] There are multiple ways for the terminal to obtain the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, or in other words, the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information can be sent by the network-side device in multiple ways.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information may be carried by system information.

[0100] For example, for a cell that simultaneously supports a first communication mode and a second communication mode, the system information may include a first part (part 1) and a second part (part 2), which are respectively sent by the network-side device. The first part is received by terminals supporting the first communication mode, and the second part is received by terminals supporting the second communication mode. In this case, the first configuration information can be carried in the first part, and the second configuration information can be carried in the second part. For terminals that support both communication modes, the first configuration information can be carried in the first part, and the second configuration information can be carried in the second part.

[0101] For example, for a cell that simultaneously supports both the first and second communication methods, the system information may include a first part (part 1) and a second part (part 2). The first and second parts are sent separately by the network-side equipment. The first part is received by both terminals supporting the first and second communication methods, while the second part is received only by terminals supporting the second communication method. In this case, to reduce signaling overhead, the first and second configuration information can have common configurations and their own dedicated configurations. For example, frequency information (including frequency point and frequency priority) and cell identification information can be configured separately, while the quality / power threshold for high-priority frequency point cell reselection, the neighbor cell offset for same-priority cell reselection, and the serving cell quality / power threshold and neighbor cell quality / power threshold for low-priority cell reselection can be common configurations. The common configurations are carried in part 1, the dedicated configurations corresponding to the first communication method are placed in part 1, and the dedicated configurations corresponding to the second communication method are carried in part 2.

[0102] Optionally, some content in the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information may also be carried in dedicated signaling (such as an RRC release message).

[0103] Based on the above explanation of cell reselection, the following is an example of cell reselection: Assume the terminal supports both broadband communication (eMBB) and narrowband communication (e.g., LPWA), and the terminal is camped on cell A, which supports both communication methods. The cell reselection process may include: Step 1: The terminal receives first configuration information and second configuration information from cell A. The first configuration information is used to support the terminal in narrowband communication mode to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal in broadband communication mode to perform cell reselection.

[0104] Step 2: The terminal negotiates with the network-side equipment in advance to use narrowband communication. When the terminal camps in that cell, it camps in narrowband communication mode and performs cell reselection evaluation based on the first configuration information. If the cell reselection conditions are met, the terminal performs cell reselection. For example, the terminal measures high-priority narrowband frequency cells f1 and f2. If the signal quality of the cell meets the configured cell reselection conditions, the terminal reselects to the corresponding narrowband cell.

[0105] It should be noted that after the terminal successfully camps on the serving cell, it will continuously perform measurements within the serving cell. To minimize UE power consumption due to measurements, the RRC layer calculates the S criterion based on the RSRP / RSRQ measurement results and compares it with the intra-frequency measurement initiation threshold (Sintrasearch) and inter-frequency measurement initiation threshold (Snonintrasearch) as the decision-making condition for whether to initiate neighboring cell measurements. The UE measures the serving cell signal and detects the serving cell signal strength Srxlev or quality Squal.

[0106] Same-frequency measurement initiation criteria: Srxlev <= Sintrasearch and / or Squal <= Snonintrasearch.

[0107] Inter-frequency measurement initiation criteria (for frequencies with the same or lower priority): Srxlev <= Snonintrasearch and / or Squal <= Sintrasearch.

[0108] During cell reselection, in addition to considering cell priority information, the terminal needs to measure neighboring cells to assess channel quality. The measurement criterion for cell reselection is called the R criterion. Among neighboring cells that meet the R criterion, the network can control UE camping by setting different frequency priorities; the UE will select the cell with the best channel quality on a certain frequency to provide the best service.

[0109] The following explains the situations regarding bar restrictions during the selection or reselection of a cell.

[0110] In some embodiments, a cell can control the camping of terminals using different communication methods based on its own load and energy consumption. That is, the cell can control the camping of terminals with different capabilities through different bar parameters. For example, for a cell that only supports narrowband, if resources are scarce, the narrowband cell may need to bar terminals that support both modes, allowing terminals that only support narrowband communication to camp.

[0111] In view of this, optionally, Figure 2 The communication method proposed in the illustrated embodiment may further include: During cell selection or cell reselection, the terminal determines whether it is allowed to camp in the first cell based on the target communication method and the first information sent by the first cell; or... During the process of cell selection or cell reselection, the terminal determines whether it is allowed to camp in the first cell based on at least two communication methods supported by the terminal and the first information sent by the first cell. The first information is used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, and the conditions are related to the communication method.

[0112] Further, determining whether the terminal is allowed to camp in the first cell based on the target communication method and the first information sent by the first cell may include: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals operating in the target communication mode from residing, then it is considered that the terminal is not allowed to reside in the first cell; If the first information indicates that the first cell allows terminals operating in the target communication mode to camp, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

[0113] Further, determining whether the terminal is allowed to camp in the first cell based on at least two communication methods supported by the terminal and the first information sent by the first cell includes: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals that support at least two communication methods from residing, then the terminal is considered to be prohibited from residing in the first cell. If the terminal supports all the communication methods required to be allowed to camp in the first cell as indicated in the first information, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell. If the terminal supports any one of the communication methods indicated in the first information that are required to be allowed to camp in the first cell, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

[0114] It should be noted that for a terminal that supports at least two communication methods in the RRC non-connected state, there are multiple ways for the terminal to determine the target communication method from the at least two methods. One method is described below.

[0115] In some embodiments, for a terminal that supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state, the network-side device may configure or indicate the target communication method to the terminal. That is, the terminal determining the target communication method from the at least two communication methods may include: The terminal receives second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the second information is used to configure or indicate the target communication method.

[0116] The second information is indicated by at least one of the following: Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages; System information; Downlink Control Information (DCI); Paging messages; Short message.

[0117] Optionally, before the terminal determines the target communication method from the at least two communication methods, the method may further include: the terminal reporting UE capability information to the network-side device, wherein the UE capability information includes the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal. Specifically, the terminal can report the UE capability information to the network-side device via a UE capability information message. The network-side device is either an access network device or a core network device. If the network-side device is an access network device (such as a base station), the access network device can forward the UE capability information to the core network device for use by the core network device when the terminal is in RRC idle state. Furthermore, when the UE is in RRC connected state / RRCINACTIVE, the core network device also needs to send the UE capability information to the terminal's serving base station so that the serving base station can use it when the terminal is in RRC inactive state. As one implementation, the UE capability information can be transparently transmitted to the access network device, for example, carried by a container. Optionally, the above process can be a registration process or a Tracking Area Update (TAU) process.

[0118] Optionally, before the terminal receives the second information sent by the network-side device, the method may further include: The terminal sends third information to the network-side device, wherein the third information is used to indicate the target communication method preferred or requested by the terminal.

[0119] Specifically, before the terminal receives the second information sent by the network-side device, the terminal reports its preferred / suggested target communication method to the network-side device, and the network-side device ultimately determines the communication method used by the terminal; or, the terminal reports the communication method it requests to use to the network side and receives confirmation information from the network side.

[0120] For example, the process of negotiating and determining the target communication method between the terminal and the network-side equipment may include the following steps: Step 1: The terminal reports UE capability information to the network-side device. This UE capability information indicates the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC connectionless state. For example, the terminal can report its own UE capability information to the network-side device through a UE capability information message.

[0121] Optionally, in step 2, the target terminal reports its preferred / suggested target communication method to the network-side device, or the terminal reports its requested target communication method to the network side.

[0122] Step 3: The terminal receives second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the second information is used to configure / instruct / confirm the target communication method.

[0123] Further, in step 4, when the terminal is in the RRC disconnected state, the terminal operates according to the target communication mode configured / instructed / confirmed by the second information, for example, it performs the first action according to the target communication mode configured / instructed / confirmed by the second information. The first action may be at least one of the UE actions such as paging reception, system message reception, and cell reselection.

[0124] If a terminal supporting both narrowband and wideband communication initiates initial access (random access) on narrowband resources to establish an RRC connection, the access network device can only obtain the terminal's UE capability information from the core network device after the terminal enters the RRC connection state and AS security is activated. During this period, the terminal will be scheduled as a narrowband terminal, potentially increasing access latency. However, the terminal has wideband communication capabilities to shorten access latency. Therefore, the terminal can indicate its wideband communication capability to the network side as early as possible during the initial access and RRC connection establishment processes. Thus, the target communication method also includes the communication method used by the terminal when initiating initial access. For example, if the terminal receives a paging message using a pre-negotiated narrowband communication method in the current cell, the terminal initiates initial access based on the wideband communication method. Furthermore, the terminal initiates initial access on resources dedicated to wideband communication configured on the network side. These resources include initial access preamble resources and / or initial access timing (RO) resources. Thus, when the network side receives msg 1, it knows that the terminal supports wideband communication. If there are no initial access resources specifically for broadband communication, the terminal can indicate its ability to support broadband communication by carrying other information during the initial access process.

[0125] Optionally, the initial access performed by the terminal based on the broadband communication method can be determined in the following manner: Method 1: UE implementation; Method 2: Negotiate with the network side in advance to initiate the initial access using the broadband communication method; or, if the configuration or indication in the current cell's system message, short message, or paging message received by the terminal is detected, instruct the terminal to initiate the initial access based on the broadband communication method.

[0126] Furthermore, due to the longer coverage of narrowband, the target communication method for initiating initial access can be determined according to protocol agreements or network-side configuration criteria. For example, if the network side configures a signal quality threshold, the terminal can initiate initial access using broadband communication if the signal quality of the current cell is greater than or equal to the threshold, and can initiate initial access using narrowband communication if the signal quality of the current cell is less than the threshold.

[0127] It should be noted that the terminal can use the same communication method for cell selection, cell reselection, paging reception, system information reception, and initial access in the RRC non-connected state, or it can use different communication methods for each.

[0128] Optionally, Figure 2 The communication method proposed in the illustrated embodiment may further include: The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the stationed cell, wherein the fourth message is used to instruct the terminal to switch the target communication mode; The terminal switches the target communication mode from the first communication mode to another communication mode based on the fourth information.

[0129] The fourth information may be carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; DCI.

[0130] Specifically, if a terminal is camped in a cell that supports both communication methods, that cell can also switch the terminal's communication method via broadcast (system information, short message, paging message, DCI). For example, assuming the first communication method is narrowband and the second is broadband, after a terminal that only supports broadband communication is banned in that cell, if the network wants to send common signals and system information to narrowband terminals or terminals supporting both communication methods using only narrowband, and if the terminal that supports both communication methods is configured with broadband communication, it can be directly changed to narrowband communication by that cell via broadcast and can continue to camp in that cell without needing to renegotiate with the core network.

[0131] Optionally, if the terminal needs to change the target communication method, the terminal needs to notify the network side or negotiate with the network side again. Therefore, Figure 2 The communication method proposed in the illustrated embodiment may further include: The terminal sends a fifth message to the network-side device, wherein the fifth message is used to notify the network-side device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fourth message is used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

[0132] To give a more specific example, assuming the target communication method is the one used by the terminal when receiving a paging message, the process of the terminal and the network-side device negotiating and determining the communication method used when receiving a paging message may include the following steps: Step 1: The terminal reports UE capability information to the network-side device. This UE capability information is used to indicate the communication methods supported by the terminal for receiving paging messages.

[0133] Step 2: The terminal receives second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the second information is used to configure / indicate the communication method used when receiving paging.

[0134] Step 3: When the terminal is in RRC disconnected state, the terminal receives a paging message according to the communication method configured / indicated by the second information.

[0135] Step 4: When the terminal is in RRC disconnected state, the terminal receives fourth information sent by the camped cell, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate the communication mode used by the terminal when receiving paging. Optionally, the camped cell can notify the terminal to switch the communication mode used when receiving paging through system messages, short messages, or DCI, etc.

[0136] It is understood that when a terminal supporting at least two communication methods is camped in a cell that also supports at least two communication methods, the terminal can use different communication methods for different UE behaviors (such as paging reception and initial access) in the RRC disconnected state.

[0137] For example, the terminal can negotiate only with the network-side equipment the communication method used when receiving paging messages, while the receiving mode of other system messages can be left to the UE to implement, or further determined according to the network broadcast configuration.

[0138] For example, in addition to determining the communication method used when receiving a paging message, the network can also configure the communication method used by the terminal when initiating initial access via broadcast. Specifically, assuming the terminal receives a paging message using narrowband communication, if the second information broadcast by the network indicates that a terminal supporting both communication methods should initiate initial access on broadband resources, then the terminal will initiate initial access on broadband resources. More specifically, the network-side device can instruct a terminal supporting at least two communication methods on which resources to initiate initial access via system messages, short messages, etc.

[0139] Figure 2The embodiment shown proposes a communication method that allows a terminal that simultaneously supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state to select a target communication method and execute the UE behavior communication method in the RRC disconnected state according to the target communication method. This enables the terminal's needs to be met in different scenarios (coverage, power saving). At the same time, the network side can organically integrate the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal, thereby improving the performance of the entire system.

[0140] The communication methods applied to the terminal side provided in the embodiments of this application have been described above. The communication methods applied to network side devices provided in the embodiments of this application are described below.

[0141] Before introducing the communication methods applied to network-side devices, let's first illustrate the network deployment with an example.

[0142] Assuming there are terminals in the network that simultaneously support at least two communication methods in the RRC connectionless state, and these at least two communication methods may include a first communication method and a second communication method, wherein the first communication method is a narrowband communication method and the second communication method is a broadband communication method, then the corresponding network deployment method can be: Broadband and narrowband communication can be deployed on the same frequency band. From the perspective of reducing network deployment costs, broadband and narrowband communication methods may be co-located. However, for deployment flexibility, non-co-location deployment is also possible. For example, in mountainous areas, forest areas, or farms, a separate narrowband base station might be deployed to cover LPWA devices within a 10km radius. In co-location scenarios, broadband and narrowband communication methods may be deployed on different frequencies, or they may be deployed on the same frequency using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM). Alternatively, the common signals in the RRC disconnected state (such as synchronization signals and system messages) may be segmented, allowing narrowband terminals to receive only part (part 1) and broadband terminals to receive the complete signal (part 2). Based on these possible network deployment scenarios, the network may contain broadband cells, narrowband cells, and cells that support both broadband and narrowband. Correspondingly, some terminals may only support narrowband communication, some may only support broadband communication, and some may support both.

[0143] Extending this to other communication methods in RRC disconnected states, the network may contain cells that only support the first communication method, cells that only support the second communication method, and cells that support both the first and second communication methods. Correspondingly, some terminals may only support the first communication method, some terminals may only support the second communication method, and some terminals may support both the first and second communication methods.

[0144] Based on the assumptions of network deployment, such as Figure 3 As shown, another embodiment of this application proposes a communication method that may include: Step 301: The core network device sends the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device. The sixth information includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state. The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

[0145] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0146] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0147] Optionally, the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state includes the communication method currently used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

[0148] If the sixth information includes the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state, the purpose of the core network device sending the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device is to notify the first access network device to use the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state to page the terminal.

[0149] If the sixth information includes the communication method currently used by the terminal in RRC connectionless mode and the communication methods supported by the terminal in RRC connectionless mode, then the purpose of the core network device sending the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device is to allow the base station to determine whether to adjust the terminal's paging reception capability. When the network-side requirements change, the network side can dynamically adjust the terminal's paging reception method.

[0150] Optionally, before step 301, Figure 3 The method may further include: the core network device receiving at least one of the following from the terminal or the second access network device: The UE capability information of the terminal includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state. The terminal prefers or requires the use of the RRC disconnected communication mode.

[0151] The second access network device may be the same as or different from the first access network device.

[0152] Optionally, prior to step 301, the method may further include: The core network device sends a second message to the terminal, the second message being used to configure or instruct the terminal to use a communication method in the RRC disconnected state.

[0153] The second information may be indicated by at least one of the following: NAS message; System information; DCI; Paging messages; Short message.

[0154] Figure 3 The embodiment shown proposes a communication method that, since the terminal simultaneously supports at least two communication methods in the RRC non-connected state and reports this capability and the currently used RRC non-connected state communication method to the core network device, the network can organically integrate the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal, thereby improving the performance of the entire system.

[0155] like Figure 4 As shown, another embodiment of this application proposes a communication method that may include at least one of the following: Step 401: The first access network device receives or sends sixth information, the sixth information including at least one of the communication methods of the terminal currently using in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods of the terminal supported in the RRC disconnected state.

[0156] Step 402: The first access network device receives third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal.

[0157] The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

[0158] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0159] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0160] The communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state may include the communication method used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

[0161] In some embodiments, step 401 may include: The first access network device receives the sixth information sent by the core network device or the second access network device; or, The first access network device sends the sixth information to the core network device or the second access network device.

[0162] Optionally, Figure 4 The method shown may also include at least one of the following: The first access network device sends first information to the terminal, the first information being used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, the conditions being related to the communication method; The first access network device sends second information to the terminal, the second information being used to configure or indicate the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; The first access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal, the fourth message being used to instruct the terminal to switch the communication mode used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

[0163] The second information may be indicated by at least one of the following: NAS message; System information; DCI; Paging messages; Short message.

[0164] The fourth information may be carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; Paging messages; DCI.

[0165] Optionally, Figure 4 The method shown may also include: The first access network device receives the fifth information sent by the terminal. The fifth information is used to notify the first access network device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fifth information is used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

[0166] Optionally, the at least two communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method. Figure 4 The method shown may also include: The first access network device sends at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information to the terminal, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection.

[0167] For example, assuming the first communication method is narrowband communication and the second communication method is broadband communication, when the terminal is camped in a cell that supports both narrowband and broadband communication, that cell can provide the terminal with both the first and second configuration information. Of course, a narrowband cell can configure both the first and second configuration information for terminals supporting both communication methods; similarly, a broadband cell can configure both the second and first configuration information for terminals supporting both communication methods.

[0168] Furthermore, when the terminal supports the second communication method, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the second configuration information; when the terminal supports the first communication method, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the first configuration information. The advantage of this is that terminals supporting different communication methods can more efficiently reselect to a cell matching their communication method, reducing power consumption and latency during the cell reselection process. For example, when the terminal supports broadband communication, the terminal performs cell reselection based on the cell reselection information of the broadband cell provided by the current cell—the second configuration information; when the terminal supports narrowband communication, the terminal performs cell reselection based on the cell reselection information of the narrowband cell provided by the current cell—the first configuration information.

[0169] Optionally, Figure 4 The method shown may also include: The first access network device receives UE capability information reported by the terminal, wherein the UE capability information includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connectivity state.

[0170] Figure 4 The embodiment shown proposes a communication method that, since the terminal simultaneously supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state, and the first access network device indicates this capability of the terminal and the currently used RRC disconnected state communication mode to the core network device or the second access network device, the network can organically integrate the at least two communication modes supported by the terminal, thereby improving the performance of the entire system.

[0171] This application provides a communication method in which the executing entity can be a virtual device. This application uses a virtual device executing the communication method as an example to illustrate the communication device provided in this application.

[0172] like Figure 5 As shown, one embodiment of this application proposes a communication device 500, which can be applied to a terminal. The communication device 500 may include: a processing module 501, configured to determine a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes when the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state, and execute a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE behavior in the RRC disconnected state.

[0173] In some embodiments, the target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state, or in other words, the target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state. Furthermore, the target communication method may be the communication method initially used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state, or the target communication method may be the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

[0174] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0175] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0176] The first behavior may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Community selection; Community re-selection; Paging reception; Initial access; System information reception; Small data communication includes terminals receiving small data and / or terminals sending small data, wherein small data includes signaling and / or data.

[0177] The following describes how the processing module 501 performs the first action according to the target communication method through several specific embodiments.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first action includes cell selection, and the target communication method is a target communication method, wherein the processing module 501 can be used for: Perform cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If a suitable cell is found on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method, then the user camps on that cell.

[0179] In some embodiments, the first action includes cell selection, and the target communication method is a target communication method, wherein the processing module 501 can be used for: Perform cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If no suitable cell is found on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method, the target communication method is switched to another communication method, and cell selection is performed under the other communication method.

[0180] Wherein, if the target communication method is the first communication method, the other communication method after switching can be the second communication method.

[0181] The target communication method may be determined by at least one of the following: The agreement stipulates; Network-side device configuration; Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card pre-configuration.

[0182] In one embodiment, the other communication method may be determined by a protocol agreement or by the terminal implementation.

[0183] In one embodiment, if the at least two communication methods are two communication methods, the other communication method is a communication method other than the target communication method among the two communication methods.

[0184] In another implementation, if the at least two communication methods include at least three communication methods simultaneously, the other method is one of the at least three communication methods other than the target communication method. The specific communication method of the other communication method can be a protocol agreement or a UE implementation.

[0185] In some embodiments, the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal include a first communication method and a second communication method, and the first action includes cell reselection, wherein the processing module 501 can be used to: Receive at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information sent by a network-side device, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection; Target configuration information is determined based on the target communication method, wherein the target configuration information is at least one of first configuration information and second configuration information; Cell reselection is performed based on the target configuration information.

[0186] Wherein, if the target communication method is the first communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the first configuration information; if the target communication method is the second communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the second configuration information; if the target communication method includes the first communication method and the second communication method, then the target configuration information includes the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0187] In one embodiment, the communication device 500 may include a receiving module, which can receive configuration information sent by the network side corresponding to each of the at least two communication methods. The configuration information corresponding to each communication method is configuration information used to support the terminal of each communication method to perform cell reselection.

[0188] Furthermore, in processing module 501, the cell reselection based on the target configuration information may include: The priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell is determined according to the target configuration information and / or protocol agreement. Cell reselection is performed according to the priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell. The first neighboring cell only supports the first communication method, the second neighboring cell only supports the second communication method, and the third neighboring cell supports both the first communication method and the second communication method.

[0189] The priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell can be determined by at least one of the following: 1) The frequency priority parameters of the frequencies of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell included in the target configuration information; 2) The target configuration information includes the cell priority parameters of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell; 3) The cell priority rules for the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell as agreed in the agreement.

[0190] There are multiple ways for the communication device 500 to obtain the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, or in other words, the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information can be sent by the network-side device in multiple ways.

[0191] In some embodiments, the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information may be carried by system information.

[0192] Optionally, Figure 5 The communication device proposed in the illustrated embodiment may further include: The first judgment module is used to determine, during the process of cell selection or cell reselection, whether the terminal is allowed to camp on the first cell based on the target communication method and the first information sent by the first cell; or... The second judgment module is used to determine whether the terminal is allowed to camp in the first cell based on at least two communication methods supported by the terminal and the first information sent by the first cell during the process of cell selection or cell reselection.

[0193] The first information is used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, and the conditions are related to the communication method.

[0194] Furthermore, the first judgment module can specifically be used for: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals operating in the target communication mode from residing, then it is considered that the terminal is not allowed to reside in the first cell; If the first information indicates that the first cell allows terminals operating in the target communication mode to camp, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

[0195] Furthermore, the second judgment module can specifically be used for: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals that support at least two communication methods from residing, then the terminal is considered to be prohibited from residing in the first cell. If the terminal supports all the communication methods required to be allowed to camp in the first cell as indicated in the first information, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell. If the terminal supports any one of the communication methods indicated in the first information that are required to be allowed to camp in the first cell, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

[0196] In some embodiments, the processing module 501 may specifically determine the target communication method from the at least two communication methods by receiving second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the second information is used to configure or indicate the target communication method.

[0197] The second information is indicated by at least one of the following: Non-Access Stratum (NAS) messages; System information; Downlink Control Information (DCI); Paging messages; Short message.

[0198] Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include: a capability reporting module, used to report UE capability information to the network-side device before the processing module 501 determines the target communication method from the at least two communication methods, wherein the UE capability information includes the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal.

[0199] Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include: a first sending module, configured to send third information to the network-side device before receiving second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the third information is used to indicate the target communication method preferred or requested by the terminal.

[0200] Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include: The second sending module is used to receive fourth information sent by the stationary cell, wherein the fourth information is used to instruct the terminal to switch the target communication mode; The communication mode switching module is used to switch the target communication mode from the first communication mode to another communication mode according to the fourth information.

[0201] The fourth information may be carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; DCI.

[0202] Optionally, if the terminal needs to change the target communication method, the terminal needs to notify the network side or negotiate with the network side again. Therefore, the communication device 500 may further include: The third sending module is used to send fifth information to the network-side device, wherein the fifth information is used to notify the network-side device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fourth information is used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

[0203] like Figure 6 As shown, one embodiment of this application proposes a communication device 600, which can be applied to core network equipment. The device 600 may include: a first transmitting module 601, used to transmit sixth information of a terminal to a first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) non-connection state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state, and the terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC non-connection state.

[0204] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0205] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0206] Optionally, the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state includes the communication method currently used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

[0207] If the sixth information includes the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state, then the purpose of the first sending module 601 sending the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device is to notify the first access network device to use the communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state to page the terminal.

[0208] If the sixth information includes the communication method currently used by the terminal in RRC disconnected mode and the communication methods supported by the terminal in RRC disconnected mode, then the purpose of the first sending module 601 sending the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device is to allow the base station to determine whether to adjust the terminal's paging reception capability. When the network-side requirements change, the network side can dynamically adjust the terminal's paging reception method.

[0209] Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include: a first receiving module, configured to receive at least one of the following from the terminal or the second access network device before sending the fifth information to the network-side device: The UE capability information of the terminal includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state. The terminal prefers or requires the use of the RRC disconnected communication mode.

[0210] Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include: a second sending module, configured to send second information to the terminal before sending the fifth information to the network-side device, the second information being used to configure or indicate the communication mode used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

[0211] The second information may be indicated by at least one of the following: NAS message; System information; DCI; Paging messages; Short message.

[0212] like Figure 7 As shown, one embodiment of this application proposes a communication device 700, which can be applied to a first access network device. The device 700 may include at least one of the following: a first communication module 701 and a second communication module 702.

[0213] The first communication module 701 is used to receive or send sixth information, the sixth information including at least one of the communication methods of the terminal currently using the Radio Resource Control (RRC) in the non-connected state and the communication methods of the terminal supported in the RRC in the non-connected state.

[0214] The second communication module 702 is used to receive third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal.

[0215] The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

[0216] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

[0217] In one embodiment, the at least two communication methods may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 1) Narrowband communication and broadband communication; 2) Low Power Wake Up Signal (LPWUS) communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; 3) Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; 4) Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; 5) Low-capacity communication method and non-low-capacity communication method.

[0218] The communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state may include the communication method used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first communication module 701 can be used for: Receive the sixth information sent by the core network equipment or the second access network equipment; or, Send the sixth message to the core network equipment or the second access network equipment.

[0220] Optionally, the communication device 700 may also include at least one of the following: The third communication module is used to send first information to the terminal, the first information being used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, the conditions being related to the communication method; The fourth communication module is used to send second information to the terminal, the second information being used to configure or indicate the communication mode used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; The fifth communication module is used to send fourth information to the terminal, the fourth information being used to instruct the terminal to switch the communication mode used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

[0221] The second information may be indicated by at least one of the following: NAS message; System information; DCI; Paging messages; Short message.

[0222] The fourth information may be carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; Paging messages; DCI.

[0223] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include: a sixth communication module, configured to receive fifth information sent by the terminal, the fifth information being used to notify the first access network device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fifth information being used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

[0224] Optionally, the at least two communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method. The communication device 700 may further include a seventh communication module, used to send at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information to the terminal, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection.

[0225] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include: an eighth communication module, used to receive UE capability information reported by the terminal, wherein the UE capability information includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state.

[0226] The communication device 500 provided in this application embodiment can achieve Figure 2 The method embodiments implement various processes and achieve the same technical effect; the communication device 600 provided in this application embodiment can realize Figure 3 The various processes implemented in the method embodiments achieve the same technical effect; the communication device 700 provided in this application embodiment can realize Figure 4 The various processes implemented in the method embodiments achieve the same technical effect, and will not be described again here to avoid repetition.

[0227] like Figure 8 As shown, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 800, including a processor 801 and a memory 802. The memory 802 stores programs or instructions that can run on the processor 801. For example, when the communication device 800 is a terminal, the program or instructions executed by the processor 801 implement the various steps of the above-described communication method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 800 is a network-side device, the program or instructions executed by the processor 801 implement the various steps of the above-described communication method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0228] This application embodiment also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement, for example... Figure 2 The steps in the method embodiment shown are illustrated. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-described terminal-side method embodiment. All implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. The terminal can be... Figure 5 The communication device shown. Specifically, Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal to implement an embodiment of this application. The terminal 900 includes, but is not limited to, at least some of the following components: radio frequency unit 901, network module 902, audio output unit 903, input unit 904, sensor 905, display unit 906, user input unit 907, interface unit 908, memory 909, and processor 910.

[0229] Those skilled in the art will understand that the terminal 900 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) for supplying power to various components. The power supply may be logically connected to the processor 910 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption through the power management system. Figure 9 The terminal structure shown does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be elaborated here.

[0230] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the input unit 904 may include a graphics processor 9041 and a microphone 9042. The graphics processor 9041 processes image data of still images or videos obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 906 may include a display panel 9061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 907 includes at least one of a touch panel 9071 and other input devices 9072. The touch panel 9071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 9071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 9072 may include, but are not limited to, physical keyboards, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), trackballs, mice, and joysticks, which will not be described in detail here.

[0231] In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network-side device, the radio frequency unit 901 can transmit it to the processor 910 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 901 can send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 901 includes, but is not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low-noise amplifiers, duplexers, etc.

[0232] The memory 909 can be used to store software programs or instructions, as well as various data. The memory 909 may primarily include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. The first storage area may store the operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 909 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 909 in the embodiments of this application includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0233] Processor 910 may include one or more processing units; optionally, processor 910 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operations involving the operating system, user interface, and applications, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the aforementioned modem processor may also not be integrated into processor 910.

[0234] The processor 910 is configured to determine a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes when the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the non-connected state of Radio Resource Control (RRC), and to perform a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the non-connected state of RRC.

[0235] The terminal proposed in this application supports at least two communication methods in RRC disconnected state and determines the target communication method (the communication method used by the terminal in RRC disconnected state), so that the needs of the terminal in different scenarios (coverage, power saving) can be met. At the same time, the network side can use the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal to organically integrate the at least two communication methods, thereby improving the performance of the entire system.

[0236] It is understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0237] This application embodiment also provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement, for example... Figure 2 The steps of the method embodiment shown are illustrated. This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the above-described network-side device method embodiment. All implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this network-side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0238] Specifically, embodiments of this application also provide a network-side device, which may be... Figure 7 The communication device shown. (As shown) Figure 10 As shown, the network-side device 1000 includes: an antenna 101, a radio frequency (RF) device 102, a baseband device 103, a processor 104, and a memory 105. The antenna 101 is connected to the RF device 102. In the uplink direction, the RF device 102 receives information through the antenna 101 and transmits the received information to the baseband device 103 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 103 processes the information to be transmitted and sends it to the RF device 102. The RF device 102 processes the received information and transmits it through the antenna 101.

[0239] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiments can be implemented in the baseband device 103, which includes a baseband processor.

[0240] The baseband device 103 may include, for example, at least one baseband board on which multiple chips are disposed, such as... Figure 10 As shown, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 105 via a bus interface to call the program in the memory 105 and execute the network-side device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

[0241] The network-side device may also include a network interface 106, such as a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0242] Specifically, the network-side device 1000 in this application embodiment further includes: instructions or programs stored in memory 105 and executable on processor 104, wherein processor 104 calls the instructions or programs in memory 105 to execute. Figure 7 The methods executed by each module shown achieve the same technical effect, and to avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail here.

[0243] This application also provides a network-side device. For example... Figure 11 As shown, the network-side device 1100 includes: a processor 1101, a network interface 1102, and a memory 1103. This network-side device can be... Figure 6 The communication device shown. The network interface 1102 is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0244] Specifically, the network-side device 1100 in this application embodiment further includes: instructions or programs stored in memory 1103 and executable on processor 1101, wherein processor 1101 calls the instructions or programs in memory 1103 to execute. Figure 6 The methods executed by each module shown achieve the same technical effect, and to avoid repetition, they will not be described in detail here.

[0245] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0246] The processor mentioned above is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0247] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0248] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0249] This application also provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0250] This application also provides a communication system, including: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to perform... Figure 2 The network-side device can be used to execute the steps of the communication method described above. Figure 3 or Figure 4 The steps of the communication method described above.

[0251] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0252] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, they can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes several instructions to cause the terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0253] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other implementations under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these implementations are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: When the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the non-connected state of Radio Resource Control (RRC), the terminal determines a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes and performs a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the non-connected state of RRC.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods include at least one of the following: Narrowband communication and broadband communication; Low-power wake-up signal: LPWUS communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; Low-power wide-area network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; Low-capacity communication methods and non-low-capacity communication methods.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first act includes at least one of the following: Community selection; Community re-selection; Paging reception; Initial access; System information reception; Communication of small data.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first action includes cell selection, wherein performing the first action according to the target communication method includes: The terminal performs cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If the terminal finds a suitable cell on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method, it will camp on that cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first action includes cell selection, wherein performing the first action according to the target communication method includes: The terminal performs cell search on the frequency corresponding to the target communication method; If the terminal does not find a suitable cell on the frequency corresponding to the target communication mode, it switches the target communication mode to another communication mode and performs cell selection under the other communication mode.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The target communication method is determined by at least one of the following: protocol agreement; network-side device configuration; user identification SIM card pre-configuration; or... The other communication method can be determined by a protocol agreement or by the terminal implementation.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method, the first action includes cell reselection, wherein performing the first action according to the target communication method includes: The terminal receives at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information sent by the network-side device, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection; The terminal determines target configuration information according to the target communication method, wherein the target configuration information is at least one of first configuration information and second configuration information; The terminal performs cell reselection based on the target configuration information.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The terminal determines the target configuration information based on the target communication method, including: If the target communication method is the first communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the first configuration information; If the target communication method is the second communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to be the second configuration information; If the target communication method includes the first communication method and the second communication method, then the target configuration information is determined to include the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The terminal performs cell reselection based on the target configuration information, including: The terminal determines the priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell according to the target configuration information and / or protocol agreement, and performs cell reselection according to the priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell. The first neighboring cell only supports the first communication method, the second neighboring cell only supports the second communication method, and the third neighboring cell supports both the first communication method and the second communication method.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The priority information of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell is determined by at least one of the following: The target configuration information includes the frequency priority parameters of the frequencies where the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell are located. The target configuration information includes the cell priority parameters of the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell; The agreement stipulates the cell priority rules for the first neighboring cell, the second neighboring cell, and the third neighboring cell.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The method further includes: During cell selection or cell reselection, the terminal determines whether it is allowed to camp in the first cell based on the target communication method and the first information sent by the first cell; or... During the process of cell selection or cell reselection, the terminal determines whether it is allowed to camp in the first cell based on at least two communication methods supported by the terminal and the first information sent by the first cell. The first information is used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, and the conditions are related to the communication method.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The step of determining whether the terminal is allowed to camp in the first cell based on the target communication method and the first information sent by the first cell includes: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals operating in the target communication mode from residing, then it is considered that the terminal is not allowed to reside in the first cell; If the first information indicates that the first cell allows terminals operating in the target communication mode to camp, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The step of determining whether the terminal is allowed to camp in the first cell based on at least two communication methods supported by the terminal and the first information sent by the first cell includes: If the first information indicates that the first cell prohibits terminals that support at least two communication methods from residing, then the terminal is considered to be prohibited from residing in the first cell. If the terminal supports all the communication methods required to be allowed to camp in the first cell as indicated in the first information, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell. If the terminal supports any one of the communication methods indicated in the first information that are required to be allowed to camp in the first cell, then the terminal is considered to be allowed to camp in the first cell.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, characterized in that, The target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal when receiving a paging message; or, The target communication method is the communication method used by the terminal when initiating initial access.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal reports UE capability information to the network-side device, wherein the UE capability information includes the at least two communication methods supported by the terminal.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-16, characterized in that, The terminal determines the target communication method from the at least two communication methods, including: The terminal receives second information sent by the network-side device, wherein the second information is used to configure or indicate the target communication method.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The second information is indicated by at least one of the following: Non-access stratum NAS messages; System information; Downlink Control Information (DCI); Paging messages; Short message.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, Before the terminal receives the second information sent by the network-side device, the method further includes: The terminal sends third information to the network-side device, wherein the third information is used to indicate the target communication method preferred or requested by the terminal.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the stationed cell, wherein the fourth message is used to instruct the terminal to switch the target communication mode; The terminal switches the target communication mode from the first communication mode to another communication mode based on the fourth information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The fourth information is carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; Paging messages; Downlink Control Information (DCI).

22. The method according to any one of claims 1-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal sends a fifth message to the network-side device, wherein the fifth message is used to notify the network-side device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fourth message is used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

23. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The core network device sends the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state, and the terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC non-connection state.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, Before the core network device sends the sixth information of the terminal to the access network device, the method further includes: The core network device receives at least one of the following from the terminal or the second access network device: The UE capability information of the terminal includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connected state. The terminal prefers or requires the use of the RRC disconnected communication mode.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, The communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state includes the communication method used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23-25, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23-26, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods include at least one of the following: Narrowband communication and broadband communication; Low-power wake-up signal: LPWUS communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; Low-power wide-area network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; Low-capacity communication methods and non-low-capacity communication methods.

28. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, Before the core network device sends the sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device, the method further includes: The core network device sends a second message to the terminal, the second message being used to configure or instruct the terminal to use a communication method in the RRC disconnected state.

29. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes at least one of the following: The first access network device receives or sends the sixth information, which includes at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state. The first access network device receives third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal; The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The first access network device receives or sends the sixth information, including: The first access network device receives the sixth information sent by the core network device or the second access network device; or, The first access network device sends the sixth information to the core network device or the second access network device.

31. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: The first access network device sends first information to the terminal, the first information being used to indicate the conditions that the terminal needs to meet to be allowed to camp in the first cell, the conditions being related to the communication method; The first access network device sends second information to the terminal, the second information being used to configure or indicate the communication method used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; The first access network device sends a fourth message to the terminal, the fourth message being used to instruct the terminal to switch the communication mode used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The second information is indicated by at least one of the following: Non-access stratum NAS messages; System information; Downlink Control Information (DCI); Paging messages; Short message.

33. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The fourth information is carried by at least one of the following: System information; SMS; Paging messages; Downlink Control Information (DCI).

34. The method according to any one of claims 31-33, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first access network device receives the fifth information sent by the terminal. The fifth information is used to notify the first access network device that the terminal has changed the target communication method, or the fifth information is used to negotiate a change in the target communication method.

35. The method according to any one of claims 29-34, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method, and the method further includes: The first access network device sends at least one of a first configuration information and a second configuration information to the terminal, wherein the first configuration information is used to support the terminal of the first communication method to perform cell reselection, and the second configuration information is used to support the terminal of the second communication method to perform cell reselection.

36. The method according to any one of claims 29-35, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first access network device receives UE capability information reported by the terminal, wherein the UE capability information includes the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connectivity state.

37. The method according to any one of claims 29-36, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods differ in at least one of the following features: bandwidth, receiver type, coverage level, coverage enhancement level, number of times the signal is repeatedly received, number of times the signal is repeatedly transmitted, number of transmitting antennas, and number of receiving antennas.

38. The method according to any one of claims 29-37, characterized in that, The at least two communication methods include at least one of the following: Narrowband communication and broadband communication; Low-power wake-up signal: LPWUS communication method and non-LPWUS communication method; Low-power wide-area network (LPWA) communication methods and non-LPWA communication methods; Repeated reception mode and non-repeated reception mode; Low-capacity communication methods and non-low-capacity communication methods.

39. The method according to any one of claims 29-38, characterized in that, The communication method currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state includes the communication method used by the terminal when receiving a paging message.

40. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The processing module is configured to, when the terminal UE supports at least two communication modes in the RRC disconnected state, determine a target communication mode from the at least two communication modes, and perform a first action according to the target communication mode, wherein the first action includes UE actions in the RRC disconnected state.

41. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The first sending module is used to send sixth information of the terminal to the first access network device, wherein the sixth information includes at least one of the communication mode currently used by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state and the communication mode supported by the terminal in the RRC non-connection state, and the terminal supports at least two communication modes in the RRC non-connection state.

42. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A first communication module is configured to receive or send sixth information, the sixth information including at least one of the communication methods currently used by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state and the communication methods supported by the terminal in the RRC disconnected state; and / or, The second communication module is used to receive third information sent by the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the communication method preferred or requested by the terminal; The terminal supports at least two communication methods in the RRC disconnected state.

43. A terminal, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions that can run on the processor, the program or instructions being executed by the processor to implement the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

44. A network-side device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions that can run on the processor, the program or instructions being executed by the processor to implement the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 23 to 39.

45. A readable storage medium, characterized in that, The readable storage medium stores a program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22, or implement the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 23 to 39.

Images