COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

Abstract

The embodiments of the present invention disclose a communication method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. An access network device transmits resource information to a terminal device, where the resource information includes information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2. Then, the terminal device transmits a random access request to the access network device on one of the N uplink resources (i.e., the first resource). Correspondingly, the access network device may receive a random access request from the terminal device on the first resource, and may transmit a random access response to the terminal device on one of the M downlink resources (i.e., the second resource). In the embodiments of the present invention, the access network device may transmit information about multiple uplink resources and information about multiple downlink resources to the terminal device, the terminal device may perform access on one of the uplink resources, and the access network device may respond on one downlink resource, thereby improving system resource utilization.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202111600972.0, entitled “COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM,” filed with the China State Intellectual Property Office on December 24, 2021, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of communications technology, and in particular to a communications method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. [Background technology]

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, terminal devices have more and more diverse forms, such as smartphones, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotic arms, smart cars, and network cameras. Correspondingly, communication services are becoming more and more diversified, such as live streaming, ultra-high definition video, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and smart factory (SF). Before performing various communication services, the terminal device first needs to select a cell within the coverage range of the access network device for access in order to obtain network services.

[0004] Currently, in order to allow a terminal device to access a cell, an access network device broadcasts resource information of each cell on a frequency corresponding to each cell within the coverage range of the access network device. The resource information of a cell includes information about an initial uplink resource and an initial downlink resource of the cell. The initial uplink resource and the initial downlink resource of different cells are different, and there is a correspondence between the initial uplink resource and the initial downlink resource of a cell. Correspondingly, a terminal device may receive the resource information of a cell broadcasted by an access network device on different frequencies. Then, the terminal device may select a cell, send a random access request to a base station on the initial uplink resource of the cell, and receive a random access response from the access network device on the initial downlink resource of the cell. When the terminal device successfully accesses a cell, the access network device may allocate a data channel resource of the cell to the terminal device, so that the terminal device performs data transmission. Meanwhile, how to enable a terminal device to access a cell more flexibly and improve system resource utilization is a problem of interest to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention disclose a communication method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, for improving system resource utilization.

[0006] According to a first aspect, a communication method is disclosed. The communication method may be applied to an access network device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the access network device. An example in which the communication method is applied to an access network device is used below for explanation. The communication method may include the steps of: transmitting resource information to a terminal device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, N and M being integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong; receiving a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, the first resource being one of the N uplink resources; and transmitting a random access response to the terminal device on a second resource, the second resource being one of the M downlink resources.

[0007] In this embodiment of the present invention, an access network device may transmit information about a plurality of uplink resources (i.e., N uplink resources) and information about a plurality of downlink resources (i.e., M downlink resources) to a terminal device. Then, the terminal device may flexibly transmit a random access request on one of the uplink resources (i.e., the first resource). Then, when the access network device receives the random access request from the terminal device, the access network device may flexibly transmit a random access response on one of the downlink resources (i.e., the second resource). The plurality of uplink resources and the plurality of downlink resources may be initial uplink resources and initial downlink resources of a plurality of cells in a coverage range of the access network device. It can be understood that since the terminal device may flexibly transmit a random access request on one resource and the access network device may flexibly transmit a random access response on one resource, system resource utilization can be improved.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the method may further include a step of transmitting N reference signals to a terminal device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources.

[0009] In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network device may transmit N reference signals to the terminal device, so that the terminal device may select the best resource from the N uplink resources for access based on the signal qualities corresponding to the N reference signals.

[0010] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the method may further include: determining a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M; and selecting a second resource from the K downlink resources.

[0011] In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to multiple downlink resources among the M downlink resources. Therefore, the access network device may first determine K downlink resources corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources, and then select one resource (i.e., the second resource) among the K downlink resources to send a random access response to the terminal device. It can be understood that the access network device may flexibly select one resource among the K downlink resources to send a random access response to the terminal device, and may send the random access response to different terminal devices on different downlink resources, thereby meeting the access requirements of more terminal devices.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the step of selecting the second resource from among the K downlink resources comprises determining the least utilized resource from among the K downlink resources as the second resource.

[0013] In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network device may select the least utilized resource among the K downlink resources to send a random access response to the terminal device, thereby enabling the K resources to be utilized in a balanced manner.

[0014] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the method further includes determining a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0015] In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to one of the M downlink resources. Thus, the access network device may first determine a downlink resource (i.e., a second resource) corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources, and then send a random access response to the terminal device on the downlink resource. It can be understood that since one uplink resource may correspond to one downlink resource, the terminal device only monitors the downlink resource corresponding to the first resource, and does not need to monitor multiple downlink resources, which may reduce the average power consumption of the terminal device.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method may further include a step of receiving capability information from the terminal device, where the capability information includes L frequency band sets and information about bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; a step of allocating a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and an amount of downlink data, where the third resource includes one or more resources, where the third resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands; and a step of transmitting information about the third resource to the terminal device, where the third resource is utilized by the access network device for downlink data transmission.

[0017] In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network device may receive capability information from the terminal device. Then, when the terminal device has downlink data, the access network device may allocate a resource (i.e., a third resource) to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of downlink data of the terminal device, and then send information about the third resource to the terminal device. In addition, the third resource allocated to the terminal device by the access network device may include one or more resources, and may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, so that the advantages (such as coverage and bandwidth) of different frequency bands can be fully utilized to maximize resource utilization.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method may further include the steps of receiving a resource allocation request from the terminal device, where the resource allocation request includes an amount of uplink data; allocating a fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of uplink data, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, where the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or a different frequency band, and where a frequency band corresponding to the third resource is the same as or different from a frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource; and transmitting information about the fourth resource to the terminal device, where the fourth resource is utilized by the access network device for uplink data reception.

[0019] In this embodiment of the present invention, an access network device may receive a resource allocation request from a terminal device, and the resource allocation request may include an amount of uplink data. Then, the access network device may allocate a resource (i.e., a fourth resource) to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of uplink data of the terminal device, and then send information about the fourth resource to the terminal device. The fourth resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal device may include one or more resources, and may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands. The third resource and the fourth resource are independent of each other, and may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands. It can be understood that the access network device may divide all available frequency band resources into uplink resources and downlink resources, schedule resources in a unified manner, and flexibly allocate uplink / downlink resources to the terminal device based on the requirements of the terminal device, so as to make full use of the advantages (such as coverage and bandwidth) of different frequency bands to maximize resource utilization.

[0020] According to a second aspect, a communication method is disclosed. The communication method may be applied to a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device. An example in which the communication method is applied to a terminal device is used below for explanation. The communication method may include the steps of receiving resource information from an access network device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong; sending a random access request to the access network device on a first resource, where the first resource is one of the N uplink resources; and receiving a random access response from the access network device on a second resource, where the second resource is one of the M downlink resources.

[0021] In this embodiment of the present invention, a terminal device may receive information about a plurality of uplink resources (i.e., N uplink resources) and information about a plurality of downlink resources (i.e., M downlink resources) from an access network device. Then, the terminal device may flexibly transmit a random access request on one of the uplink resources (i.e., the first resource). Then, when the access network device receives the random access request from the terminal device, the access network device may flexibly transmit a random access response on one of the downlink resources (i.e., the second resource). Correspondingly, the terminal device may receive a random access response from the access network device on the second resource. The plurality of uplink resources and the plurality of downlink resources may be initial uplink resources and initial downlink resources of a plurality of cells in a coverage range of the access network device. It can be understood that since the terminal device may flexibly transmit a random access request on one resource and the access network device may flexibly transmit a random access response on one resource, system resource utilization can be improved.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the method may further include selecting a first resource from among the N uplink resources.

[0023] In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device may first select a first resource from the N uplink resources according to a specific rule, and ensure that the terminal device can successfully send a random access response to the access network device on the first resource.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the step of selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources includes the step of selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources based on a capability of the terminal device.

[0025] In this embodiment of the present invention, since the terminal device cannot utilize resources that are not supported by the capabilities of the terminal device (such as supported frequency bands, bandwidths, and subcarrier bandwidths), the terminal device may first select a first resource based on the capabilities of the terminal device to ensure that the random access response can be successfully transmitted to the access network device on the first resource.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the method may further include a step of receiving N reference signals from the access network device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources, and a step of determining N signal qualities based on the N reference signals, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N signal qualities, and the step of selecting a first resource from the N uplink resources includes a step of determining a resource corresponding to the best signal quality as the first resource among the N uplink resources.

[0027] In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device may receive N reference signals from the access network device, may determine N signal qualities based on the N reference signals, and may determine a resource corresponding to the best signal quality among the N uplink resources as a first resource. Then, the terminal device may send a random access response to the access network device on the first resource. It can be understood that since the terminal device selects a resource corresponding to the best signal quality among the N uplink resources, it can be maximally guaranteed that the access network device can receive the random access response sent by the terminal device.

[0028] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the method may further include a step of determining a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where the K downlink resources include a second resource, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M, and the step of receiving a random access response from the access network device on the second resource includes a step of receiving a random access response from the access network device on the K downlink resources.

[0029] In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to multiple downlink resources among the M downlink resources. Thus, the terminal device may first determine K downlink resources corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources, so that a random access response from the access network device can be received on the K downlink resources.

[0030] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the method may further include determining a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0031] In this embodiment of the present invention, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to one of the M downlink resources. Thus, the terminal device may first determine a downlink resource (i.e., a second resource) corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources, and then the terminal device may receive a random access response on the second resource from the access network device. It can be understood that since one uplink resource may correspond to one downlink resource, the terminal device may only monitor a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource, and does not need to monitor multiple downlink resources, thereby reducing the average power consumption of the terminal device.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method may further include a step of transmitting capability information to the access network device, where the capability information includes L frequency band sets and information about bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and a step of receiving information about third resources from the access network device, where the third resources include one or more resources, where the third resources belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and where the third resources are utilized by the terminal device to receive downlink data.

[0033] In this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device may send capability information to the access network device, so that when the terminal device has downlink data, the access network device can flexibly allocate resources (i.e., third resources) to the terminal device according to the capability information and the amount of downlink data of the terminal device. Because the third resources allocated to the terminal device by the access network device may include one or more resources and may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, thereby making full use of the advantages (such as coverage and bandwidth) of different frequency bands to maximize resource utilization.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the method further includes a step of sending a resource allocation request to the access network device, where the resource allocation request includes an amount of uplink data, and a step of receiving information about a fourth resource from the access network device, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, where the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or a different frequency band, and where the fourth resource is utilized by the terminal device for transmitting the uplink data.

[0035] In this embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal device has uplink data, the terminal device may send a resource allocation request to the access network device. The resource allocation request may include the amount of uplink data. When the access network device receives the resource allocation request from the terminal device, the access network device may allocate a resource (i.e., the fourth resource) to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of uplink data of the terminal device. In addition, the fourth resource allocated by the access network device to the terminal device may include one or more resources, and may belong to the same frequency band or belong to different frequency bands. In addition, the third resource and the fourth resource are independent of each other, and may belong to the same frequency band or belong to different frequency bands. It can be understood that the access network device may divide all available frequency band resources into uplink resources and downlink resources, schedule the resources in a unified manner, and flexibly allocate the uplink / downlink resources to the terminal device based on the requirements of the terminal device, so as to make full use of the advantages (such as coverage and bandwidth) of different frequency bands to maximize resource utilization. In addition, since the uplink and downlink resources utilized by the terminal device may belong to different frequency bands, the requirements on the carrier capacity of the terminal device can be reduced while the downlink bandwidth and uplink coverage are guaranteed.

[0036] According to a third aspect, a communication apparatus is disclosed. The communication apparatus may be an access network device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the access network device. The apparatus may include a transmitting unit configured to transmit resource information to a terminal device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong, and a receiving unit configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, where the first resource is one of the N uplink resources.

[0037] The sending unit is further configured to send a random access response to the terminal device on a second resource, where the second resource is one of the M downlink resources.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the transmitting unit is further configured to transmit N reference signals to the terminal device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources.

[0039] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the apparatus may further include a first determining unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M, and a selecting unit configured to select a second resource from the K downlink resources.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the selection unit selecting the second resource from among the K downlink resources includes determining a resource with a lowest utilization rate among the K downlink resources as the second resource.

[0041] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one downlink resource of the M downlink resources, and the apparatus may further include a second determination unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to receive capability information from the terminal device, where the capability information includes L frequency band sets and information about bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0043] The apparatus may further include an allocation unit configured to allocate a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the downlink data amount, where the third resource includes one or more resources, and the third resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands.

[0044] The sending unit is further configured to send information about a third resource to the terminal device, where the third resource is utilized by the access network device for downlink data transmission.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to receive a resource allocation request from the terminal device, where the resource allocation request includes an amount of uplink data.

[0046] The allocating unit is further configured to allocate a fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the uplink data amount, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and a frequency band corresponding to the third resource is the same as or different from a frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource.

[0047] The sending unit is further configured to send information about a fourth resource to the terminal device, where the fourth resource is utilized by the access network device for uplink data reception.

[0048] According to a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is disclosed. The communication apparatus may be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device. The apparatus may include: a receiving unit configured to receive resource information from an access network device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit a random access request to the access network device on a first resource, where the first resource is one of the N uplink resources.

[0049] The receiving unit is further configured to receive a random access response from the access network device on a second resource, where the second resource is one of the M downlink resources.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the apparatus may further include a selection unit configured to select the first resource from among the N uplink resources.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the selection unit is specifically configured to select a first resource from among the N uplink resources based on the capability of the terminal device.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to receive N reference signals from the access network device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources.

[0053] The apparatus may further include a determining unit configured to determine N signal qualities based on the N reference signals, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N signal qualities.

[0054] The selection unit's selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources includes determining, among the N uplink resources, a resource corresponding to a best signal quality as the first resource.

[0055] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the determining unit is further configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where the K downlink resources include a second resource, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M.

[0056] The receiving unit receiving a random access response from the access network device on the second resource includes receiving a random access response from the access network device on the K downlink resources.

[0057] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the determining unit is further configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the sending unit is further configured to send capability information to the access network device, where the capability information includes information about L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to the frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0059] The receiving unit is further configured to receive information about a third resource from the access network device, where the third resource includes one or more resources, the third resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and the third resource is utilized by the terminal device to receive downlink data.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the sending unit is further configured to send a resource allocation request to the access network device, where the resource allocation request includes an uplink data amount.

[0061] The receiving unit is further configured to receive information about a fourth resource from the access network device, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or a different frequency band, and the fourth resource is utilized by the terminal device to transmit uplink data.

[0062] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device is disclosed. The communication device may be an access network device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the access network device. The communication device may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive information from a communication device other than the communication device and output information to the communication device other than the communication device. When the processor executes a computer program stored in the memory, the processor is enabled to perform a communication method according to the first aspect or any one of the implementations of the first aspect.

[0063] According to a sixth aspect, a communication device is disclosed. The communication device may be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device. The communication device may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive information from a communication device other than the communication device and output information to the communication device other than the communication device. When the processor executes a computer program stored in the memory, the processor is enabled to perform a communication method according to the second aspect or any one of the implementations of the second aspect.

[0064] According to a seventh aspect, a communication system is disclosed, the communication system including the communication device according to the fifth aspect and the communication device according to the sixth aspect.

[0065] According to an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is disclosed. The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or computer instructions, which, when executed, perform the communication method according to the above aspect.

[0066] According to a ninth aspect, a chip is disclosed that includes a processor configured to execute a program stored in a memory, the program, when executed, enabling the chip to perform a communication method according to the above aspect.

[0067] In a possible implementation, the memory is located off-chip.

[0068] According to a tenth aspect, a computer program product is disclosed, the computer program product including computer program code, which, when executed, performs the above-mentioned communication method. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0069] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments. The accompanying drawings in the following description merely illustrate some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that those skilled in the art can derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

[0070] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a carrier aggregation scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a SUL scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 2 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram of resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram of the structure of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0071] The embodiments of the present invention disclose a communication method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, for improving system resource utilization. The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application.

[0072] It is clear that the described embodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of this application. "Embodiments" in this specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this embodiment application. Phrases appearing in various positions in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and are not exclusive independent or optional embodiments from other embodiments. It may be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in this specification may be combined with other embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts based on the embodiments of this application should fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0073] In this specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are intended to distinguish different objects, but do not indicate a particular order. In addition, the terms "comprise," "have," and any variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such as including a series of steps or units, or optionally including further unlisted steps or units, or optionally including further other specific steps or units of these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0074] The attached figures show only some, rather than all, contents related to this application. Before the exemplary embodiments are discussed in more detail, it should be mentioned that some exemplary embodiments are described as a process or method that is described as a flowchart. Although the flowchart describes operations (or steps) as a sequential process, many operations can be performed in parallel, concurrently, or simultaneously. In addition, a sequence of operations can be rearranged. A process may be terminated when an operation is completed, but may have additional steps not included in the attached figures. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, or a subprogram, etc.

[0075] Terms such as "component," "module," "system," and "unit" used in this specification refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software being executed. For example, a unit may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, a thread of execution, a program, and / or may be distributed among two or more computers. In addition, these units may be executed by various computer-readable media that store various data structures. For example, the units may use local and / or remote processes and communicate with each other based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from a second unit communicating with other units in a local system, from a distributed system, and / or over a network such as the Internet communicating with other systems via signals).

[0076] In the following, in order to better understand the embodiments of the present invention, a network architecture utilized in the embodiments of the present invention will first be described.

[0077] Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the network architecture may include an access network device and a terminal device. The access network device may include one or more access network devices (one is shown in FIG. 1), and the terminal device may include one or more terminal devices (one is shown in FIG. 1). The access network devices may communicate with each other via an optical fiber interface or an Xn interface. The terminal devices may communicate with the access network devices via radio (i.e., an air interface, e.g., a Uu interface).

[0078] Communications between terminal devices and access network devices may include uplink communications (i.e., communications from terminal devices to access network devices) and downlink communications (i.e., communications from access network devices to terminal devices). In uplink communications, the terminal devices may be configured to transmit uplink signals to the access network devices, and the access network devices may be configured to receive uplink signals from the terminal devices. In downlink communications, the access network devices may be configured to transmit downlink signals to the terminal devices, and the terminal devices may be configured to receive downlink signals from the access network devices. A link corresponding to uplink communications may be referred to as an uplink, and a link corresponding to downlink communications may be referred to as a downlink.

[0079] It should be understood that one access network device may transmit information to one or more terminal devices simultaneously, and multiple access network devices may transmit information to one terminal device simultaneously.

[0080] It should be noted that the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 is not limited to including only the access network devices and terminal devices shown in the figure.

[0081] It should be understood that the network architecture shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example for illustrative purposes and does not constitute any limitation thereon.

[0082] A terminal device, which may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT), is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. The terminal device may be a handheld terminal, a notebook computer, a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a tablet computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, a smart band, or a pedometer), an in-vehicle device (e.g., an automobile, a bicycle, an electric vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a train, or a high-speed rail), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a smart home device (e.g., a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, or an electric meter), an intelligent robot, a workshop device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a remote medical surgery, a remote medical device ... The wireless terminal may be a wireless terminal in surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, an airborne device (e.g., an intelligent robot, a hot air balloon, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or an airplane), or any other device that can access the network.

[0083] The access network device may include a radio access network device, which is an apparatus that is disposed in a radio access network and provides wireless communication functions to terminal devices. The radio access network (RAN) device may include various forms of base stations (BSs), such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small cells), relay stations, or access points. In systems that use different radio access technologies, the name of the radio access network device may be different, for example, a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a NodeB (NB) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), and an eNB or evolved NodeB (eNodeB) in long term evolution (LTE). Alternatively, the radio access network device may be a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Alternatively, the radio access network device may be a base station device in a future network (such as 6G), or a radio access network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). Alternatively, the radio access network device may be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device. Alternatively, the radio access network device may be a transmission and reception point (TRP).

[0084] In the following, in order to better understand the embodiments of the present invention, first, a related art in the embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0085] Over the past few decades, wireless communication systems have undergone a technological evolution from the first generation of analog communication to the fifth generation of mobile communication technology (5th generation, 5G) new radio (NR). Compared to previous generations of communication technology, 5G has access to a much larger range of frequencies, sometimes referred to as frequency bands for short.

[0086] Currently, existing spectrum (i.e., 3rd generation (3G)) operating spectrum or 4th generation (4G) operating spectrum, etc.) may evolve into 5G operating spectrum (frequency band) through dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) or spectrum refarming, etc. For example, 5G and 4G long term evolution (LTE) may share the same frequency band through DSS. In another example, some 4G operating frequency bands may be directly allocated to 5G for use through spectrum refarming, i.e., frequency resources are replanned and some 4G frequency resources are allocated to 5G. In addition, with the continuous advancement of communication technology, networks deployed based on 3G, etc. are gradually phased out, and 3G networks are gradually decommissioned. Therefore, after 3G services are disabled, frequency bands previously occupied by 3G may be reassigned to 5G for use. In addition, some unlicensed frequency bands may be used as 5G operating frequency bands.

[0087] The operating frequency band of NR can be roughly divided into two parts, namely, frequency range (FR) 1 and frequency range 2 (FR2). The frequency range of FR1 is from 410 MHz to 7125 GHz, and the frequency range of FR2 is from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0088] FR1 may include sub-3G frequency bands, i.e., frequency bands below 3 GHz in FR1 (i.e., frequency bands between 410 MHz and 3 GHz), for example, 700 MHz / 800 MHz / 900 MHz / 1.8 GHz / 2.1 GHz / 2.6 GHz frequency bands. In FR1, other frequency bands than the sub-3G frequency bands may be referred to as C bands, for example, 3.5 GHz / 4.9 GHz frequency bands. 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz may be abbreviated as 700M and 3.5G, respectively. FR2 may include 28 GHz / 39 GHz frequency bands, etc.

[0089] Currently, the protocol specifies several paired frequency bands, which are independent frequency ranges for uplink and downlink, and also several unpaired frequency bands, which are frequency ranges shared by uplink and downlink. The paired frequency bands are used for frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, and the unpaired frequency bands are used for time division duplex (TDD) mode. The protocol further specifies several separate uplink and downlink frequency bands, which are defined as auxiliary / supplementary downlink (SDL) frequency bands or supplementary uplink (SUL) frequency bands. The SUL may also be referred to as the auxiliary uplink carrier, and the SDL may also be referred to as the auxiliary downlink carrier. In addition, the bandwidths of the carriers or subcarriers corresponding to different frequency bands may be different.

[0090] In the R17 protocol, the frequency ranges of some operating frequency bands of FR1 may be shown in Table 1.

[0091] [Table 1]

[0092] As shown in Table 1, the first column in the table is the number of the NR operating frequency band, the second column is the frequency range of the uplink frequency band of the frequency band, the third column is the frequency range of the downlink frequency band of the frequency band, and the third column is the duplex mode in which the frequency band operates.

[0093] It should be understood that Table 1 only shows a partial list of operating frequency bands in FR1.

[0094] In the R17 protocol, the frequency range of the operating frequency band of FR2 may be shown in Table 2.

[0095] [Table 2]

[0096] Table 2 shows the operating frequency bands in FR2. As shown in Table 2, the first column in the table is the number of the NR operating frequency band, the second column is the frequency range of the uplink frequency band and the downlink frequency range of the frequency band, and the third column is the duplex mode in which the frequency band operates. In TDD mode, the uplink frequency range is the same as the downlink frequency range.

[0097] As the available 5G frequency bands gradually increase, how to flexibly utilize these frequency resources is a technical direction of interest in current 5G systems.

[0098] In the 5G era, services are becoming more diversified, and different services have different requirements on the uplink and downlink. For example, for live streaming services, a larger uplink bandwidth may be required to enable a higher transmission rate of uplink data and realize real-time uploading of live video data. However, the requirement for downlink bandwidth is relatively small. As another example, for video services such as ultra-high definition, a larger downlink bandwidth may be required to enable a higher transmission rate of downlink data and improve the smoothness of video playback. In addition, 5G is expected to support various services such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and smart factories. Therefore, in the 5G system, frequency domain resources need to be configured more flexibly and the advantages of each frequency band need to be fully utilized so that the overall capacity of the network and the service quality of the network can be improved.

[0099] Currently, frequency domain resources of different frequency bands or the same frequency band can be combined for use using carrier aggregation (CA) technology or SUL technology to improve information transmission rate and coverage of access network devices, etc. Carrier aggregation mainly increases the transmission bandwidth by aggregating multiple carriers, thereby increasing the peak rate of terminal devices, meeting user requirements for transmission rate, and improving user experience.

[0100] CA can be classified into uplink carrier aggregation (UL CA) and downlink carrier aggregation (DL CA). The carriers participating in the aggregation may be carriers distributed continuously in the same frequency band, may be carriers distributed discretely in the same frequency band, or may be carriers in different frequency bands. In addition, the multiple carriers participating in the aggregation are not limited to the same access network device, but may be carriers of neighboring access network devices. Therefore, CA can be used to comprehensively utilize the continuous or non-contiguous frequency band resources owned by an operator. That is, CA can be used to aggregate multiple continuous or non-contiguous carriers to increase the transmission bandwidth.

[0101] For example, the bandwidth of a single carrier is 5 MHz, and three carriers are aggregated through CA, so that the bandwidth can reach 15 MHz, improving the data transmission rate. Please refer to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram of a carrier aggregation scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, an access network device may transmit information to a terminal device on three carriers through carrier aggregation, and the terminal device may transmit information to an access network device on two carriers. Compared with a single carrier, the uplink / downlink data throughput in a unit time can be increased, and the transmission rate of uplink / downlink data is increased.

[0102] CA supports combinations within the same frequency band or between different frequency bands. However, UL CA depends on DL CA. When the number of carriers aggregated on the uplink is N, the number of carriers aggregated on the downlink needs to be equal to or greater than N, where N is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2. However, some services may only have requirements on the uplink transmission rate. For example, for a live streaming service, three carriers need to be aggregated on the uplink, and only one carrier is required on the downlink for data transmission that meets the requirements of the current live streaming service. In this case, at least three carriers need to be aggregated on the downlink. Therefore, the terminal device needs to have the ability to process the corresponding downlink carriers, which results in a high cost for the terminal device. In addition, in CA technology, resources are frequently scheduled among multiple cells, and the signaling overhead is high.

[0103] In addition, electromagnetic waves in different frequency bands have different characteristics. The wavelength of the electromagnetic wave in a low frequency band (e.g., sub-1G, i.e., a frequency band below 1 GHz) is relatively long. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave has a relatively strong penetration ability, a relatively strong diffraction ability, and a relatively low loss when propagating in free space. Therefore, the coverage of the electromagnetic wave in the low frequency band is relatively large, but the low frequency band has a relatively small frequency domain resource. The wavelength of the electromagnetic wave in a high frequency band is relatively short, for example, a millimeter wave. The electromagnetic wave has a relatively weak penetration ability, a relatively weak diffraction ability, and a relatively high loss when propagating in free space. Therefore, the coverage of the electromagnetic wave in the high frequency band is relatively small, but the high frequency band has a relatively large frequency domain resource, and correspondingly, a relatively large number of frequency domain resources can be allocated to users.

[0104] In actual tests, it may be found that the uplink coverage of an access network device is significantly different from the downlink coverage of a terminal device. For example, generally, the downlink coverage of a 6 GHz frequency band is equivalent to the uplink coverage of a 2.6 GHz frequency band, and the downlink coverage of a 4.9 GHz frequency band is equivalent to the uplink coverage of a 1.8 GHz frequency band. This is because the network device may use large power and large antenna arrays, etc. for signal transmission, and the downlink coverage of the access network device may be easily increased. However, for the uplink, it is limited by the antenna capability and transmission power of the terminal device, and it is difficult to greatly improve the coverage. It can be understood that when the terminal device and the access network device use the same frequency band or a similar frequency band for uplink and downlink, in the edge area covered by the access network device, the terminal device may receive the signal transmitted by the access network device, but the access network device may not receive the signal transmitted by the terminal device.

[0105] Resources of different frequency bands can also be combined for use via an SUL. The SUL is mainly used to add spare uplink carriers in addition to the original carriers, and is mainly used to solve the problem of limited uplink coverage of terminal devices. The uplink carriers and the spare uplink carriers may belong to the same access network device or may belong to different access network devices.

[0106] In the 5G era, there are relatively many frequency domain resources in high frequency bands, for example, frequency bands corresponding to millimeter waves. However, in high frequency bands, larger signal loss occurs during transmission. Generally, a cell includes only one uplink carrier and one downlink carrier, and the uplink carrier and the downlink carrier are in the same frequency band. However, the uplink coverage of the UE may be limited because the transmission power of the terminal device is limited. In the edge area covered by the access network device, the information transmitted by the terminal device may not reach the access network device. Therefore, a carrier of a relatively low frequency band may be added for the terminal device to transmit information to the access network device in the edge area covered by the access network device. The normal uplink of the UE is referred to as UL (uplink), the normal downlink is referred to as DL (downlink), and the uplink corresponding to the spare uplink carrier is referred to as SUL. The SUL allows a cell to have one downlink carrier and two uplink carriers.

[0107] Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a SUL scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. UL and DL utilize the C-band frequency band, and SUL utilizes a sub-3G frequency band, i.e., a frequency band below 3 GHz. As shown in FIG. 3, when a terminal device is located in a near area, uplink data may be transmitted on the C-band. In this case, the C-band can meet the user's requirement for transmission rate and provide good network service quality. When a terminal device is in a cell edge area, if the uplink data is transmitted on the C-band, the access network device may not receive the data and cannot provide good network service quality. Therefore, the uplink data may be transmitted on a sub-3G frequency band (e.g., 1.8 GHz). Because the frequency band is low, the uplink coverage can be improved and the user requirements for the network can be met. However, the SUL standard only supports a fixed combination of one downlink frequency band (carrier) and two uplink frequency bands (carriers), and the SUL carrier needs to depend on the corresponding downlink carrier. However, in practical cases, more flexible combinations of uplink / downlink frequency bands may be needed to meet the practical requirements of various services. For example, multiple uplink / downlink carriers on different frequency bands are needed to transmit data. Therefore, there are limitations on the SUL scheme.

[0108] It should be understood that the scenarios depicted in Figures 2 and 3 are merely examples for illustrative purposes and do not constitute limitations.

[0109] Currently, in order to facilitate the access of terminal devices, an access network device broadcasts resource information of each cell on a frequency corresponding to each cell in the coverage of the access network device. The resource information of a cell includes information about the initial uplink resource and information about the initial downlink resource of the cell. Correspondingly, the terminal device may receive the resource information of a cell broadcast by the access network device on different frequencies by searching frequencies. Then, the terminal device may select a cell, transmit a random access request to a base station on the initial uplink resource of the cell, and receive a random access response from the access network device on the initial downlink resource of the cell. However, if a large number of terminal devices initiate random access requests at the same time in a cell within the coverage range of the access network device, the initial uplink resource and the initial downlink resource of the cell are easily limited. Conversely, if a small number of terminal devices initiate random access requests in other cells within the coverage range of the access network device, most of the initial uplink resource and the initial downlink resource of the cell are idle. It can be understood that the resource utilization of the cell becomes unbalanced in the above case. One cell has limited resources while the other cell has many idle resources, resulting in a low overall resource utilization of the system.

[0110] As the available 5G frequency bands continue to increase, resources of different frequency bands may be used for networking to improve system resource utilization and network service quality, etc. Therefore, how to use the resources of each frequency band more flexibly is a technical direction that those skilled in the art need to pay attention to.

[0111] Based on the above network architecture, refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication method may be applied to scenarios such as CA, SUL, multi-radio access technology (RAT) dual connectivity (MRDC), and multi-RAT multi-connectivity (MRMC), or other similar scenarios, which are not limited here. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication method may include the following steps:

[0112] 401: An access network device sends resource information to a terminal device.

[0113] Correspondingly, the terminal device may receive resource information from the access network device.

[0114] A terminal device needs to establish a connection to an access network device before the access network device can provide a network service to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can upload and receive data. Therefore, the access network device may send resource information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can access and obtain a network service. In order to ensure that the terminal device can receive the resource information in a short time, the access network device may send the resource information to the terminal device in a fixed period (e.g., 50 ms).

[0115] The resource information may include information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, and the N uplink resources may belong to one or more frequency bands, and the M downlink resources may belong to one or more frequency bands. The one or more frequency bands to which the N uplink resources belong may be the same as or different from the one or more frequency bands to which the M downlink resources belong. For example, the N uplink resources may include resource 1, resource 2, and resource 3. Resource 1 may belong to frequency band n5, resource 2 may belong to frequency band n7, and resource 3 may belong to frequency band n79. Alternatively, resource 1, resource 2, and resource 3 may all belong to frequency band n79. It should be understood that resource 1 may alternatively belong to frequency band n2, and both resource 2 and resource 3 may belong to frequency band n79. This is not limited here. In addition, the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources may be different, that is, the time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources of the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources may be different.

[0116] The access network device may determine the initial uplink resources of all cells in the coverage range of the access network device as N uplink resources, and may determine the initial downlink resources of all cells as M downlink resources. Specifically, currently, the coverage of one access network device may include multiple cells (i.e., multiple carriers may be arranged on one access network device). The access network device broadcasts the system information block (SIB)1 of each cell on the carrier corresponding to each cell (different cells correspond to different carriers). The SIB1 of different cells is different, and the SIB1 of each cell carries or includes information about the initial uplink resources of the cell or information about the initial downlink resources. The initial uplink resources may be used for random access of a terminal device or the like, and the initial downlink resources may be used by the access network device to send a random access response to a terminal device or the like. In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network device may determine the information about the initial uplink resources included in the SIB1 of all cells in the coverage range as the information about the N uplink resources. Alternatively, the access network device may determine information about the initial downlink resources included in SIB1 of all cells within its coverage range as information about the M downlink resources.

[0117] The access network device may transmit the resource information to the terminal device in a broadcast manner.

[0118] In some cases, the access network device may transmit the resource information to the terminal device via a system message, which may carry or include the resource information. The system message may be a system information block (SIB) 1, SIB2, or other system message.

[0119] In a possible implementation, SIB1 may carry information about multiple uplink resources (i.e., information about N uplink resources). Specifically, in order to carry information about multiple uplink resources in SIB1, an information element uplinkConfigCommon in an information element ServingCellConfigCommonSIB specified in an existing protocol may be changed to uplinkConifgCommonList. The information element uplinkConifgCommonList may be a list of uplinkConifgCommon, and uplinkConifgCommonList may include multiple UplinkConfigCommonSIBs as shown below.

[0120] ServingCellConfigCommonSIB ::= SEQUENCE { …, uplinkConifgCommonList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofUplinkCommon)) OF UplinkConfigCommonSIB OPTIONAL, -- new add …, }

[0121] The ServingCellConfigCommonSIB information element may be used to configure specific parameters of a serving cell of a terminal device in SIB1. The UplinkConfigCommonSIB is an existing protocol construct that may be used to configure common uplink configuration parameters of a serving cell of a terminal device in SIB1, as shown below.

[0122] UplinkConfigCommonSIB ::= SEQUENCE { frequencyInfoUL FrequencyInfoUL-SIB, initialUplinkBWP BWP-UplinkCommon, timeAlignmentTimerCommonTimeAlignmentTimer }

[0123] In the above structure, maxNrofUplinkCommon may indicate the number of uplink resources (i.e., uplink carriers) to be carried. UplinkConfigCommonSIB may include common uplink configuration parameters of the cell, and may include, among other things, information such as frequency information (e.g., a specific frequency) of the uplink carrier, initial uplink bandwidth part (BWP) information, and time alignment (TA) timer, etc. The initial uplink BWP may include resources such as a physical random access channel (PRACH), a common physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), etc. BWP-UplinkCommon may include parameters of the initial uplink BWP, and may include, among other things, configuration parameters such as PRACH, PUCCH, and PUSCH corresponding to the initial uplink BWP, frequency domain location corresponding to the initial uplink BWP, bandwidth, and utilized subcarrier spacing, etc. The multiple uplink resources may be random access resources.

[0124] Since the information about the N uplink resources is transmitted in a broadcast manner, all terminal devices within the coverage range of the access network device can receive the information about the N uplink resources. If multiple terminal devices among these terminal devices need to perform access, the downlink resources of the access network device, such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), may be limited. However, when the downlink resources are limited, the access network device can only meet the access requirements of some terminal devices that initiate random access, that is, only some terminal devices can successfully access the network. Therefore, the access rate of the terminal device is low, and the user experience is poor.

[0125] In order to avoid the above case and improve the access rate of the terminal device, the access network device broadcasts information about multiple downlink resources (ie, information about M downlink resources) to the terminal device.

[0126] SIB1 may also carry or include information about multiple downlink resources. Specifically, to carry information about multiple downlink resources in SIB1, the information element downlinkConfigCommon in the information element ServingCellConfigCommonSIB specified in the existing protocol may be changed to downlinkConifgCommonList. The information element downlinkConifgCommonList may be a list of downlinkConifgCommon, and downlinkConifgCommonList may include multiple DownlinkConfigCommonSIBs as shown below.

[0127] ServingCellConfigCommonSIB ::= SEQUENCE { …, downlinkConifgCommonList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofDownlinkCommon)) OF DownlinkConfigCommonSIB OPTIONAL, -- new add …, }

[0128] The DownlinkConfigCommonSIB is an existing protocol structure that may be utilized to configure common downlink configuration parameters of a serving cell of a terminal device in SIB1, as shown below.

[0129] DownlinkConfigCommonSIB ::= SEQUENCE { frequencyInfoDL FrequencyInfoDL-SIB, initialDownlinkBWP BWP-DownlinkCommon, bcch-Config BCCH-Config, pcch-Config PCCH-Config, …, }

[0130] In the above structure, maxNrofDownlinkCommon may indicate the number of downlink resources (i.e., downlink carriers) to be carried. DownlinkConfigCommonSIB may include common downlink configuration parameters of the cell, and may include, among other things, information such as frequency information (e.g., a specific frequency) of the downlink carrier, initial downlink bandwidth part (BWP) information, broadcast control channel (BCCH) configuration, and paging control channel (PCCH) configuration. The initial downlink BWP may include resources such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc. BWP-DownlinkCommon may include parameters of the initial downlink BWP, and may include, among other things, configuration parameters of PDCCH and PDSCH corresponding to the initial downlink BWP, the frequency domain location corresponding to the initial downlink BWP, the bandwidth, and the subcarrier spacing used, etc.

[0131] In some cases, there is no correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources.

[0132] In other cases, there is a correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources. The correspondence may be that one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and one of the M downlink resources corresponds to one or more of the N uplink resources. Alternatively, the correspondence may be that one of the N uplink resources corresponds to more than one of the M downlink resources, and one of the M downlink resources corresponds to one or more of the N uplink resources.

[0133] The correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources may be configured by the access network device or may be specified in a protocol. When the correspondence is configured by the access network device, the access network device may send the correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources and the resource information to the terminal device together.

[0134] When the access network device sends the correspondence between N uplink resources and M downlink resources through SIB1, an information element uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPairList may be added to the information element ServingCellConfigCommonSIB specified in the existing protocol to carry the correspondence between multiple uplink resources and multiple downlink resources in SIB1. uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPairList may be a list of correspondence between uplink resources and downlink resources, and may include multiple uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPairs. uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPairList is a structure disclosed in this embodiment of the present invention, as shown below.

[0135] ServingCellConfigCommonSIB ::= SEQUENCE { …, uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPairList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCommonPairList)) OF uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPair OPTIONAL, ---new add …, }

[0136] uplinkDownlinkConfigCommonPair is a structure disclosed in this embodiment of the present invention, which can be used to configure the correspondence between the uplink resources and downlink resources of the serving cell of the terminal device in SIB1, as shown below:

[0137] uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPair ::= SEQUENCE { bandIndexDL INTEGER(1..maxSimultaneousBands), bandIndexULList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUplinkCommon)) OF INTEGER(1..maxSimultaneousBands), }

[0138] The above structure may indicate a correspondence relationship in which one uplink resource corresponds to one downlink resource, and one downlink resource corresponds to multiple uplink resources. maxNrofCommonPairList may indicate the number of correspondence relationships between N uplink resources and M downlink resources, i.e., the number of correspondence relationships between uplink resources (i.e., carriers) and downlink resources. uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPair may specifically indicate a correspondence relationship between one downlink resource and one or more uplink resources. bandIndexDL may be an index of a downlink resource, bandIndexULList may be an index of one or more uplink resources, and there is a correspondence relationship between a downlink resource corresponding to bandIndexDL and multiple uplink resources corresponding to bandIndexULList. maxNrofUplinkCommon in uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPair may be the number of uplink resources corresponding to a specific downlink resource (i.e., a downlink resource corresponding to bandIndexDL), and may be different from maxNrofUplinkCommon corresponding to uplinkConifgCommonList.

[0139] For example, bandIndexDL may be 2, and bandIndexULList may be [2,3,7]. Thus, there is a correspondence between the downlink resource corresponding to the downlink resource index 2, the uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index 2, the uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index 3, and the uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index 7. In addition to establishing the correspondence between the uplink resource and the downlink resource based on the resource index, alternatively, the correspondence may be established based on other information, such as the identifier or sequence number of the resource. It should be understood that when the correspondence between the uplink resource and the downlink resource is other correspondence, the definition of the structure uplinkDownlinkConifgCommonPair may be changed. For example, when one uplink resource corresponds to multiple downlink resources, bandIndexDL may be changed to bandIndexDLList, and the structure of bandIndexDLList may be defined as SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUplinkCommon)). bandIndexULList may be changed to bandIndexUL, and the structure of bandIndexULList may be defined as INTEGER(1..maxSimultaneousBands).

[0140] The N uplink resources and the M downlink resources may be initial resources belonging to different cells of the access network device. A cell may include one or more uplink carriers (resources) and may include one or more downlink carriers. In the case of SUL, a cell may include multiple uplink carriers. In the case of SDL, a cell may include multiple downlink carriers. Currently, the access network device broadcasts SIB1 corresponding to each cell on the carrier corresponding to each cell. However, in this embodiment of the present invention, one SIB1 may carry information about SIB1 of all cells (including information about uplink resources and information about downlink resources of each cell, etc.). Therefore, the access network device may broadcast SIB1 on one carrier or may broadcast SIB1 on multiple carriers. When the access network device broadcasts SIB1 on only one carrier, the access network device may choose to broadcast SIB1 on a carrier of a low frequency band to ensure a large coverage of SIB1, so that the terminal device can receive SIB1. In addition, the access network device may carry information about SIB1 of all cells through one SIB1, thereby reducing the transmission of some repeated information (e.g., some neighbor cell information and measurement information) and saving transmission resources. In addition, since the network device may not need to broadcast SIB1 on multiple carriers, the resources originally used for broadcasting SIB1 on other carriers may be used to transmit data, which may improve system throughput.

[0141] The access network device may further transmit one or more reference signals to the terminal device. For example, the access network device may transmit N reference signals to the terminal device, where the N reference signals correspond one-to-one to the N uplink resources. In another example, the access network device may transmit N+M reference signals to the terminal device. In this case, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to one or more reference signals, where M is an integer equal to or greater than 1. In another example, the access network device may transmit one reference signal to the terminal device. The reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a synchronization signal (SS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), or other reference signal, which is not limited herein. The resource of the reference signal corresponding to the uplink resource may belong to the same frequency band as the uplink resource. The frequency domain resource, the time domain resource, or the spatial domain resource of the N or N+M reference signals are different. In other words, the multiple reference signals may be distinguished by a time division, a frequency division, a space division, or the like.

[0142] The access network device may also transmit the resource information to the terminal device via other messages or signaling, such as, but not limited to, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information (DCI).

[0143] It may be understood that the access network device may further transmit information such as master system information (MI) or synchronization information to the terminal device. The master system information may be utilized by the terminal device to obtain synchronization signal block (SSB) beam information, system frame number, and time-frequency domain information of SIB1, etc. The synchronization information may be utilized by the terminal device for downlink synchronization. The access network device may transmit the master system information and synchronization information in a broadcast manner.

[0144] 402: The terminal device sends a random access request on a first resource to the access network device.

[0145] In response, the access network device may receive a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, which may be one of the N uplink resources.

[0146] When the terminal device needs the access network device to provide a network service, i.e., when the terminal device needs to receive data or transmit data, the terminal device may send a random access request to the access network device on a first resource.

[0147] The terminal device may first select a first resource from among the N uplink resources.

[0148] When there is no correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, the terminal device may select the first resource based on the capability of the terminal device, may select the first resource based on the signal quality, may select the first resource based on the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong, may select the first resource based on the distance between the terminal device and the access network device, or may select the first resource based on the SSB index. The SSB index may also be understood as a beam identifier (identity document, ID). In addition, the terminal device may further select the second resource based on a combination of two or more of the capability of the terminal device, the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong, the distance between the terminal device and the access network device, the signal quality, and the SSB index. The rule for selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources by the terminal device is not limited here.

[0149] When the terminal device selects the first resource from among the N uplink resources based on the capability of the terminal device, the terminal device may select the first resource from among the N uplink resources based on the uplink frequency bands supported by the terminal device. For example, assume that N is 5, and the frequency bands corresponding to the N uplink resources are n1, n3, n7, n78, and n79 in Table 1. The uplink frequency bands supported by the terminal device are n1, n2, and n7 shown in Table 1 and n258 shown in Table 2. Since the terminal device cannot utilize a frequency band not supported by the terminal device, the terminal device may select the uplink resources corresponding to the frequency bands n1 and n7. The terminal device may select the uplink resource corresponding to the frequency band n1 as the first resource, or may select the uplink resource corresponding to the frequency band n7 as the first resource. It should be understood that the capability of the terminal device is not limited to the frequency bands supported by the terminal device, and may further include the bandwidth and subcarrier spacing supported by the terminal device, etc. Therefore, when selecting a first resource from among the N uplink resources, the terminal device may take into account the maximum subcarrier spacing supported by the terminal device as well as the frequency band supported by the terminal device.

[0150] When the terminal device selects a first resource from the N uplink resources based on signal quality, the terminal device may receive one or more reference signals from the access network device. When the terminal device receives the N reference signals, the terminal device may determine N signal qualities based on the N reference signals, and then the terminal device may determine a resource corresponding to the best signal quality among the N uplink resources as the first resource. The N reference signals correspond one-to-one to the N uplink resources, and the N reference signals correspond one-to-one to the N signal qualities. The terminal device may determine the signal quality of the reference signal by measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and reference signal received quality (RSRQ), etc., of the reference signal. A larger RSRP, SINR, RSSI, or RSRQ indicates a better signal quality. Conversely, a smaller RSRP, SINR, RSSI, or RSRQ indicates poorer signal quality.

[0151] For example, the terminal device may measure the RSRP of N reference signals, and then the terminal device may determine the uplink resource corresponding to the reference signal with the maximum RSRP (i.e., the resource corresponding to the best signal quality among the N uplink resources) as the first resource. Alternatively, the terminal device may sort the N uplink resources in descending order of the RSRP of the N uplink resources. Then, the terminal device may randomly select an uplink resource from among the top-ranked uplink resources (i.e., the uplink resource whose RSRP exceeds a certain threshold) and determine the uplink resource as the first resource. The RSRP measured by the terminal device may be a synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) or a channel state information reference signal received power (CSI-RSRP) based on different reference signals.

[0152] When the terminal device receives one reference signal, the terminal device may determine a signal quality of the reference signal, and then the terminal device may determine a first resource based on the signal quality of the reference signal and a correspondence relationship between a plurality of signal quality ranges and the N uplink resources. The N uplink resources may have a one-to-one correspondence with the N signal quality ranges. The signal quality may be RSRP, SINR, RSSI, or RSRQ, etc.

[0153] For example, N is 5, and the N uplink resources are resource 1, resource 2, resource 3, resource 4, and resource 5. When the RSRP of the reference signal is in a first range (RSRP<-115 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 1, when the RSRP of the reference signal is in a second range (-105 dBm to -115 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 2, when the RSRP of the reference signal is in a third range (-95 dBm to -105 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 3, when the RSRP of the reference signal is in a fourth range (-85 dBm to -95 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 4, and when the RSRP of the reference signal is in a fifth range (RSRP>-85 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 5. When the RSRP of the reference signal measured by the terminal device is -90 dBm, the terminal device may determine resource 4 as the first resource. The correspondence between the N signal quality ranges and the N uplink resources may be specified in a protocol or by the access network device.

[0154] When the terminal device receives N+M reference signals, the terminal device may determine N+M signal qualities based on the N+M reference signals, and then the terminal device may determine a resource corresponding to the best signal quality among the N uplink resources as a first resource. In this case, one of the N uplink resources may correspond to one or more reference signals. When one uplink resource corresponds to multiple reference signals, the terminal device may use an average value of the signal qualities of the multiple reference signals as the signal quality corresponding to the uplink resource. The signal quality may be RSRP, SINR, RSSI, RSRQ, etc.

[0155] When the terminal device selects the first resource based on the SSB index, the terminal device may determine the first resource based on a correspondence between the SSB index and the N uplink resources. One SSB index may correspond to one or more of the N uplink resources. When one SSB index corresponds to one uplink resource, the terminal device may determine the uplink resource corresponding to the SSB index of the received SSB as the first resource. When one SSB index corresponds to multiple uplink resources, the terminal device may first determine the multiple uplink resources corresponding to the SSB index of the received SSB. Then, the terminal device may determine the first resource based on the RSRP of the SSB, may determine the first resource based on the frequency band to which the multiple uplink resources belong, or may determine the first resource in other manners. For details, please refer to the related description above.

[0156] For example, N is 5, and the N uplink resources are resource 1, resource 2, resource 3, resource 4, and resource 5. When the SSB index is 0, the corresponding uplink resource is resource 1, when the SSB index is 1, the corresponding uplink resource is resource 2, when the SSB index is 2, the corresponding uplink resource is resource 3 and resource 4, and when the SSB index is 3, the corresponding uplink resource is resource 5. When the SSB index of the SSB received by the terminal device is 0, the terminal device may determine resource 1 as the first resource. When the SSB index is 1, the terminal device may determine resource 2 as the first resource. When the SSB index is 3, the terminal device may determine resource 5 as the first resource. When the SSB index is 2, the terminal device may first determine resource 4 and resource 5. Then, the terminal device may determine the first resource based on the RSRP of the received SSB. It is assumed that when the RSRP of the SSB is within a first range (RSRP<-90 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 4, and when the RSRP of the reference signal is within a second range (RSRP≧-90 dBm), the corresponding uplink resource is resource 5. Thus, when the RSRP of the SSB measured by the terminal device is -95 dBm, the terminal device may determine resource 4 as the first resource.

[0157] The coverage of different frequency bands is different. Therefore, the terminal device may select the first resource based on the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong. A higher frequency band indicates a smaller uplink coverage of the terminal device. A lower frequency band indicates a larger uplink coverage of the terminal device. Therefore, in order to ensure the communication quality between the terminal device and the access network device, in one case, the terminal device may directly select a resource on a relatively low frequency band (i.e., a resource with the largest coverage). In the other case, the terminal device may select the first resource based on the distance between the terminal device and the access network device. For example, when the distance between the terminal device and the access network device is short, for example, the distance is less than a certain threshold (e.g., 100 meters), in this case, the terminal device is close to the access network device and the signal attenuation is small, and the terminal device may select a resource on a high frequency band (i.e., a resource with small coverage). When the distance between the terminal device and the access network device is long, for example, when the distance exceeds a certain threshold (e.g., 1000 meters), the terminal device is far from the access network device, the signal attenuation is large, and the terminal device may select resources on a lower frequency band (i.e., resources with larger coverage).

[0158] When a correspondence exists between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, the terminal device may select a first resource based on the capability of the terminal device. Specifically, the terminal device may select the first resource from the N uplink resources based on the uplink frequency band and the downlink frequency band supported by the terminal device.

[0159] For example, when one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, assume that N is 5, M is 4, the N uplink resources are C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5, the frequency band corresponding to C1 is n1 in Table 1, the frequency band corresponding to C2 is n3, the frequency band corresponding to C3 is n7, the frequency band corresponding to C4 is n78, and the frequency band corresponding to C5 is n79. The M downlink resources are C6, C7, C8, and C9. The frequency band corresponding to C6 is n3, the frequency band corresponding to C7 is 78, the frequency band corresponding to C8 is n78, and the frequency band corresponding to C9 is n79, and the correspondence between the uplink resources and the downlink resources is {C1:C6, C2:C6, C3:C7, C4:C8, C5:C9}. The uplink frequency bands and downlink frequency bands supported by the terminal device are n1, n2, n3, and n7 shown in Table 1, and n258 shown in Table 2. The terminal device may select C1, C2, and C3 to send a random access request to the access network device. However, if the terminal device selects C3 to send a random access request, the terminal device needs to receive a random access response on C7. However, the terminal device cannot use a frequency band (e.g., n78) that is not supported by the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device cannot successfully receive a random access response from the access network device. Therefore, in order to ensure that the terminal device can successfully receive a random access response from the access network device, the terminal device may select uplink resource C1 and uplink resource C2 to send a random access request.

[0160] It can be understood that the access network device does not know which uplink resource among the N uplink resources is utilized by the terminal device to transmit the random access request. Therefore, the access network device needs to monitor the N uplink resources to ensure that the access network device can receive the random access request from the terminal device. In addition, since the N uplink resources may belong to different frequency bands, the terminal device may flexibly select the uplink resource, different terminal devices may perform access on different uplink resources, and the uplink coverage gain of the terminal device may be obtained.

[0161] 403: The access network device sends a random access response to the terminal device on the second resource.

[0162] In response, the terminal device may receive a random access response (RAR) from the access network device on a second resource, which may be one of the M downlink resources.

[0163] When the access network device receives a random access request from the terminal device and decides to send a random access response to the terminal device, the access network device may first select a second resource from among the M downlink resources.

[0164] When there is no correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, the access network device may select the second resource based on the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong, or may select the second resource based on the distance between the terminal device and the access network device. The rule for the access network device to select the second resource from among the M downlink resources is not limited here. The selection of the second resource by the access network device is similar to the selection of the first resource by the terminal device. For details, please refer to the above related description. The details will not be described again here.

[0165] When there is no correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, the terminal device does not know which downlink resource is used by the access network device to send the random access response. Therefore, the terminal device needs to receive the random access response on the M downlink resources. In addition, the N uplink resources may belong to different frequency bands, and the M downlink resources may also belong to different frequency bands. Therefore, the terminal device needs to support the frequency bands corresponding to the M downlink resources to successfully receive the random access response from the access network device. This raises high requirements for the capabilities of the terminal device.

[0166] When there is a correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, and one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, the access network device may determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources. K is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or less than M. Then, the access network device may select a second resource from the K downlink resources. The access network device may select the second resource based on the utilization rate of the K downlink resources, may select the second resource based on the frequency band to which the K downlink resources belong, or may select the second resource based on the distance between the terminal device and the access network device. The selection of the second resource from the K downlink resources by the access network device is similar (i.e., the same or similar) to the selection of the first resource by the terminal device. For details, please refer to the related description above.

[0167] When the access network device selects the second resource based on the utilization rate of the K downlink resources, the access network device may determine the resource with the lowest utilization rate among the K downlink resources as the second resource. For example, assume that K is 3, and the K downlink resources may include downlink resource 1, downlink resource 2, and downlink resource 3. When the access network device receives a random access request from a terminal device, downlink resource 1 and downlink resource 2 have already been utilized to send random access responses to multiple other terminal devices served by the access network device, and downlink resource 3 is not utilized or is utilized less frequently to send random access responses to other terminal devices. In this case, downlink resource 1 and downlink resource 2 have few idle resources, and downlink resource 3 has many idle resources, that is, the utilization rate of downlink resource 3 is lower. Therefore, the access network device may determine downlink resource 3 as the second resource and transmit a random access response to the terminal device on downlink resource 3, thereby making it possible to utilize all downlink resources in a balanced manner.

[0168] When there is a correspondence relationship between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, and one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, the access network device may determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource. For example, assume that N is 3, M is 2, the N uplink resources include uplink resource 1, uplink resource 2, and uplink resource 3, and the M downlink resources include downlink resource 1 and downlink resource 2. The correspondence relationship between the uplink resources and the downlink resources may be that uplink resource 1 corresponds to downlink resource 1, uplink resource 2 also corresponds to downlink resource 1, and uplink resource 3 corresponds to downlink resource 2. Therefore, when the terminal device sends a random access request on uplink resource 3 (i.e., the first resource) to the access network device, the access network device may determine downlink resource 2 corresponding to uplink resource 3 as the second resource, and then the access network device may send a random access response to the terminal device on downlink resource 2. It should be understood that one of the M downlink resources may correspond to multiple uplink resources among the N uplink resources.

[0169] When there is a correspondence between the N uplink resources and the M downlink resources, the terminal device may determine a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource based on the correspondence. Then, the terminal device needs to receive (monitor) a random access response from the access network device only on the downlink resource corresponding to the first resource. Thus, when the first resource corresponds to only a part of the M downlink resources, the terminal device does not need to monitor the M downlink resources, thereby reducing the average power consumption of the terminal device. It should be understood that the random access response may carry or include an identifier of the terminal device.

[0170] After the terminal device successfully performs random access (e.g., receives an RAR from the access network device within a certain time window range (e.g., within 5 seconds after sending a random access request) and then receives a message such as a contention resolution message from the access network device), the terminal device may send capability information to the access network device. Specifically, the terminal device may directly send the capability information of the terminal device to the access network device, or may send the capability information to the access network device upon receiving a capability information request from the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device may receive the capability information from the terminal device. The capability information may indicate information about a frequency band set supported by the terminal device and a bandwidth corresponding to each frequency band in the frequency band set.

[0171] The capability information may include information about L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets. The L frequency band sets may include an uplink frequency band set and a downlink frequency band set supported by the terminal device, where L is a positive integer equal to or greater than 1.

[0172] For example, assume that L is 4 and the capability information may include uplink frequency band set 1 (UL group set 1): n5, n8, and n28, uplink frequency band set 2 (UL group set 2): n1 and n3, downlink frequency band set 1 (DL group set 1): n1, n3, and n50, and downlink frequency band set 2 (DL group set 2): n79 and n257. Uplink frequency band set 1 includes uplink frequency bands corresponding to frequency band numbers n5, n8, and n28 in Table 1 (e.g., the uplink frequency band corresponding to n5 may be from 824 MHz to 849 MHz), uplink frequency band set 2 includes uplink frequency bands corresponding to frequency bands n1 and n3 in Table 1, downlink frequency band set 1 includes downlink frequency bands corresponding to frequency bands n1, n3, and n50 in Table 1, and downlink frequency band set 2 includes the downlink frequency band corresponding to frequency band number n79 in Table 1 and the downlink frequency band corresponding to frequency band number n257 in Table 2.

[0173] For uplink frequency band set 1, the terminal device may support two 5 MHz bandwidths on the uplink frequency band of n28 (i.e., supporting two carriers each having a 5 MHz bandwidth), which may be expressed as n28:2×5, one 15 MHz bandwidth on the uplink frequency band of n5, which may be expressed as n5:15, and two 10 MHz bandwidths on the uplink frequency band of n8, which may be expressed as n8:2×10. In another example, for downlink frequency band set 1, the terminal device may support two 10 MHz bandwidths on the downlink frequency band of n50, which may be expressed as n50:2×10, two 20 MHz bandwidths on the downlink frequency band of n1, which may be expressed as n1:2×20, and two 15 MHz bandwidths on the downlink frequency band of n3, which may be expressed as n3:2×15. Each frequency band in the uplink frequency band set 2 and the downlink frequency band set 2 also has similar bandwidth information (see above description). It should be understood that the bandwidth shown may be the maximum bandwidth supported by the terminal device, and the terminal device may support other bandwidths that are less than or equal to the maximum bandwidth.

[0174] The capability information of the terminal device may be expressed as a combination of multiple different frequency bands, for example, n78-n258 or n7-n257. With reference to Tables 1 and 2, n7, n78, n257, and n258 may be frequency band indexes. n78-n258 and n7-n257 indicate that the terminal device can simultaneously support the use of carriers on frequency bands n78 and n258, or can simultaneously support the use of carriers on frequency bands n7 and n257. However, the carriers on n78 and n7, or the carriers on n78 and n257 cannot be simultaneously used. In addition to the combination of supported frequency bands, the capability information may further include information such as the number and bandwidth of carriers supported by the terminal device, and may be indicated using a corresponding carrier level. For example, carrier level A in FR1 may indicate that one carrier is supported and the bandwidth of the carrier is less than the maximum bandwidth of the carrier. Carrier level M in FR2 may indicate that 8 carriers are supported and the total bandwidth of the carriers is less than 800 MHz. n78A-n258M may indicate that the terminal device may support one carrier on frequency band n78 and 8 carriers on frequency band n258, and the total bandwidth of the 8 carriers must be less than 800 MHz. The capability information may further include the maximum uplink / downlink bandwidth, modulation and coding scheme, subcarrier spacing, the number of uplink carriers, and the number of downlink carriers supported by the terminal device. The content and expression form included in the capability information are not limited here.

[0175] After the access network device receives the capability information reported by the terminal device, when the terminal device has uplink data and / or downlink data transmission, the access network device may flexibly allocate (schedule) uplink resources and downlink resources to the terminal device based on the capability reported by the terminal device. The uplink resources and downlink resources are utilized for data transmission.

[0176] When the terminal device has downlink data, the access network device may allocate a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of downlink data. The third resource may include one or more resources, and the third resource may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands. For example, the third resource may include a resource of frequency band n1, a resource of frequency band n5, and a resource of frequency band n28. The access network device may transmit the downlink data to the terminal device on the third resource.

[0177] The access network device may manage two transmission resource pools, an uplink resource pool and a downlink resource pool. The access network device may select a third resource from the downlink resource pool. The uplink resource pool may include uplink resources of all cells in the coverage range of the access network device, and the downlink resource pool may include downlink resources of all cells in the coverage range of the access network device. The uplink resource pool and the downlink resource pool may be scheduled independently. When the terminal device has uplink data, the access network device may allocate uplink resources to the terminal device from among the idle resources in the uplink resource pool for the terminal device to transmit the uplink data. Alternatively, when the terminal device has downlink data, the access network device may allocate downlink resources to the terminal device from among the idle resources in the downlink resource pool for the terminal device to receive the downlink data. Optionally, the resources that can be allocated to the terminal device may further include resources of neighboring (i.e., geographically nearby) access network devices. When a terminal device is located within the coverage range of a neighboring access network device, the access network device may also allocate resources of the neighboring access network device to the terminal device, thereby enabling the terminal device to increase its data transmission rate.

[0178] For example, assume that the capability information may include uplink frequency band set 1 (UL group set 1): n5, n8, and n28, uplink frequency band set 2 (UL group set 2): n1 and n3, downlink frequency band set 1 (DL group set 1): n1, n3, and n50, and downlink frequency band set 2 (DL group set 2): n79 and n257. In addition, for downlink frequency band set 1, the terminal device may support two 20 MHz bandwidths of the downlink frequency band of n1, two 15 MHz bandwidths of the downlink frequency band of n3, and two 10 MHz bandwidths of the downlink frequency band of n50. For downlink frequency band set 2, the terminal device may support four 50 MHz bandwidths of the downlink frequency band of n79 and two 200 MHz bandwidths of the downlink frequency band of n257.

[0179] The downlink resources (i.e., idle resources) that can be allocated by the access network device may include all the downlink resources of frequency bands n1, n2, n3, and n257. Thus, when the amount of downlink data is small (e.g., 10GB data), the access network device may allocate one or two carriers with 15MHz bandwidth on frequency band n3 to the terminal device, or may allocate one carrier with 20MHz bandwidth on frequency band n1 to the terminal device, or may allocate one carrier with 10MHz bandwidth on frequency band n3 and one carrier with 15MHz bandwidth on frequency band n1 to the terminal device. When the amount of downlink data is large (e.g., 10TB data), the access network device may allocate one or two carriers with 200MHz bandwidth on frequency band n257 to the terminal device. It can be understood that the downlink resources that can be allocated by the access network device may also be a part or all of the downlink resources of frequency bands n1, n2, n3, and n257. This depends on the resources planned for the access network device during network planning. The specific unit of resources allocated by the access network device to the terminal device may be an activated BWP, a subcarrier, a slot, or a mini-slot, etc. It should be understood that the resources allocated by the access network device to the terminal device for data transmission may be allocated from currently allocatable resources (i.e., idle resources).

[0180] After the access network device allocates the third resource to the terminal device, the access network device may transmit information about the third resource to the terminal device. In response, the terminal device may receive information about the third resource from the access network device. Then, the terminal device may receive downlink data from the access network device on the third resource.

[0181] When the terminal device has uplink data, the terminal device may transmit a resource allocation request to the access network device, which is utilized to request uplink resources. In response, the access network device may receive a resource allocation request from the terminal device. The resource allocation request may include an amount of uplink data.

[0182] The access network device may allocate the fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the uplink data volume. The fourth resource may include one or more resources, and the fourth resource may belong to the same frequency band or different frequency bands. The frequency band corresponding to the third resource may be the same as or different from the frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource. Allocating the fourth resource to the terminal device by the access network device is similar to allocating the third resource. For details, please refer to the related description of allocating the third resource. The details will not be described again here. However, it should be noted that the frequency band corresponding to the third resource may be the same as or different from the frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource. For example, the third resource allocated to the terminal device by the access network device may be a downlink resource on frequency band n3, and the fourth resource may be an uplink resource on n3, and the fourth resource may be an uplink resource on frequency band n1 and an uplink resource on frequency band n5.

[0183] In this embodiment of the present invention, it can be understood that the uplink resources (carriers) and downlink resources (carriers) of cells in the coverage range of the access network device are separated separately, and the uplink resources of a cell may not correspond to the downlink resources of the cell. The uplink resources (carriers) and downlink resources of all cells in the coverage range of the access network device may independently form an uplink spectrum resource pool and a downlink spectrum resource pool. During resource scheduling, the access network device may select an appropriate resource (carrier or combination of carriers) from the uplink resource pool and the downlink resource pool based on the service requirements of the terminal device, and schedule the resource to the terminal device.

[0184] In addition, the uplink resources (carriers) and the downlink resources (carriers) are separated separately, which can further reduce the requirements for the carrier capacity of the terminal device.

[0185] For example, a terminal device may support a 20MHz carrier on a 700MHz frequency band, a 50MHz carrier on a 3.5GHz frequency band, and a 50MHz carrier on a 4.9GHz frequency band on the uplink, and may support a 20MHz carrier on a 700MHz frequency band, a 50MHz carrier on a 3.5GHz frequency band, and a 50MHz carrier on a 4.9GHz frequency band on the downlink. However, the terminal device supports a maximum of two downlink carriers and two uplink carriers. Currently, in the conventional manner, when a terminal device uses a 700MHz 20MHz+3.5GHz 50MHz uplink carrier on the uplink, the terminal device needs to use a downlink carrier corresponding to the uplink carrier on the downlink, i.e., the terminal device uses a 700MHz 20MHz+3.5GHz 50MHz downlink carrier on the downlink. In this case, if the terminal device wants to increase the downlink bandwidth to ensure uplink coverage, the terminal device needs to support three carriers on the uplink and downlink, and a 4.9GHz 50MHz uplink carrier and a downlink carrier are added. However, in this embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device may use a 4.9GHz 50MHz+3.5GHz 50MHz downlink carrier on the downlink, instead of a 700MHz 20MHz downlink carrier, thereby increasing the downlink bandwidth. The terminal device may use a 700MHz 20MHz+3.5GHz 50MHz uplink carrier on the uplink, thereby ensuring the uplink coverage of the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device may not need to support three carriers on the uplink and downlink.It can be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, there may be no correspondence between the uplink carriers and downlink carriers utilized by the terminal device, so that various combinations of uplink / downlink carriers can be utilized more flexibly, reducing the requirements on the carrier capacity of the terminal device and further reducing the cost of the terminal device.

[0186] It should be understood that when allocating uplink and downlink resources to be utilized for data transmission, the access network device may further take into consideration the quality of the uplink channel and the quality of the downlink channel, and may select an appropriate modulation and coding scheme (MCS), etc. for the terminal device based on the quality of the uplink / downlink channel.

[0187] After the access network device allocates the fourth resource to the terminal device, the access network device may transmit information about the fourth resource to the terminal device. In response, the terminal device may receive information about the fourth resource from the access network device. The terminal device may then transmit uplink data on the fourth resource to the access network device. The access network device may receive uplink data on the fourth resource from the terminal device.

[0188] The access network device may transmit assignment indication information indicating the third resource and the fourth resource (i.e., information about the third resource and information about the fourth resource) to the terminal device via downlink control information to inform the terminal device of the configured third resource and the configured fourth resource. The access network device may transmit the assignment indication information on a downlink control channel, e.g., a physical downlink control channel or an enhanced physical downlink control channel. Optionally, the access network device may transmit the assignment indication information to the terminal device on a downlink data channel, e.g., a physical downlink shared channel. For example, the assignment indication information may be transmitted to the terminal device via dedicated radio resource control signaling.

[0189] The access network device may also allocate uplink / downlink resources to the terminal device based on the service requirements of the terminal device. Specifically, the access network device may allocate uplink / downlink resources to the terminal device based on the mobility characteristics, uplink data volume, and downlink data volume of the terminal device, etc. The mobility characteristics of the terminal device include the moving speed and moving range of the terminal device, etc. When the moving range of the terminal device is large, the access network device may allocate resources of a low frequency band to the terminal device for data transmission, so that the quality of communication between the terminal device and the access network device can be guaranteed, and the wide coverage requirements are provided for the terminal device.

[0190] For example, see Figure 5. Figure 5 is a diagram of resource allocation according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, the resources of an access network device can be divided into an uplink resource (UL) pool and a downlink resource (DL) pool. Higher frequency bands (such as the 4.9 GHz frequency band and the U6G frequency band) indicate that more resources can be allocated. Lower frequency bands (such as 700 MHz and 1.8 GHz) indicate that less resources can be allocated.

[0191] For example, for a communication service of a terminal device such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, only 1 MHz bandwidth is required to meet the service requirements because the unmanned aerial vehicle has a large moving range, a wide coverage requirement, and a small uplink / downlink data amount. Therefore, resources of a low frequency band, for example, resources of a 700 MHz frequency band, may be allocated to the unmanned aerial vehicle. For a communication service such as VR / AR, the moving range is small, but the downlink data amount is large and the uplink data amount is small. Therefore, uplink resources of the 1.8 GHz frequency band and downlink resources of the 2.6 GHz frequency band and the U6G / unlicensed frequency band may be allocated to the communication service. There are a large number of resources in the U6G / unlicensed frequency band. Therefore, a large bandwidth (for example, 400 MHz) may be allocated to the terminal device to guarantee the transmission rate of the terminal device and facilitate the terminal device to receive the downlink data. For a communication service of a terminal device such as an IP camera, the moving range of the communication service is small, the requirement for downlink resources is small (e.g., 50 MHz), and a large number of uplink resources (e.g., bandwidth of more than 300 MHz) are required to ensure the uploading of video data. Therefore, downlink resources of the 4.9 GHz frequency band and uplink resources of the 2.6 GHz frequency band and the 4.9 GHz frequency band may be allocated to the communication service. However, for a communication service such as live streaming, the requirement for uplink resources is high, and a bandwidth of 400 MHz may be required on the uplink, and the requirement for downlink resources is low, and a bandwidth of 50 MHz may be required on the downlink. Therefore, uplink resources of the 4.9 GHz frequency band and the U6G / unlicensed frequency band may be allocated to the communication service, and downlink resources of the 4.9 GHz frequency band may be allocated on the downlink.

[0192] The access network device may support unified scheduling of all available frequency band resources and flexibly allocate resources to the terminal device based on the service requirements of the terminal device, thereby ensuring high uplink traffic and high downlink traffic of the terminal device, and making full use of the spectral advantages (such as coverage and bandwidth) of different frequency bands to maximize resource utilization.

[0193] It should be noted that currently, a cell may have a corresponding control channel and a corresponding data channel. The control channels and data channels of different cells are configured independently. The control channel is mainly used for signaling transmission, and the data channel is mainly used for data transmission. In this embodiment of the present invention, the control channel and the data channel may be separated separately. The control channels of all cells in the coverage range of the access network device may be configured uniformly, and all cells may share the same control channel. The data channels of all cells may be configured independently, but the data channel resources are uniformly allocated by the access network device. The access network device may configure the control channel to be on a low frequency to form a continuous wide coverage network, thereby meeting the requirements for the movement of the terminal device in a large range, reducing the measurement switching time of the terminal device, and further reducing the control channel overhead. For example, the control channel may be configured uniformly to be on a low frequency in both the case where the terminal device is close to the access network device and the case where it is far away. When the terminal device is close to the access network device, the access network device may allocate data channel resources of a high frequency band to the terminal device for the terminal device to transmit uplink data and receive downlink data. When the terminal device moves from an area close to the access network device to an area far from the access network device, in order to ensure the continuity of data transmission and avoid the data plane switching of the terminal device (i.e., switching from the data channel of a cell to the data channel of another cell), the access network device may reallocate data channel resources of a low frequency band to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can successfully transmit uplink data and receive downlink data.It can be appreciated that by uniformly configuring the control channel to be on a low frequency and flexibly allocating data channel resources to terminal devices, control channel overhead and interruptions due to data plane switching can be reduced.

[0194] In this embodiment of the present invention, the access network device may schedule multiple uplink carriers (resources) and downlink carriers in a unified manner, and the uplink carriers and the downlink carriers are separated separately. The access network device may send information about multiple uplink resources and information about multiple downlink resources to the terminal device. The information about multiple uplink resources and the information about multiple downlink resources may be information about initial uplink resources and initial downlink resources of multiple cells in the coverage range of the access network device. Then, the terminal device may flexibly send a random access request on one of the uplink resources, and the access network device may flexibly send a random access response on one of the downlink resources, which is not limited to the uplink resources and downlink resources in a single cell, and system resource utilization is improved.

[0195] Based on the above network architecture, refer to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device may be an access network device or a module in an access network device. As shown in Fig. 6, the communication device may include: a sending unit 601, configured to send resource information to a terminal device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong; and a receiving unit 602, configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, where the first resource is one of the N uplink resources.

[0196] The sending unit 601 is further configured to send a random access response to the terminal device on a second resource, where the second resource is one of the M downlink resources.

[0197] In an embodiment, the sending unit 601 is further configured to send N reference signals to a terminal device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources.

[0198] In an embodiment, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the apparatus may further include a first determining unit 603 configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M, and a selecting unit 604 configured to select a second resource from the K downlink resources.

[0199] In an embodiment, the selecting unit 604 selecting the second resource from among the K downlink resources includes determining a resource with a lowest utilization rate among the K downlink resources as the second resource.

[0200] In an embodiment, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the apparatus may further include a second determining unit 605 configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0201] In an embodiment, the receiving unit 602 is further configured to receive capability information from the terminal device, where the capability information includes information about L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0202] The apparatus may further include an allocation unit 606 configured to allocate a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of downlink data, where the third resource includes one or more resources, and the third resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands.

[0203] The sending unit 601 is further configured to send information about a third resource to the terminal device, where the third resource is utilized by the access network device for downlink data transmission.

[0204] In an embodiment, the receiving unit 602 is further configured to receive a resource allocation request from a terminal device, where the resource allocation request includes an amount of uplink data.

[0205] The allocating unit 606 is further configured to allocate a fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of uplink data, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or a different frequency band, and a frequency band corresponding to the third resource is the same as or different from a frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource.

[0206] The sending unit 601 is further configured to send information about a fourth resource to the terminal device, where the fourth resource is utilized by the access network device for uplink data reception.

[0207] The first determining unit 603 and the second determining unit 605 may be collectively referred to as a determining unit. For more detailed description of the sending unit 601, the receiving unit 602, the first determining unit 603, the selecting unit 604, the second determining unit 605 and the allocating unit 606, please directly refer to the relevant description of the access network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4. The details will not be described again here.

[0208] Based on the above network architecture, refer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device may be a terminal device or a module in a terminal device. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication device may include: a receiving unit 701 configured to receive resource information from an access network device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency band to which the N uplink resources belong is the same as or different from the frequency band to which the M downlink resources belong; and a sending unit 702 configured to send a random access request to the access network device on a first resource, where the first resource is one of the N uplink resources.

[0209] The receiving unit 701 is further configured to receive a random access response from the access network device on a second resource, where the second resource is one of the M downlink resources.

[0210] In a possible implementation, the apparatus may further include a selection unit 703 configured to select a first resource from among the N uplink resources.

[0211] In a possible implementation, the selection unit 703 is specifically configured to select a first resource from among the N uplink resources based on the capability of the terminal device.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit 701 is further configured to receive N reference signals from the access network device, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N uplink resources.

[0213] The apparatus may further include a determining unit 704 configured to determine N signal qualities based on the N reference signals, where the N reference signals have a one-to-one correspondence with the N signal qualities.

[0214] The selecting unit 703 selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources includes determining, among the N uplink resources, a resource corresponding to a best signal quality as the first resource.

[0215] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the determining unit 704 is further configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where the K downlink resources include a second resource, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M.

[0216] The receiving unit 701 receiving a random access response from the access network device on the second resource includes receiving a random access response from the access network device on the K downlink resources.

[0217] In a possible implementation, one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the determining unit 704 is further configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to a first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain a second resource.

[0218] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 702 is further configured to send capability information to the access network device, where the capability information includes information about L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to the frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0219] The receiving unit 701 is further configured to receive information about a third resource from the access network device, where the third resource includes one or more resources, the third resource belongs to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and the third resource is utilized by the terminal device for receiving downlink data.

[0220] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 702 is further configured to send a resource allocation request to the access network device, where the resource allocation request includes an uplink data amount.

[0221] The receiving unit 701 is further configured to receive information about a fourth resource from the access network device, where the fourth resource includes one or more resources, the fourth resource belongs to the same frequency band or a different frequency band, and the fourth resource is utilized by the terminal device for transmitting uplink data.

[0222] For more detailed descriptions of the receiving unit 701, the sending unit 702, the selecting unit 703 and the determining unit 704, please directly refer to the relevant description of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4. The details will not be described again here.

[0223] Based on the above network architecture, refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication device may include a processor 801, a memory 802, a transceiver 803, and a bus 804. The memory 802 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 801 via the bus 804. Alternatively, the memory 802 and the processor 801 may be integrated with each other. The bus 804 is configured to realize the connection between these components. In one case, as shown in FIG. 8, the transceiver 803 may include a transmitter 8031, a receiver 8032, and an antenna 8033. In the other case, the transceiver 803 may include a transmitter (i.e., an output interface) and a receiver (i.e., an input interface). The transmitter may include a transmitter machine and an antenna, and the receiver may include a receiver machine and an antenna.

[0224] In an embodiment, the communication device may be an access network device or a module (e.g., chip) in the access network device. When the computer program stored in the memory 802 is executed, the processor 801 is configured to control the sending unit 601 and the receiving unit 602 to perform the operations performed in the above embodiments. The processor 801 is further configured to perform the operations performed by the first determining unit 603, the selecting unit 604, the second determining unit 605, and the allocating unit 606. The transceiver 803 is configured to perform the operations performed by the sending unit 601 and the receiving unit 602 in the above embodiments. The access network device or a module in the access network device may be further configured to perform the method performed by the access network device in the method embodiment in FIG. 4. Details will not be described again here.

[0225] In an embodiment, the communication apparatus may be a terminal device or a module (e.g., a chip) in the terminal device. When a computer program stored in the memory 802 is executed, the processor 801 is configured to control the receiving unit 701 and the transmitting unit 702 to perform the operations performed in the above embodiments. The processor 801 is further configured to perform the operations performed by the selecting unit 703 and the determining unit 704. The transceiver 803 is configured to perform the operations performed by the receiving unit 701 and the transmitting unit 702 in the above embodiments. The terminal device or a module in the terminal device may be further configured to perform the method performed by the terminal device in the method embodiment in FIG. 4. Details will not be described again here.

[0226] Based on the above network architecture, refer to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of yet another communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication device may include an input interface 901, a logic circuit 902, and an output interface 903. The input interface 901 is connected to the output interface 903 through the logic circuit 902. The input interface 901 is configured to receive information from other communication devices, and the output interface 903 is configured to output, schedule, or transmit information to other communication devices. The logic circuit 902 is configured to perform operations other than the operations of the input interface 901 and the output interface 903, for example, to realize the functions implemented by the processor 801 in the above embodiment. The communication device may be a terminal device or a module in a terminal device, or may be an access network device or a module in an access network device. For a more detailed description of the input interface 901, the logic circuit 902, and the output interface 903, please directly refer to the relevant description of the terminal device or the access network device in the above method embodiment. The details will not be described again here.

[0227] Based on the above network architecture, refer to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 10, the communication system may include an access network device 1001 and a terminal device 1002. For detailed description, please refer to the communication method shown in Fig. 4.

[0228] The embodiments of the present invention further disclose a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed, perform the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0229] An embodiment of the present invention further discloses a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed, perform the method in the above method embodiment.

[0230] In the above specific implementation, the objectives, technical solutions and advantageous effects of this application are further detailed. It should be understood that the above description is merely a specific implementation of this application, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, or improvements made based on the technical solutions of this application should fall within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. transmitting resource information to a terminal device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency bands to which the N uplink resources belong are the same as or different from the frequency bands to which the M downlink resources belong; receiving a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, the first resource being one of the N uplink resources; transmitting a random access response to the terminal device on a second resource, the second resource being one of the M downlink resources; A communication method comprising:

2. One of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the method includes: determining a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M; selecting the second resource from the K downlink resources; Further comprising: The method of claim 1.

3. The step of selecting the second resource from among the K downlink resources comprises: determining a least utilized resource among the K downlink resources as the second resource; A method corresponding to claim 2.

4. One of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the method comprises: determining a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain the second resource; The method of claim 1.

5. The method comprises: receiving capability information from the terminal device, the capability information including information on L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer equal to or greater than 1; Allocating a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and a downlink data amount, the third resource including one or more resources, the third resource belonging to the same frequency band or different frequency bands; transmitting information about the third resource to the terminal device, the third resource being utilized by an access network device for downlink data transmission; Further comprising: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The method comprises: receiving a resource allocation request from the terminal device, the resource allocation request including an amount of uplink data; Allocating a fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the amount of uplink data, the fourth resource including one or more resources, the fourth resource belonging to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and a frequency band corresponding to the third resource being the same as or different from a frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource; transmitting information about the fourth resource to the terminal device, the fourth resource being utilized by the access network device for uplink data reception; Further comprising: The method according to claim 5.

7. receiving resource information from an access network device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, where N and M are integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belong to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency bands to which the N uplink resources belong are the same as or different from the frequency bands to which the M downlink resources belong; sending a random access request to the access network device on a first resource, the first resource being one of the N uplink resources; receiving a random access response from the access network device on a second resource, the second resource being one of the M downlink resources; A communication method comprising:

8. The method further comprises selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources. The method of claim 7.

9. The step of selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources comprises: selecting the first resource from among the N uplink resources based on a capability of a terminal device; The method according to claim 8.

10. One of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the method further includes: determining a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where the K downlink resources include the second resource, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M; receiving a random access response from the access network device on a second resource includes receiving the random access response from the access network device on the K downlink resources; The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

11. one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the method further includes determining a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain the second resource. The method according to claims 7 to 9.

12. The method comprises: sending capability information to the access network device, the capability information including information on L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; receiving information about a third resource from the access network device, the third resource including one or more resources, the third resource belonging to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, the third resource being utilized by the terminal device for receiving downlink data; Further comprising: The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11.

13. The method comprises: sending a resource allocation request to the access network device, the resource allocation request including an amount of uplink data; receiving information about a fourth resource from the access network device, the fourth resource including one or more resources, the fourth resource belonging to the same frequency band or different frequency bands, the fourth resource being utilized by the terminal device for transmitting uplink data; Further comprising: The method of claim 12.

14. a transmitting unit configured to transmit resource information to a terminal device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, N and M being integers equal to or greater than 2, the N uplink resources belonging to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belonging to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency bands to which the N uplink resources belong are the same as or different from the frequency bands to which the M downlink resources belong; a receiving unit configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device on a first resource, the first resource being one of the N uplink resources; Including, The transmitting unit is further configured to transmit a random access response to the terminal device on a second resource, the second resource being one of the M downlink resources. Communications equipment.

15. One of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the device: a first determining unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M; a selection unit configured to select the second resource from among the K downlink resources; Further comprising:

15. The apparatus of claim 14.

16. the selection unit is particularly configured to determine a least utilized resource among the K downlink resources as the second resource.

16. The apparatus of claim 15.

17. one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the apparatus further includes a second determining unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain the second resource.

15. The apparatus of claim 14.

18. The receiving unit is further configured to receive capability information from the terminal device, the capability information including L frequency band sets and information about bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The apparatus further includes an allocation unit configured to allocate a third resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and a downlink data amount, the third resource including one or more resources, the third resource belonging to a same frequency band or different frequency bands; The transmitting unit is further configured to transmit information about the third resource to the terminal device, the third resource being utilized by an access network device for downlink data transmission. Apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 17.

19. The receiving unit is further configured to receive a resource allocation request from the terminal device, the resource allocation request including an amount of uplink data; The allocating unit is further configured to allocate a fourth resource to the terminal device based on the capability information and the uplink data amount, the fourth resource including one or more resources, the fourth resource belonging to a same frequency band or a different frequency band, and a frequency band corresponding to the third resource is the same as or different from a frequency band corresponding to the fourth resource; The transmitting unit is further configured to transmit information about the fourth resource to the terminal device, the fourth resource being utilized by the access network device for uplink data reception.

20. The apparatus of claim 18.

20. a receiving unit configured to receive resource information from an access network device, the resource information including information about N uplink resources and information about M downlink resources, N and M being integers equal to or greater than 1, the N uplink resources belonging to one or more frequency bands, the M downlink resources belonging to one or more frequency bands, and the frequency bands to which the N uplink resources belong are the same as or different from the frequency bands to which the M downlink resources belong; a transmitting unit configured to transmit a random access request to the access network device on a first resource, the first resource being one of the N uplink resources; Including, The receiving unit is further configured to receive a random access response from the access network device on a second resource, the second resource being one of the M downlink resources. Communications equipment.

21. and a selection unit configured to select the first resource from among the N uplink resources.

21. The apparatus of claim 20.

22. the selection unit is particularly configured to select the first resource from among the N uplink resources based on a capability of the terminal device; 22. The apparatus of claim 21.

23. One of the N uplink resources corresponds to a plurality of downlink resources among the M downlink resources, and the apparatus further includes a first determining unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain K downlink resources, where the K downlink resources include the second resource, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 2 and less than or equal to M; and receiving the random access response from the access network device on the second resource by the receiving unit includes receiving the random access response from the access network device on the K downlink resources. Apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 22.

24. one of the N uplink resources corresponds to one of the M downlink resources, and the apparatus further includes a second determining unit configured to determine a downlink resource corresponding to the first resource among the N uplink resources to obtain the second resource.

23. Apparatus according to claims 20 to 22.

25. The sending unit is further configured to send capability information to the access network device, the capability information including information about L frequency band sets and bandwidths corresponding to frequency bands included in the L frequency band sets, where L is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1; The receiving unit is further configured to receive information about a third resource from the access network device, the third resource including one or more resources, the third resource belonging to a same frequency band or a different frequency band, and the third resource being utilized by the terminal device for receiving downlink data. Apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 24.

26. The sending unit is further configured to send a resource allocation request to the access network device, the resource allocation request including an amount of uplink data; The receiving unit is further configured to receive information about a fourth resource from the access network device, the fourth resource including one or more resources, the fourth resource belonging to a same frequency band or a different frequency band, and the fourth resource being utilized by the terminal device for transmitting uplink data.

26. The apparatus of claim 25.

27. A communication device comprising a processor, a memory and a transceiver, the transceiver configured to receive information from a communication device other than the communication device and to output information to a communication device other than the communication device, the processor calling a computer program stored in the memory to implement a method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium storing a computer program or computer instructions, the computer program or computer instructions, when executed, performing a method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

29. A chip including a processor configured to execute a program stored in a memory, said program, when executed, enabling said chip to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

30. A computer program product, said computer program product comprising computer program code, said computer program code, when executed, performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

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