Method and apparatus for wireless communication

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for wireless communication. A method for wireless communication includes: receiving a first link status report from a UE in a case that the UE is in a first state, in which a second link between the UE and a TN base station is established, a first link between the UE and an NTN base station is suspended, a PDU session context is reserved; determining whether a resumption condition of the first link is satisfied based on the first link status report; obtaining a service identity of a QoS flow, a current bearer path, a QoS policy, TN and NTN base station load; determining an updated bearer path of the QoS flow based on whether the resumption condition of the first link is satisfied, the QoS policy of the QoS flow, the TN and NTN base station load, determining the QoS flow as a target QoS flow in response to the updated bearer path being related to the NTN base station; sending a PDU session resumption request carrying the service identity of the target QoS flow and a suggested DRB configuration to the NTN base station; updating a user plane path of the target QoS flow in response to receiving a PDU session resumption complete message from the NTN base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to methods and apparatus for wireless communication. Background Technology

[0002] For future 6G converged space-ground communications, providing seamless network services through collaborative coverage of terrestrial networks (TN) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) is a crucial means of ensuring service continuity. Therefore, dual connectivity technology between TN and NTN is necessary.

[0003] In scenarios such as satellite-based base stations, the significant latency between terrestrial and satellite base stations prevents the direct utilization of dual connectivity technologies defined by Long Term Evolution (LTE). The 3GPP SA1 working group proposed a dual-guidance scheme, enabling users to coordinate between the TN and NTN at the Non-Access Stratum (NAS). This allows a single user to connect simultaneously to both the TN and NTN, with the core network guiding, distributing, and integrating user traffic across the two access networks. However, the specific procedures for ensuring service continuity are not detailed or clearly defined. Due to the characteristics of satellite links, such as high-speed movement, Doppler shift, limited coverage windows, and resource constraints, relying solely on ordinary signal thresholds or blind recovery on the User Equipment (UE) side can easily lead to recovery failures, repeated paging, resource waste, and fluctuations in service experience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A brief overview of this disclosure is given below to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of it. However, it should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive summary of this disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or essential parts of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Its purpose is merely to present certain concepts of this disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a method for wireless communication to address the problem of balancing service continuity, reconnection reliability, and network resource utilization in satellite-to-ground service reconnection scenarios.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a method for wireless communication is provided, applied in a core network, the method comprising: receiving a first link status report associated with a first link from the UE while the UE is in a first state, wherein in the first state a second link is established between the UE and a terrestrial network (TN) base station, the first link between the UE and a non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station is suspended, and a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session context is retained; determining, based on the first link status report, whether a recovery condition for the first link is met; acquiring a service identifier, current bearer path, and QoS policy of a Quality of Service (QoS) flow; acquiring the respective loads of the TN base station and the NTN base station; determining an updated bearer path for the QoS flow based on whether the recovery condition for the first link is met, the QoS policy of the QoS flow, and the respective loads of the TN base station and the NTN base station, and identifying the QoS flow as a target QoS flow in response to the updated bearer path being associated with the NTN base station; sending a PDU session recovery request to the NTN base station, the PDU session recovery request carrying the service identifier of the target QoS flow and a proposed data radio bearer generated according to the QoS policy. Bearer (DRB) configuration; and in response to receiving a PDU session recovery completion message from the NTN base station, updating the user plane path of the target QoS flow.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first link status report includes a first parameter and a second parameter, the first parameter indicating the transmission quality of the first link and the second parameter indicating the availability of the first link.

[0008] In some embodiments, the recovery conditions for the first link include: a first parameter exceeding a first threshold for a first duration, and a second parameter exceeding a second threshold.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first link status report further includes a third parameter indicating the synchronization accuracy of the first link, wherein the recovery condition of the first link further includes: the third parameter being lower than a third threshold.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first parameter includes one or more of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR); the second parameter includes one or more of the following: Satellite elevation angle, Remaining time of satellite coverage window, and Visible time of satellite beam; and the third parameter includes Doppler frequency shift pre-compensation residual.

[0011] In some embodiments, the method further includes: obtaining one or more of the following from a TN base station: UE-related or cell-level load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources, wherein determining the update bearer path for the QoS flow is also based on the one or more of the following: UE-related or cell-level load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources, wherein the service identifier of the QoS flow includes a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) and a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI).

[0012] In some embodiments, determining the update bearer path for the QoS flow is also based on an operational policy that indicates whether the UE can access the NTN.

[0013] In some embodiments, determining the updated bearer path of a QoS flow includes: in response to the recovery conditions of the first link being met: if the QoS flow is suitable to be carried by an NTN base station, then the QoS flow is added to the recovery NTN-only bearer set; if the load of the TN base station is higher than a fourth threshold or the service of the QoS flow supports multi-link bearer, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN split-transmission set; if the QoS policy of the QoS flow requires high reliability or low interruption probability, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN redundant transmission set; or in response to the recovery conditions of the first link not being met or the resources of the NTN base station being insufficient, the bearer path of the QoS flow remains unchanged as TN bearer, wherein the PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier, suggested DRB configuration, and traffic steering policy for each target QoS flow in the target QoS flow set, the target QoS flow set including the recovery NTN-only bearer set, the TN and NTN split-transmission set, and the TN and NTN redundant transmission set, and the traffic steering policy indicates whether to restore NTN-only bearer, TN and NTN split-transmission, or TN and NTN redundant transmission.

[0014] In some embodiments, the PDU session recovery request may also carry one or more of the following: service priority, which is used to instruct the NTN base station to prioritize resource allocation; effective recovery window, which instructs the NTN base station to complete the paging and access procedures of the UE within a time limit; or failure cancellation conditions, which include one or more of the following: paging failure, NTN base station confirmation of resource failure, access procedure failure, UE not completing access within the effective recovery window, and recovery conditions of the first link no longer being met.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further includes: in response to the failure cancellation condition being met, canceling the PDU session recovery request and keeping the bearer path of the QoS flow unchanged as TN bearer.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method further includes: starting a timer in response to canceling the PDU session recovery request; and resending the PDU session recovery request in response to the timer expiring.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the UE is in a second state, receiving a first link state report associated with a first link and a second link state report associated with a second link from the UE, wherein in the second state, the second link is established and the first link is established; determining, based on the first link state report and the second link state report, whether it is necessary to adjust the QoS policy or route of the QoS flow; in response to the need to adjust the QoS policy or route of the QoS flow, sending a PDU session modification request, the PDU session modification request carrying the service identifier of the QoS flow and a proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the QoS flow; and in response to receiving a PDU session modification completion message, updating the user plane path of the QoS flow.

[0018] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a method for wireless communication is provided, applied to an NTN base station, the method comprising: receiving a PDU session recovery request from a core network when a UE is in a first state, the PDU session recovery request carrying a service identifier of a target QoS flow and a proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow, wherein, in the first state, a second link between the UE and the TN base station is established, a first link between the UE and the NTN base station is suspended, and the PDU session context is retained; in response to receiving the PDU session recovery request, confirming whether the resources of the NTN base station are available; in response to confirming that the resources are available, sending a paging message for PDU session recovery to the UE; in response to the UE initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station, configuring a DRB for the target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the proposed DRB configuration carried in the PDU session recovery request, and updating the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; sending a configuration message to the UE, the configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; and in response to receiving a configuration completion message from the UE, sending a PDU session recovery completion message to the core network.

[0019] In some embodiments, configuring a DRB for a target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the proposed DRB configuration carried in the PDU session recovery request includes: mapping the target QoS flow to an existing DRB in response to the existence of an existing DRB that satisfies the proposed DRB configuration; or adding a new DRB that satisfies the proposed DRB configuration in response to the absence of an existing DRB that satisfies the proposed DRB configuration and mapping the target QoS flow to the new DRB.

[0020] In some embodiments, it is recommended that the DRB configuration include one or more of the following: 5QI of the target QoS flow, whether the bit rate is guaranteed (Guaranteed Bit Rate / Non-Guaranteed Bit Rate, GBR / Non-GBR), latency budget, and packet error rate requirements.

[0021] In some embodiments, confirming the availability of resources at an NTN base station includes confirming whether one or more of the following are available: available beams, random access resources, paging resources, Radio Resource Control (RRC) context recovery resources, and DRB capacity that meets QoS requirements.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method further includes one or more of the following: in response to confirming resource unavailability, sending a message to the core network indicating that the NTN base station has failed to confirm resource availability; in response to paging failure, sending a message to the core network indicating paging failure; in response to access procedure failure, sending a message to the core network indicating access procedure failure; or in response to not receiving a configuration completion message from the UE within a valid recovery window, sending a message to the core network indicating that the UE has not completed access within a valid recovery window, wherein the PDU session recovery request also carries a valid recovery window, the valid recovery window indicating the time limit for the NTN base station to complete the paging and access procedures of the UE.

[0023] In some embodiments, the PDU session recovery request may also carry one or more of the following: a traffic steering policy, which indicates the bearer path of the target QoS flow; a service priority, which indicates the NTN base station to sort resource allocation; or a failure cancellation condition, which includes one or more of the following: paging failure, NTN base station confirmation of resource failure, access procedure failure, UE not completing access within the valid recovery window, and the recovery condition of the first link no longer being met.

[0024] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the UE is in a second state, receiving a PDU session modification request, the PDU session modification request carrying a service identifier of the target QoS flow and a proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow, wherein in the second state, a second link is established and a first link is established; in response to receiving the PDU session modification request, confirming whether the resources of the NTN base station are available; in response to confirming that the resources are available, sending a paging message for PDU session modification to the UE; in response to the UE initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station, configuring a DRB for the target QoS flow according to the proposed DRB configuration carried in the PDU session modification request in the PDU session context, and updating the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; sending a configuration message to the UE, the configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; and in response to receiving a configuration completion message from the UE, sending a PDU session modification completion message to the core network.

[0025] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, a method for wireless communication is provided, applied to a UE, the method comprising: in a first state, sending a first link status report associated with a first link, wherein in the first state a second link between the UE and a TN base station is established, the first link between the UE and an NTN base station is suspended, and a PDU session context is retained; in response to receiving a paging message from the NTN base station for PDU session resumption, initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station; in response to receiving a configuration message from the NTN base station carrying a mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs, performing configuration; and in response to completing the configuration, sending a configuration completion message to the NTN base station.

[0026] In some embodiments, the method further includes: when the UE is in a second state, sending a first link status report associated with a first link and a second link status report associated with a second link, wherein in the second state, the second link is established and the first link is established; in response to receiving a paging message for PDU session modification from an NTN base station, initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station; in response to receiving a configuration message carrying a mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs from the NTN base station, performing configuration; and in response to completing the configuration, sending a configuration completion message to the NTN base station.

[0027] In some embodiments, the first link status report includes a first parameter and a second parameter, the first parameter indicating the transmission quality of the first link and the second parameter indicating the availability of the first link.

[0028] In some embodiments, the first link status report further includes a third parameter, which indicates the synchronization accuracy of the first link.

[0029] In some embodiments, the first parameter includes one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR; the second parameter includes one or more of satellite elevation angle, remaining time of satellite coverage window, and visible time of satellite beam; and the third parameter includes Doppler frequency shift pre-compensation residual.

[0030] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a core network device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to a first aspect of this disclosure.

[0031] According to a fifth aspect of this disclosure, an NTN base station device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to a second aspect of this disclosure.

[0032] According to a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to a third aspect of this disclosure.

[0033] According to a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to a first, second, or third aspect of this disclosure.

[0034] According to an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to a first, second, or third aspect of this disclosure.

[0035] Through this disclosure, the core network can first determine whether NTN needs to be restored, whether TN / NTN dual connectivity needs to be maintained, and whether traffic splitting or redundancy needs to be performed on specific QoS flows, before initiating PDU session recovery to the NTN side. This avoids the UE blindly initiating recovery and complete session reconstruction, thereby reducing signaling overhead, shortening service recovery time, and improving the utilization efficiency of space-ground converged network resources, ensuring service continuity and reconnection reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0036] The foregoing and other features and advantages of this disclosure will become clear from the following description of embodiments illustrated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings, incorporated herein and forming a part of the specification, are further used to explain the principles of this disclosure and to enable those skilled in the art to make and use it. Wherein:

[0037] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0039] Figure 3A flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0040] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0041] Figure 5 A flowchart is shown illustrating a non-limiting example process in which a method for wireless communication is implemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of a core network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0043] Figure 7 A schematic block diagram of an NTN base station device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0044] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0045] Figure 9 A schematic block diagram of a computer system on which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown.

[0046] Note that in the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are sometimes used across different figures to denote the same parts or parts with the same function, and repeated descriptions are omitted. In some cases, similar reference numerals and letters are used to denote similar items, so once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0047] For ease of understanding, the positions, dimensions, and extents of the structures shown in the accompanying drawings and other materials may not represent actual positions, dimensions, and extents. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the positions, dimensions, and extents disclosed in the accompanying drawings and other materials. Detailed Implementation

[0048] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0049] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the scope of this disclosure or its application or use. That is, the structures and methods herein are shown in an exemplary manner to illustrate different embodiments of the structures and methods in this disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will understand that they merely illustrate exemplary ways that can be used to implement this disclosure, and not exhaustive ways. Furthermore, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and some features may be enlarged to show details of specific components.

[0050] In addition, techniques, methods and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0051] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0052] For the purpose of non-restrictive illustrative purposes, Figure 1 A wireless communication system 100 is schematically illustrated. (As shown) Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system 100 may include a UE 101, a TN base station 102, an NTN base station 103, a core network 104, and a data network 105. The UE 101 can connect to the TN base station 102 via a second link 107 (also referred to as a TN link), and then access the core network 104. The UE 101 can also connect to the NTN base station 103 via a first link 106 (also referred to as an NTN link), and then access the core network 104 via the NTN gateway station 108 coupled to the NTN base station 103 through a feeder link 109. When the UE 101 is simultaneously connected to both the TN and NTN links, the core network 104 can select one or more links for traffic forwarding, offloading, or redundant transmission to meet service latency requirements and service continuity requirements, thereby avoiding service interruption while sharing the load.

[0053] In some cases, the quality of the NTN link may deteriorate, and UE 101 may only be able to communicate with core network 104 via the TN link (i.e., TN single connection). When the NTN link quality recovers, it is desirable for UE 101 to connect to both the TN and NTN links simultaneously in order to optimize network resource utilization.

[0054] This disclosure provides a method for wireless communication that facilitates a seamless and smooth recovery of services from TN single connectivity to TN / NTN dual connectivity when NTN link quality is restored. The method for wireless communication according to various embodiments of this disclosure is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that actual methods may include other steps, but these are not discussed herein and are not shown in the drawings to avoid obscuring the essential points of this disclosure.

[0055] Figure 2 A method 200 for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, which can be applied to a core network. For example... Figure 2 As shown, method 200 includes steps S202 to S214.

[0056] In step S202, a first link status report associated with the first link is received from the UE. In the first state, the second link (also referred to as the TN link) between the UE and the TN base station is established, the first link (also referred to as the NTN link) between the UE and the NTN base station is suspended, and the PDU session context is retained.

[0057] In step S204, based on the first link status report, it is determined whether the recovery conditions of the first link have been met.

[0058] For example, a UE can include three RRC states: RRC_Idle, RRC_Connected, and RRC_Inactive, to describe the connection status between the UE and the base station. The UE can also include three Connection Management (CM) states: CM_Idle, CM_Connected, and CM_Inactive, to describe the connection status between the UE and the core network (e.g., the Authentication Management Function (AMF)). In the first state, the UE can maintain RRC-Connected with the TN base station, while being in an RRC-Inactive / CM-Inactive or equivalent suspended state on the NTN side, retaining the PDU session context. In this case, services are primarily carried through the TN side.

[0059] In some embodiments, the UE may periodically or in response to a triggering event perform NTN link measurements and report measurement reports to the core network. For example, such triggering events may indicate that the NTN link is expected to become available within a predetermined time period, including but not limited to the imminent arrival of the predicted NTN coverage recovery time, the imminent emergence of a candidate satellite into the UE's view (e.g., determining the predicted elevation angle of the candidate satellite to reach an elevation angle threshold based on the UE's location and satellite ephemeris), the imminent entry of the UE into the NTN coverage area (e.g., determined based on the UE's current location and movement status), the UE receiving coverage availability information indicating that NTN coverage is about to become available, the imminent coverage of the UE's location by a candidate NTN beam, the disappearance or imminent disappearance of the obstruction conditions that caused the NTN link interruption (e.g., the UE detecting that an obstruction is being removed or is expected to be removed (e.g., the UE moving from an indoor, tunnel, or other obstructed area to an open area), or a change in UE attitude causing the satellite antenna to be pointing towards a satellite, etc.).

[0060] In some embodiments, the first link status report includes a first parameter and a second parameter, wherein the first parameter indicates the transmission quality of the first link, and the second parameter indicates the availability of the first link. In some examples, the first parameter may include one or more of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR). For example, the UE may measure RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR based on a received NTN reference signal. In some examples, the second parameter may include one or more of the following: Satellite elevation angle, remaining satellite coverage window time, and satellite beam visibility time. For example, the UE may calculate the satellite elevation angle, remaining satellite coverage window time, or satellite beam visibility time based on its own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or other positioning information, the UE's moving speed, and ephemeris information provided by satellite broadcast or the core network. In some examples, GNSS positioning information, UE moving speed, etc., may also be included in the first link status report. Further, in some embodiments, the recovery conditions of the first link include: the first parameter exceeding a first threshold for a first duration, and the second parameter exceeding a second threshold. For example, the Session Management Function (SMF) can determine with the assistance of the AMF that when the NTN signal quality (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR) is higher than the threshold Th_high and continues to exceed the stable time T_stable, and the remaining time of the satellite coverage window is higher than T_window, the recovery conditions of the first link are met, and the NTN link can be considered to have entered the recovery candidate state.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first link status report further includes a third parameter indicating the synchronization accuracy of the first link. In some examples, the third parameter includes the Doppler shift pre-compensation residual. For example, the UE can measure or estimate the Doppler shift pre-compensation residual. Further, in some embodiments, the recovery condition of the first link also includes: the third parameter being lower than a third threshold. For example, the SMF can determine, with the assistance of the AMF, that when the NTN signal quality (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR) is higher than the threshold Th_high and continues to exceed the stable time T_stable, and the remaining time of the satellite coverage window is higher than T_window and the Doppler shift pre-compensation residual is lower than the threshold Th_low, the recovery condition of the first link is met, that is, the NTN link can be considered to have entered the recovery candidate state.

[0062] In step S206, the service identifier, current bearer path, and QoS policy of the QoS flow are obtained.

[0063] In some embodiments, the service identifier of the QoS flow includes a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) and a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI). In some embodiments, the service type of the QoS flow can also be obtained, such as whether a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) or Non-Guaranteed Bit Rate (Non-GBR) is guaranteed. For example, the SMF can obtain the QFI, 5GI, GBR / Non-GBR attributes and the current bearer path (specifically, a TN bearer) for each QoS flow from the PDU session context, and can obtain the QoS policy derived from the Service Level Agreement (SLA) from the Policy Control Function (PCF). In some embodiments, one or more of the following can be obtained from the TN base station: UE-related or cell-level load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources, to provide network-side information for optimization decisions. All of this information can be organized at the QoS flow granularity.

[0064] In step S208, the load of each TN and NTN base station is obtained. By obtaining the real-time load from the core network on the TN and NTN sides respectively, it is possible to understand whether the corresponding base stations are congested.

[0065] In step S210, based on whether the recovery conditions of the first link are met, the QoS policy of the QoS flow, and the respective loads of the TN base station and the NTN base station, the update bearer path of the QoS flow is determined, and in response to the fact that the update bearer path is related to the NTN base station, the QoS flow is determined as the target QoS flow.

[0066] For example, the SMF can perform service-aware decisions to determine the update bearer path for QoS flows based on the judgment in step S204, the QoS policy of each QoS flow, and the real-time load of the TN / NT. If one or more of the following are obtained from the TN base station: UE-related or cell-level load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources, the SMF can further perform the service-aware decision based on this information. In some embodiments, the SMF can also further perform the service-aware decision based on operational policies. Operational policies can indicate whether the UE can access the NTN, such as whether UE access to the NTN is supported, or whether the UE is in an NTN-restricted access area.

[0067] In some embodiments, step S210 includes: in response to the recovery conditions of the first link being met: if the QoS flow is suitable to be carried by the NTN base station, then the QoS flow is added to the recovery NTN-only bearer set; if the load of the TN base station is higher than a fourth threshold or the service of the QoS flow supports multi-link bearer, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN splitting set; if the QoS policy of the QoS flow requires high reliability or low interruption probability, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN redundant transmission set. Alternatively, step S210 includes: in response to the recovery conditions of the first link not being met or insufficient resources of the NTN base station, the bearer path of the QoS flow remains unchanged as TN bearer. Here, TN and NTN splitting means that part of the QoS flow is transmitted through TN and another part is transmitted through NTN; TN and NTN redundant transmission means that the QoS flow retains the original bearer on one side of TN and NTN (e.g., the TN side) and establishes a replica bearer on the other side (e.g., the NTN side). This service-aware dual-guided decision-making process enables the core network to perform fine-grained resource scheduling according to actual service needs and network status, improving the resource utilization efficiency of the entire space-ground converged network.

[0068] In step S212, a PDU session recovery request is sent to the NTN base station. The PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier of the target QoS flow and the proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy. For example, the proposed DRB configuration may include one or more of the following: 5QI, GBR / Non-GBR, latency budget, and packet error rate requirements of the target QoS flow.

[0069] Here, the core network first determines the service requirements and resource status, and then instructs the NTN base station to prepare for PDU session recovery, which can avoid blind recovery on the UE side. For example, the SMF can send a PDU session recovery request to the NTN base station via the AMF. In some embodiments, the PDU session recovery request can carry the service identifier (e.g., QFI / 5QI) of each target QoS flow in the target QoS flow set, the suggested DRB configuration, and the traffic steering policy. The target QoS flow set can include a set of NTN-only bearers to be recovered, a set of TN and NTN offloading, and a set of TN and NTN redundant transmissions. The traffic steering policy can indicate whether to recover NTN-only bearers, TN and NTN offloading, or TN and NTN redundant transmissions.

[0070] In some embodiments, the PDU session recovery request may also carry one or more of the following: service priority, which is used to instruct the NTN base station to prioritize resource allocation; a valid recovery window, which indicates the time limit for the NTN base station to complete the paging and access procedures of the UE; or failure cancellation conditions, which include one or more of the following: paging failure, NTN base station resource confirmation failure, access procedure failure, UE not completing access within the valid recovery window, and the recovery conditions of the first link no longer being met. In some embodiments, in response to the failure cancellation conditions being met, the core network (e.g., SMF) may cancel the PDU session recovery request, keeping the QoS flow bearer path unchanged as TN bearer. Further, in some embodiments, in response to the cancellation of the PDU session recovery request, a timer may be started, and in response to the timer expiring, the core network (e.g., SMF) may resend the PDU session recovery request.

[0071] In step S214, in response to receiving a PDU session recovery completion message from the NTN base station, the user plane path of the target QoS flow is updated. At this time, the UE may be in a second state, in which a second link between the UE and the TN base station is established, and a first link between the UE and the NTN base station is established.

[0072] For example, the SMF can control the User Plane Function (UPF) to update the user plane path of the target QoS flow. The UPF can remain unchanged, but the access-side N3 tunnel, forwarding rules, or Packet Detection Rule (PDR) / Forwarding Action Rule (FAR) of the corresponding QoS flow are updated from TN-side bearer only to NTN-side bearer only, TN-NTN splitting, or TN-NTN redundant transmission.

[0073] After recovery, the UE can periodically or in response to a triggering event perform NTN link measurements and report measurement reports to the core network. The core network (e.g., SMF) will continuously determine whether the recovery conditions of the first link have been met.

[0074] In some embodiments, method 100 further includes: when the UE is in a second state, receiving a first link state report associated with a first link and a second link state report associated with a second link from the UE; determining, based on the first and second link state reports, whether it is necessary to adjust the QoS policy or routing of the QoS flow; in response to the need to adjust the QoS policy or routing of the QoS flow, sending a PDU session modification request, the PDU session modification request carrying the service identifier of the QoS flow and the proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the QoS flow; and in response to receiving a PDU session modification completion message, updating the user plane path of the QoS flow. For example, after recovery, the SMF can also continuously update the QoS policy and path allocation through PDU session modification based on bilateral measurement reports and service SLAs, realizing post-recovery closed-loop optimization. Through post-recovery closed-loop optimization, the service experience is maintained stably when the NTN link continues to change, and recovery is quickly revoked when recovery conditions deteriorate, enhancing the robustness of the wireless communication system.

[0075] Figure 3 A method 300 for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, which can be applied to an NTN base station. For example... Figure 3 As shown, method 300 includes steps S302 to S312.

[0076] In step S302, when the UE is in the first state, a PDU session recovery request is received from the core network (e.g., as described above regarding step S212). The PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier of the target QoS flow and the proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow. As previously mentioned, in the first state, the second link between the UE and the TN base station is established, the first link between the UE and the NTN base station is suspended, and the PDU session context is preserved.

[0077] In step S304, in response to receiving the PDU session recovery request, it is confirmed whether the resources of the NTN base station are available.

[0078] In some embodiments, confirming the availability of resources at an NTN base station includes confirming whether one or more of the following are available: available beams, random access resources, paging resources, RRC context recovery resources, and DRB capacity that meets QoS requirements.

[0079] In some embodiments, in response to acknowledging resource unavailability, the NTN base station may send a message to the core network indicating that the NTN base station has acknowledged resource failure. For example, the core network may thereby determine that the failure cancellation condition has been met and cancel the PDU session recovery request.

[0080] In step S306, in response to confirmation that resources are available, a paging message for PDU session recovery is sent to the UE. Here, the NTN base station confirms resource availability before paging the UE to initiate PDU session recovery, avoiding blind recovery on the UE side.

[0081] In some embodiments, in response to paging failure, the NTN base station may send a message indicating paging failure to the core network. For example, the core network may thereby determine that the failure cancellation conditions have been met and cancel the PDU session recovery request.

[0082] In step S308, in response to the UE initiating an access procedure (e.g., RRC Resume or equivalent access procedure) to the NTN base station, the DRB is configured for the target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the proposed DRB configuration carried in the PDU session recovery request, and the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB is updated.

[0083] In some embodiments, step S308 includes mapping the target QoS flow to an existing DRB in response to the existence of an existing DRB that satisfies the recommended DRB configuration; or adding a new DRB that satisfies the recommended DRB configuration and mapping the target QoS flow to the new DRB in response to the absence of an existing DRB that satisfies the recommended DRB configuration. For example, within an existing PDU session context, the NTN base station maps the target QoS flow to an existing DRB or adds a new DRB based on the recommended DRB configuration, service priority, and traffic redirection policy for each target QoS flow in the PDU session recovery request. If the existing DRB satisfies the 5QI, GBR / Non-GBR, latency budget, and packet error rate requirements of the target QoS flow, the existing DRB is reused; otherwise, a new DRB is added. By dynamically adding or modifying QoS flows, DRBs, and routing rules within an existing PDU session context, complete session reconstruction is avoided. This significantly reduces signaling interactions caused by frequent session establishment / release, accelerates service recovery, and is particularly suitable for long-latency inter-satellite environments.

[0084] In step S310, a configuration message is sent to the UE, carrying the mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs. For example, the NTN base station can send the mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs to the UE through RRC reconfiguration or RRC restoration.

[0085] In some embodiments, in response to an access procedure failure, the NTN base station may send a message to the core network indicating that the access procedure has failed. For example, the core network may thereby determine that the failure reversal conditions have been met and thus cancel the PDU session recovery request.

[0086] In step S312, in response to receiving a configuration complete message from the UE (e.g., RRC ReconfigurationComplete or Resume Complete), a PDU session recovery complete message is sent to the core network (e.g., as described above with respect to step S214).

[0087] In some embodiments, in response to not receiving a configuration completion message from the UE within a valid recovery window, a message indicating that the UE has not completed access within the valid recovery window is sent to the core network. For example, the core network may thereby determine that the failure reversal condition has been met and thus cancel the PDU session recovery request.

[0088] In some embodiments, method 300 further includes: when the UE is in a second state (in the second state, a second link is established and a first link is established), receiving a PDU session modification request, the PDU session modification request carrying a service identifier of the target QoS flow and a proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow; in response to receiving the PDU session modification request, confirming whether the resources of the NTN base station are available; in response to confirming that the resources are available, sending a paging message for PDU session modification to the UE; in response to the UE initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station, configuring a DRB for the target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the proposed DRB configuration carried in the PDU session modification request, and updating the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; sending a configuration message to the UE, the configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB; and in response to receiving a configuration completion message from the UE, sending a PDU session modification completion message to the core network.

[0089] Figure 4 A method 400 for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, which can be applied to a UE. For example... Figure 4 As shown, method 400 includes steps S402 to S408.

[0090] In step S402, if the UE is in the first state, a first link status report associated with the first link is sent (e.g., as described above with respect to steps S202 and S204). As previously mentioned, in the first state, a second link is established between the UE and the TN base station, the first link between the UE and the NTN base station is suspended, and the PDU session context is preserved.

[0091] In step S404, in response to receiving a paging message from the NTN base station for PDU session recovery, an access procedure is initiated to the NTN base station.

[0092] In step S406, in response to receiving a configuration message from the NTN base station carrying the mapping relationship between QoS streams and DRBs, configuration is performed.

[0093] In step S408, in response to the configuration completion, a configuration completion message is sent to the NTN base station.

[0094] For example, after receiving a paging, the UE initiates an RRC Resume or equivalent access procedure to the NTN base station. After the NTN base station sends the QoS flow and DRB mapping relationship to the UE through RRC Reconfiguration or RRC Resume related configuration, the UE returns RRC Reconfiguration Complete or Resume Complete after completing the RRC reconfiguration or restoration configuration. The NTN base station then sends a PDU session recovery complete message to the core network (e.g., AMF / SMF).

[0095] In some embodiments, method 400 further includes: when the UE is in a second state (in which a second link is established and a first link is established), sending a first link status report associated with the first link and a second link status report associated with the second link; in response to receiving a paging message for PDU session modification from the NTN base station, initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station; in response to receiving a configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between QoS streams and DRBs from the NTN base station, performing configuration; and in response to completing the configuration, sending a configuration completion message to the NTN base station.

[0096] For purposes of non-restrictive description, Figure 5 A flowchart is shown illustrating a non-limiting example process for implementing methods 200, 300, 400 for wireless communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure in a wireless communication system 100.

[0097] like Figure 5 As shown, UE 101 is initially in RRC-Inactive / CM-Inactive state on the NTN side, retaining the PDU session context; UE and TN base station 102 maintain RRC-Connected, and current services are mainly carried through the TN side.

[0098] In step S501, UE 101 performs NTN recovery measurements to send an NTN link status report to core network 104. For example, the NTN link status report includes RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR measured based on the received NTN reference signal, satellite elevation angle, remaining satellite coverage window time, or satellite beam visibility time calculated based on the UE's GNSS / positioning information, UE moving speed, and ephemeris information provided by satellite broadcast or core network, and measured or estimated Doppler shift pre-compensation residuals.

[0099] In step S502, the core network 104 performs NTN link recovery determination. For example, with the assistance of the AMF, the SMF determines that when the NTN signal quality is higher than the threshold Th_high and continues to exceed the stable time T_stable, and the remaining time of the satellite coverage window is higher than T_window and the Doppler frequency shift pre-compensation residual is lower than the threshold Th_low, the NTN link enters the recovery candidate state.

[0100] In step S503, the core network 104 obtains the service status on the TN side. For example, the SMF obtains the QFI, 5QI, GBR / Non-GBR attributes and current bearer path of each QoS flow from the PDU session context, obtains the QoS policy converted from the service SLA from the PCF, and obtains the UE-related or cell-level load, latency, packet loss rate and available radio resources from the TN base station 102.

[0101] In step S504, the core network 104 performs service-aware decisions. For example, based on the NTN link recovery determination, the QoS policy of each QoS flow, the TN real-time load and NTN real-time load obtained from the TN base station 102 and NTN base station 103 respectively, and the operation policy, the SMF determines that if the recovery conditions of the first link are met and the QoS flow is suitable for NTN carrying, then the QoS flow is added to the recovery-only NTN carrying set; if the TN load is high or the service can be carried by multiple links, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN splitting set; if the QoS policy requires high reliability or low interruption probability, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN redundant transmission set; if the NTN link recovery determination is insufficient or the NTN resources are insufficient, then the TN side carrying remains unchanged.

[0102] In step S505, in response to the need to restore the NTN link (whether it is restoring NTN-only bearers, TN-NTN offloading, or TN-NTN redundant transmission), a PDU session restoration request is sent to the NTN base station 103. For example, the SMF sends the PDU session restoration request to the NTN base station 103 via the AMF. This request carries the QFI / 5QI of each target QoS flow in the target QoS flow set (including the set of NTN-only bearers to be restored, the set of TN-NTN offloading, and the set of TN-NTN redundant transmission), the suggested DRB configuration generated by the SMF according to the QoS policy, the service priority, the effective restoration window, the failure cancellation condition, and the traffic guidance policy. Among them, the service priority is used by the NTN base station to prioritize resource allocation, the effective restoration window is used to limit the time that paging and access procedures must complete, the failure cancellation condition is used for subsequent failure handling, and the traffic guidance policy is used to indicate the restoration, offloading, or redundant transmission category.

[0103] In step S506, the NTN base station 103 performs resource verification. For example, the NTN base station 103 verifies whether there are available beams, random access resources, paging resources, RRC context recovery resources, and DRB capacity that meets QoS requirements. If resources are unavailable, the NTN base station 103 returns the reason for insufficient resources to the AMF / SMF, and the SMF cancels or postpones the restoration.

[0104] In step S507, after confirming that the resources are available, the NTN base station 103 sends a paging message to the UE 101 for PDU session resumption.

[0105] In step S508, after receiving the paging, UE 101 initiates an RRC Resume or equivalent access procedure to the NTN base station.

[0106] In step 509, NTN base station 103 performs QoS flow and DRB supplementary configuration. For example, within the existing PDU session context, NTN base station 103 maps the target QoS flow to an existing DRB or adds a new DRB based on the suggested DRB configuration, service priority, and traffic redirection policy for each target QoS flow in the PDU session recovery request of S505. If the existing DRB meets the 5QI, GBR / Non-GBR, latency budget, and packet error rate requirements of the target QoS flow, the existing DRB is reused; otherwise, a new DRB is added.

[0107] In step S510, the NTN base station 103 sends the mapping relationship between QoS flow and DRB to the UE 101 through configurations such as RRC Reconfiguration or RRC Resume.

[0108] In step S511, UE 101 completes RRC reconfiguration or restores configuration, and then returns RRCReconfiguration Complete or RRC Resume Complete in step S512.

[0109] In step 513, NTN base station 103 sends a PDU session recovery completion message to core network 104. For example, NTN base station 103 sends a PDU session recovery completion message to AMF / SMF.

[0110] In step S514, core network 104 updates the user plane path. For example, SMF controls UPF to update the user plane path of the target QoS flow. UPF may remain unchanged, but the access-side N3 tunnel, forwarding rules, or PDR / FAR of the corresponding QoS flow is updated from TN-side bearer only to NTN-side bearer, TN / NTN offloading, or TN / NTN redundant transmission.

[0111] Here, before restoring the NTN connection, the core network 104 comprehensively judges the stability of the NTN link, ephemeris window, UE location, Doppler compensation effect, TN load and service type, and performs QoS flow and DRB supplementary configuration within the existing PDU session context, thereby achieving smooth, low-overhead, and revocable NTN service reconnection.

[0112] This disclosure enables the core network to control the restoration of the NTN-side connection when the UE is in RRC-Inactive / CM-Inactive on the NTN side and maintains service connectivity only through the TN. This is achieved after the NTN link is stably restored and service requirements are met. Through this disclosure, the core network can first determine whether NTN restoration is necessary, whether to maintain TN / NTN dual connectivity, and whether to perform traffic offloading or redundancy for specific QoS flows, before initiating PDU session restoration to the NTN side. This avoids the UE blindly initiating restoration and complete session reconstruction, thereby reducing signaling overhead, shortening service recovery time, and improving the resource utilization efficiency of the space-ground integrated network. Furthermore, this disclosure can be combined with regenerative satellite architectures and is compatible with 5G-Advanced / 6G network architectures, providing a key technical implementation means for future integrated space-air-ground networks, with broad application prospects.

[0113] This disclosure also provides a core network device comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method 200 according to any embodiment of this disclosure.

[0114] refer to Figure 6 This illustrates a schematic block diagram of a core network device 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the core network device 600 includes one or more processors 602 and a memory 604 coupled to the processor 602 and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 602, cause the processor 602 to perform the method 200 according to any of the foregoing embodiments. The processor 602 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) of the core network device 600. The processor 602 may be any type of general-purpose processor or may be a processor specifically designed for communications, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). The memory 604 may be coupled to the processor 602 and may include various computer-readable media accessible by the processor 602. In various embodiments, the memory 604 described herein may include volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. For example, the memory 604 may include any combination of random access memory (“RAM”), dynamic RAM (“DRAM”), static RAM (“SRAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), flash memory, cache memory, and / or any other type of non-transient computer-readable media. The memory 604 may store instructions that, when executed by the processor 602, cause the processor 602 to execute the method 200 according to any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0115] The core network device 600 is configured to perform the method 200 described in any of the foregoing embodiments, and therefore can be referred to the descriptions of the various embodiments of method 200 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0116] This disclosure also provides an NTN base station device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method 300 according to any embodiment of this disclosure.

[0117] refer to Figure 7 This illustrates a schematic block diagram of an NTN base station device 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7As shown, the NTN base station device 700 includes one or more processors 702 and a memory 704 coupled to the processors 702 and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processors 702, cause the processors 702 to perform the method 300 according to any of the foregoing embodiments. The processor 702 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) of the NTN base station device 700. The processor 702 may be any type of general-purpose processor or may be a processor specifically designed for communications, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). The memory 704 may be coupled to the processor 702 and may include various computer-readable media accessible by the processor 702. In various embodiments, the memory 704 described herein may include volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. For example, the memory 704 may include any combination of random access memory (“RAM”), dynamic RAM (“DRAM”), static RAM (“SRAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), flash memory, cache memory, and / or any other type of non-transitory computer-readable media. The memory 704 may store instructions that, when executed by the processor 702, cause the processor 702 to execute the method 300 according to any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0118] The NTN base station device 700 is configured to perform the method 300 described in any of the foregoing embodiments, and therefore can be referred to the descriptions of the various embodiments of method 300 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0119] This disclosure also provides a user equipment comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method 400 according to any embodiment of this disclosure.

[0120] refer to Figure 8 This illustrates a schematic block diagram of a UE 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 8As shown, UE 800 includes one or more processors 802 and a memory 804 coupled to the processor 802 and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 802, cause the processor 802 to perform the method 400 according to any of the foregoing embodiments. The processor 802 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) of UE 800. The processor 802 may be any type of general-purpose processor or may be a processor specifically designed for communication, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). The memory 804 may be coupled to the processor 802 and may include various computer-readable media accessible by the processor 802. In various embodiments, the memory 804 described herein may include volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. For example, the memory 804 may include any combination of random access memory (“RAM”), dynamic RAM (“DRAM”), static RAM (“SRAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), flash memory, cache memory, and / or any other type of non-transitory computer-readable media. The memory 804 may store instructions that, when executed by the processor 802, cause the processor 802 to execute the method 400 according to any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0121] UE 800 is configured to perform the method 400 described in any of the foregoing embodiments, and therefore reference can be made to the description of the various embodiments of method 400 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0122] Return to reference Figure 1 This disclosure also provides a wireless communication system 100, which can be configured to perform the methods 200, 300, 400 described in any of the foregoing embodiments. Therefore, reference can be made to the foregoing descriptions of various embodiments of methods 200, 300, 400, which will not be repeated here.

[0123] This disclosure also provides a non-transient storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method described according to any of the foregoing embodiments of this disclosure.

[0124] This disclosure also provides a computer program product that may include instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the methods described according to any of the foregoing embodiments of this disclosure. The instructions may be any set of instructions that will be executed directly by a processor, such as machine code, or any set of instructions that will be executed indirectly, such as a script. The instructions may be stored in an object code format for direct processing by a processor, or stored in any other computer language, including scripts or sets of independent source code modules that are interpreted on demand or compiled in advance.

[0125] Figure 9A schematic block diagram of a computer system 900 on which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. The computer system 900 includes a bus 902 or other communication mechanism for transmitting information, and a processing means 904 coupled to the bus 902 for processing information. The computer system 900 also includes a memory 906 coupled to the bus 902 for storing instructions to be executed by the processing means 904; the memory 906 may be random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device. The memory 906 may also be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processing means 904. The computer system 900 also includes a read-only memory (ROM) 908 or other static storage device coupled to the bus 902 for storing static information and instructions for the processing means 904. A storage device 910, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to the bus 902 for storing information and instructions. Computer system 900 may be coupled via bus 902 to output device 912 for providing output to a user, such as, but not limited to, a display (such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD)), speakers, etc. Input device 914, such as a keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc., is coupled to bus 902 for transmitting information and command selections to processing device 904. Computer system 900 may perform embodiments of this disclosure. Consistent with certain implementations of this disclosure, results are provided by computer system 900 in response to processing device 904 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in memory 906. Such instructions may be read into memory 906 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 910. Execution of the sequence of instructions contained in memory 906 causes processing device 904 to perform the methods described herein. Alternatively, the teachings may be implemented using hard-wired circuitry in place of or in combination with software instructions. Therefore, implementations of this disclosure are not limited to any particular combination of hardware circuitry and software. In various embodiments, computer system 900 can be connected across a network to one or more other computer systems, such as computer system 900, to form a networked system via network interface 916. This network may include a private network or a public network such as the Internet. In a networked system, one or more computer systems can store data and supply data to other computer systems. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processing device 904 for execution. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical discs or magnetic disks such as storage device 910. Volatile media include dynamic memory such as memory 906. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wires, and optical fibers, including wiring containing bus 902.Common forms of computer-readable media or computer program products include, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, or any other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, digital video discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs, any other optical media, thumb drives, memory cards, RAM, PROMs and EPROMs, fast EPROMs, any other memory chips or cartridges, or any other tangible media from which a computer can read. Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved when carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processing device 904 for execution. For example, instructions may initially be carried on a disk of a remote computer. The remote computer may load the instructions into its dynamic memory and transmit the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 900 may receive data over a telephone line and convert the data into an infrared signal using an infrared transmitter. An infrared detector coupled to bus 902 may receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on bus 902. Bus 902 carries the data to memory 906, from which processing device 904 retrieves and executes the instructions. Optionally, the instructions received by the memory 906 may be stored on the storage device 910 before or after execution by the processing device 904.

[0126] According to various embodiments, instructions configured to be executed by a processing device to perform a method are stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may be a device for storing digital information. For example, a computer-readable medium includes a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) as known in the art for storing software. The computer-readable medium is accessed by a processor adapted to execute the instructions configured to be executed.

[0127] The foregoing has described one or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recited in the claims may be performed in a different order than that shown in the embodiments and may still achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require the specific or sequential order shown to achieve the desired result. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0128] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments can be implemented by computer chips or physical entities, or by products with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a server system. Of course, this disclosure does not exclude the possibility that, with the future development of computer technology, the computer implementing the functions of the above embodiments can be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle human-machine interaction device, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0129] While one or more embodiments of this disclosure provide the method operation steps as described in the embodiments or flowcharts, more or fewer operation steps may be included based on conventional or non-inventive means. The order of steps listed in the embodiments is merely one possible execution order among many and does not represent the only execution order. In actual device or terminal product execution, the methods shown in the embodiments or drawings can be executed sequentially or in parallel (e.g., in a parallel processor or multi-threaded processing environment, or even a distributed data processing environment).

[0130] The terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, product, 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 process, method, product, or apparatus. Without further limitation, the presence of other identical or equivalent elements in the process, method, product, or apparatus that includes said elements is not excluded. For example, the use of terms such as "first" or "second" to denote names does not indicate any particular order.

[0131] For ease of description, the above devices are described in terms of function, divided into various modules. Of course, when implementing one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the functions of each module can be implemented in one or more software and / or hardware, or a module that performs the same function can be implemented by a combination of multiple sub-modules or sub-units. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical functional division; in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings, direct couplings, or communication connections may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0132] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0133] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams. These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0134] Those skilled in the art will understand that one or more embodiments of this disclosure may take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, one or more embodiments of this disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0135] One or more embodiments of this disclosure can be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, that are executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular task or implement a particular abstract data type. One or more embodiments of this disclosure can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside in local and remote computer storage media, including storage devices.

[0136] The same or similar parts between the various embodiments of this disclosure can be referred to mutually, and each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the apparatus embodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the description of the method embodiments. In the description of this disclosure, the descriptions of terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., mean that the specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this disclosure. In this disclosure, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this disclosure and the features of the different embodiments or examples.

[0137] Additionally, when used in this disclosure, the terms “here,” “above,” “below,” “below,” “in the following,” “overall,” and similar terms should refer to the entirety of this disclosure and not any particular part thereof. Furthermore, unless expressly stated otherwise or otherwise understood in the context in which they are used, conditional language used herein, such as “may,” “possibly,” “for example,” “like,” etc., is generally intended to express that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not, certain features, elements, and / or states. Therefore, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that one or more embodiments require features, elements, and / or states in any way, or whether such features, elements, and / or states are included or performed in any particular embodiment.

[0138] The above description is merely an embodiment of one or more embodiments of this disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the one or more embodiments of this disclosure. Various modifications and variations can be made to the one or more embodiments of this disclosure by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, applied to a core network, the method comprising: When the user equipment (UE) is in the first state, a first link status report associated with the first link is received from the UE. In the first state, a second link between the UE and the terrestrial network (TN) base station is established, the first link between the UE and the non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station is suspended, and the protocol data unit (PDU) session context is preserved. Based on the first link status report, determine whether the recovery conditions of the first link have been met; Obtain the service identifier, current bearer path, and QoS policy of the QoS flow; Obtain the load of each of the TN base station and the NTN base station; Based on whether the recovery conditions of the first link are met, the QoS policy of the QoS flow, and the respective loads of the TN base station and the NTN base station, the update bearer path of the QoS flow is determined, and in response to the fact that the update bearer path is related to the NTN base station, the QoS flow is determined as the target QoS flow. Send a PDU session recovery request to the NTN base station. The PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier of the target QoS flow and the proposed data radio bearer (DRB) configuration generated according to the QoS policy. as well as In response to receiving a PDU session recovery complete message from the NTN base station, the user plane path of the target QoS flow is updated.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first link status report includes a first parameter and a second parameter, wherein the first parameter indicates the transmission quality of the first link and the second parameter indicates the availability of the first link.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The recovery conditions for the first link include: The first parameter exceeds the first threshold for a first duration, and The second parameter exceeds the second threshold.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The first link status report also includes a third parameter, which indicates the synchronization accuracy of the first link, wherein the recovery conditions of the first link further include: The third parameter is lower than the third threshold.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The first parameter includes one or more of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR); the second parameter includes one or more of the following: satellite elevation angle, remaining time of satellite coverage window, and visible time of satellite beam; and the third parameter includes Doppler frequency shift pre-compensation residual.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Obtain one or more of the following parameters related to the UE or at the cell level: load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources, from the TN base station. The determination of the update bearer path for the QoS flow is further based on one or more of the following factors related to the UE or at the cell level: load, latency, packet loss rate, and available radio resources. The service identifiers of the QoS flow include the QoS flow identifier QFI and the 5G QoS identifier 5QI.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The determination of the update bearer path for the QoS flow is also based on an operational policy, which indicates whether the UE can access the NTN.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining the update bearer path for the QoS flow includes: In response to the recovery condition of the first link being met: If the QoS flow is suitable to be carried by the NTN base station, then the QoS flow is added to the recovery NTN-only carry set. If the load of the TN base station exceeds the fourth threshold or the QoS flow supports multi-link transport, then the QoS flow is added to the TN and NTN traffic splitting set. If the QoS policy of the QoS stream requires high reliability or low interruption probability, then the QoS stream is added to the TN and NTN redundant transmission set; or If the recovery conditions of the first link are not met or the resources of the NTN base station are insufficient, the bearer path of the QoS flow remains unchanged as TN bearer. The PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier, suggested DRB configuration, and traffic steering policy for each target QoS flow in the target QoS flow set. The target QoS flow set includes the NTN-only bearer set, the TN and NTN split set, and the TN and NTN redundant transmission set. The traffic steering policy indicates whether to restore NTN-only bearer, TN and NTN split, or TN and NTN redundant transmission.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The PDU session recovery request also carries one or more of the following: Service priority, wherein the service priority is used to indicate the NTN base station to prioritize resource allocation; A valid recovery window, which indicates the time limit for the NTN base station to complete the paging and access procedures for the UE; or The failure cancellation conditions include one or more of the following: paging failure, NTN base station resource confirmation failure, access process failure, UE not completing access within the effective recovery window, and the recovery conditions of the first link no longer being met.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: In response to the failure cancellation condition being met, the PDU session recovery request is cancelled, and the bearer path of the QoS flow remains unchanged as TN bearer.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: In response to the cancellation of the PDU session recovery request, a timer is started; as well as In response to the timer expiring, the PDU session recovery request is resent.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the UE is in the second state, a first link status report associated with the first link and a second link status report associated with the second link are received from the UE. In the second state, the second link is established and the first link is established. Based on the first link status report and the second link status report, determine whether it is necessary to adjust the QoS policy or routing of the QoS flow; In response to the need to adjust the QoS policy or route of a QoS flow, a PDU session modification request is sent, the PDU session modification request carrying the service identifier of the QoS flow and the proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the QoS flow; as well as In response to receiving a PDU session modification complete message, the user plane path of the QoS flow is updated.

13. A method for wireless communication, applied to a non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station, the method comprising: When the user equipment (UE) is in the first state, a protocol data unit (PDU) session recovery request is received from the core network. The PDU session recovery request carries the service identifier of the target quality of service (QoS) flow and the proposed data radio bearer (DRB) configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow. In the first state, a second link between the UE and the terrestrial network (TN) base station is established, the first link between the UE and the TN base station is suspended, and the PDU session context is preserved. In response to receiving the PDU session recovery request, confirm whether the resources of the NTN base station are available; In response to confirmation that resources are available, a paging message for PDU session resumption is sent to the UE; In response to the UE initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station, the DRB is configured for the target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the DRB suggested in the PDU session recovery request, and the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB is updated. A configuration message is sent to the UE, the configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between QoS flows and DRBs; and In response to receiving a configuration complete message from the UE, a PDU session recovery complete message is sent to the core network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, In the PDU session context, configuring the DRB for the target QoS flow according to the proposed DRB carried in the PDU session recovery request includes: In response to the existence of an existing DRB that satisfies the proposed DRB configuration, the target QoS flow is mapped to the existing DRB; or In response to the absence of an existing DRB that satisfies the recommended DRB configuration, a new DRB that satisfies the recommended DRB configuration is added, and the target QoS flow is mapped to the new DRB.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The recommended DRB configuration includes one or more of the following: the 5GQoS identifier 5QI of the target QoS flow, whether to guarantee bit rate GBR / Non-GBR, latency budget, and packet error rate requirements.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein, Confirming the availability of resources for the NTN base station includes confirming whether it has one or more of the following: available beams, random access resources, paging resources, radio resource control (RRC) context recovery resources, and DRB capacity that meets QoS requirements.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising one or more of the following: In response to the confirmation that the resource is unavailable, a message is sent to the core network instructing the NTN base station to confirm the resource failure; In response to paging failure, a message indicating paging failure is sent to the core network; In response to access process failure, a message indicating access process failure is sent to the core network; or In response to not receiving the configuration completion message from the UE within the valid recovery window, a message indicating that the UE failed to complete access within the valid recovery window is sent to the core network, wherein... The PDU session recovery request also carries the valid recovery window, which indicates the time limit for the NTN base station to complete the paging and access process of the UE.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The PDU session recovery request also carries one or more of the following: A traffic redirection strategy, wherein the traffic redirection strategy is used to indicate the bearer path of the target QoS flow; Service priority, wherein the service priority is used to indicate the NTN base station to prioritize resource allocation; or The failure cancellation conditions include one or more of the following: paging failure, NTN base station resource confirmation failure, access process failure, UE not completing access within the effective recovery window, and the recovery conditions of the first link no longer being met.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising: When the UE is in the second state, it receives a PDU session modification request. The PDU session modification request carries the service identifier of the target QoS flow and the proposed DRB configuration generated according to the QoS policy of the target QoS flow. In the second state, the second link is established and the first link is established. In response to receiving the PDU session modification request, confirm whether the resources of the NTN base station are available; In response to confirmation that resources are available, a paging message for PDU session modification is sent to the UE; In response to the UE initiating an access procedure to the NTN base station, the DRB is configured for the target QoS flow in the PDU session context according to the suggested DRB configuration carried in the PDU session modification request, and the mapping relationship between the QoS flow and the DRB is updated. A configuration message is sent to the UE, the configuration message carrying the mapping relationship between QoS flow and DRB; as well as In response to receiving a configuration complete message from the UE, a PDU session modification complete message is sent to the core network.

20. A method for wireless communication, applied to a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: When the UE is in the first state, a first link status report associated with the first link is sent. In the first state, a second link between the UE and the terrestrial network TN base station is established, the first link between the UE and the non-terrestrial network NTN base station is suspended, and the protocol data unit (PDU) session context is preserved. In response to receiving a paging message for PDU session recovery from the NTN base station, an access procedure is initiated to the NTN base station; In response to receiving a configuration message from the NTN base station carrying the mapping relationship between the Quality of Service (QoS) stream and the Data Radio Bearer (DRB), configuration is performed; as well as In response to the completion of the configuration, a configuration completion message is sent to the NTN base station.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: When the UE is in the second state, a first link status report associated with the first link and a second link status report associated with the second link are sent. In the second state, the second link is established and the first link is established. In response to receiving a paging message for PDU session modification from the NTN base station, an access procedure is initiated to the NTN base station; In response to receiving a configuration message from the NTN base station carrying the mapping relationship between QoS streams and DRBs, configuration is performed; as well as In response to the completion of the configuration, a configuration completion message is sent to the NTN base station.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein, The first link status report includes a first parameter and a second parameter, wherein the first parameter indicates the transmission quality of the first link and the second parameter indicates the availability of the first link.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, The first link status report also includes a third parameter, which indicates the synchronization accuracy of the first link.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein, The first parameter includes one or more of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR); the second parameter includes one or more of the following: satellite elevation angle, remaining time of satellite coverage window, and visible time of satellite beam; and the third parameter includes Doppler frequency shift pre-compensation residual.

25. A core network device, comprising: One or more processors; as well as A memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. An NTN base station device, comprising: One or more processors; as well as A memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 13 to 19.

27. A user equipment, comprising: One or more processors; as well as A memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.

28. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions causing the one or more processors, when executed, to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

29. A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

Images