Communication method and communication device

Abstract

This application provides a communication method and a communication device. The method includes the following: When obtaining measurement configuration information, the terminal device may directly obtain the NTN parameter information required for measurement, or may determine the NTN parameter information based on the indication information. Further, the terminal device performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information. The terminal device compensates or adjusts offsets such as the measurement frequency and measurement time caused by the movement of the satellite based on the ephemeris information in the NTN parameter information, ensuring that the search and measurement can be performed more quickly and accurately, thereby satisfying the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210786578.9, titled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on July 4, 2022, and Chinese Patent Application No. 202210817188.3, titled "COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS", filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on July 12, 2022. Both of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0002] [Technical Field] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and more specifically, to communication methods and communication apparatuses.

Background Art

[0003] Today, satellite networks are a global hot topic in research, and satellite communication technologies are becoming increasingly mature. For example, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a network or network segment that uses radio frequencies mounted on satellites for communication and can provide a wider coverage. In addition, satellite base stations are not vulnerable to natural disasters or external forces.

[0004] In an NTN network, since an NTN cell has a wide coverage, a terminal device is affected by the dynamic movement of a satellite. For example, when a satellite moves at a high speed, the reception timing and reception frequency of the terminal device vary over time.

[0005] In this case, how to improve the measurement accuracy of a measurement target by a terminal device becomes an issue worthy of attention.

Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that enable a terminal device to measure a measurement target based on measurement configuration information and related NTN parameter information, thereby improving measurement accuracy and meeting communication latency requirements.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured within the terminal device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0008] This method includes the following: The terminal device obtains first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency. The terminal device performs measurements on a carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and measurement configuration information, where the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0009] Based on the above technical solution, when obtaining measurement configuration information, the terminal device may directly obtain the NTN parameter information required for measurement, or may determine the NTN parameter information based on indication information. Furthermore, the terminal device performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information. The terminal device compensates or adjusts offsets such as measurement frequency and measurement time caused by satellite movement based on the ephemeris information within the NTN parameter information, ensuring that search and measurement can be performed more quickly and accurately, thereby meeting communication latency requirements and improving measurement accuracy.

[0010] In this application, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency and related to the terminal device accessing the NTN network, and the parameter information may be ephemeris information.

[0011] In this application, the terminal device measures the cell on the carrier frequency of the cell.

[0012] In this application, the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device.

[0013] In this application, the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device may include measurement configuration information such as intra-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-RAT measurement configuration information, or measurement gap configuration information.

[0014] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device obtaining the first configuration information includes the following: The terminal device receives the first information, and the first information includes the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0015] In this technical solution, the terminal device may obtain the first configuration information simultaneously when obtaining the measurement configuration information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0016] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device receives the second information, the second information includes the measurement configuration information and the first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the position for carrying the first configuration information. The terminal device determines the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0017] In this technical solution, the terminal device determines the first configuration information based on the indication information sent by the network device, and may further use the first configuration information for measurement.

[0018] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information. The terminal device determines the first configuration information in the third information based on the system information block and / or index information, and the third information includes the first configuration information.

[0019] In this technical solution, the first indication information may indicate the position of the first configuration information or a specific bearer resource, and the terminal device may determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0020] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device receives the third information, and the third information further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0021] In this technical solution, the terminal device receives the third information from the network device and further determines the first configuration information in the third information based on the indication information.

[0022] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0023] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell may be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0024] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0025] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency of a cell can be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0026] It should be understood that there is an association relationship between the first configuration information and the carrier frequency.

[0027] It should be understood that there is a correspondence relationship between the first configuration information and the cell. That is, at least one cell found on the corresponding carrier frequency through search can be measured by using one set of NTN parameter information. In other words, different cells may correspond to different NTN parameter information, or different cells may correspond to the same set of NTN parameter information.

[0028] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information, and there is a correspondence relationship between the carrier frequency and the first configuration information. That is, the first configuration information is for performing measurements on the carrier frequency.

[0029] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes a first configuration information index, and there is a correspondence relationship between the cell and the first configuration information index. That is, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to different cells.

[0030] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information or a list of cell identification information. There is a correspondence relationship between the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information and the first configuration information. That is, the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information can indicate the cell corresponding to the first configuration information.

[0031] Optionally, the cell identification information can be a physical cell ID.

[0032] Optionally, when adding, modifying, or deleting a cell on a carrier frequency, the network device correspondingly modifies the first configuration information corresponding to the cell.

[0033] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device receives second configuration information, where the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information. The NTN parameter information includes the parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The second configuration information is used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency within a first duration, and the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information. The effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0034] In this technical solution, in the movement of the satellite, movement parameter information such as speed, position, and orbit changes dynamically. Therefore, it is necessary to update the NTN parameter information to ensure that the provided ephemeris information is more accurate and to ensure that the terminal device can perform searches and measurements more quickly and accurately. Therefore, after exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, it is necessary to continue measurements using the updated second configuration information to ensure measurement accuracy and meet the communication latency requirements.

[0035] It can be understood that when the network device and the terminal device are in a connected state, the network device may determine that the effective duration of the first configuration information has been exceeded. Therefore, the network device may send the second configuration information to the terminal device. However, when the network device is in an idle state or an inactive state, the network device may not be able to determine the effective duration of the first configuration information. In this scenario, the network device may not be able to send the second configuration information to the terminal device in a timely manner.

[0036] Optionally, the effective duration configured by the network for the first configuration information indicates the longest time that the UE can use the first configuration information when the UE does not obtain new assistance information (such as satellite ephemeris information, TA parameters, etc.).

[0037] Optionally, when the network device determines that the validity period of the NTN parameter information (first configuration information) required by the terminal device for measurement has expired, the network device may reconfigure the NTN parameter information (second configuration information) required for measurement for the terminal device.

[0038] Optionally, the network device reconfigures the second configuration information for the terminal device before the validity period expires.

[0039] Optionally, for example, the network device may determine the validity period based on parameters such as the moving speed and orbital height of the satellite. This is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Optionally, the network device may send the second configuration information via a broadcast message or may send the second configuration information via a dedicated signaling message.

[0041] In this application, the terminal device receives new NTN parameter information (second configuration information) and performs measurements based on the new NTN parameter information and measurement configuration information.

[0042] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device receives first information, and the first information includes first configuration information and measurement configuration information. The first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes the parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target. The terminal device performs measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0043] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device receives second information, and the second information includes measurement configuration information and first indication information. The terminal device determines the first configuration information based on the first indication information. The first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes the parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The terminal device performs measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0044] Referring to the first aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains first configuration information. The first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes the parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The terminal device performs measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the intra-frequency / inter-frequency / RAT measurement configuration information. The intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0045] In this application, in an idle state or an inactive state, a network device transmits frequency-in measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, or inter-RAT measurement configuration information via a broadcast message. In addition, the broadcast message may further carry first indication information. A terminal device determines system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information. The terminal device further determines the first configuration information in third information based on the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located, and the third information is information transmitted by the network device via a broadcast message and includes the first configuration information.

[0046] According to a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by a network device or a chip or circuit configured within the network device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0047] This method includes the following: The network device determines first configuration information based on measurement configuration information, and the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of measurements to be performed by the terminal device. The network device transmits the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, and the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information are used by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0048] Based on the foregoing technical solutions, when transmitting measurement configuration information to a terminal device, the network device may directly transmit the NTN parameter information required for measurement, or may simultaneously transmit indication information for indicating the position of the NTN parameter information, so that the terminal device can directly obtain the NTN parameter information. Further, the terminal device performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information. The terminal device compensates or adjusts offsets such as measurement frequency and measurement time caused by satellite movement based on the ephemeris information in the NTN parameter information, ensuring that search and measurement can be performed more quickly and accurately, thereby satisfying communication latency requirements and improving measurement accuracy.

[0049] In this application, the NTN parameter information is required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency and includes parameter information related to accessing the NTN network by the terminal device, and the parameter information may be ephemeris information.

[0050] In this application, the terminal device measures the cell on the carrier frequency of the cell.

[0051] In this application, the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device.

[0052] In this application, the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device may include measurement configuration information such as intra-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-RAT measurement configuration information, or measurement gap configuration information.

[0053] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the network device transmits first information, and the first information includes first configuration information and measurement configuration information.

[0054] In this technical solution, when configuring measurement configuration information, the network device may simultaneously transmit first configuration information, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0055] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the network device transmits second information, where the second information includes measurement configuration information and first indication information. The first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information, and the first indication information is used by the terminal device to determine the first configuration information.

[0056] In this technical solution, the network device may indicate the position of the first configuration information by using indication information so that the terminal device determines the first configuration information for measurement.

[0057] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first indication information indicates index information and / or a system information block where the first configuration information is located within third information.

[0058] In this technical solution, the first indication information may indicate the position of the first configuration information or a specific bearer resource, and the terminal device may determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0059] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the network device transmits third information, and the third information further includes cell identification information of the cell and / or carrier frequency information.

[0060] In this technical solution, the network device transmits the third information to the terminal device, whereby the terminal device determines the first configuration information within the third information based on the indication information.

[0061] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0062] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to multiple cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell can be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0063] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0064] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to multiple cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency of the cell can be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0065] It should be understood that there is an association relationship between the first configuration information and the carrier frequency.

[0066] It should be understood that there is a correspondence relationship between the first configuration information and the cell. That is, at least one cell found on the corresponding carrier frequency through search can be measured by using one set of NTN parameter information. In other words, different cells may correspond to different NTN parameter information, or different cells may correspond to the same set of NTN parameter information.

[0067] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information, and there is a correspondence between the carrier frequency and the first configuration information. That is, the first configuration information is for performing measurements on the carrier frequency.

[0068] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes a first configuration information index, and there is a correspondence between the cell and the first configuration information index. That is, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to different cells.

[0069] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information or a list of cell identification information. There is a correspondence between the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information and the first configuration information. That is, the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information may indicate the cell corresponding to the first configuration information.

[0070] Optionally, the cell identification information may be a physical cell ID.

[0071] Optionally, when adding, modifying, or deleting a cell on the carrier frequency, the network device accordingly modifies the first configuration information corresponding to the cell.

[0072] Referring to the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the network device transmits second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of at least one cell on different carrier frequencies. The NTN parameter information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access at least one cell via NTN. The second configuration information is used by the terminal device to measure at least one cell within a first duration, and the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information. The effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0073] In this technical solution, during the movement of the satellite, the movement parameter information such as speed, position, and orbit changes dynamically. Therefore, in order to ensure that the provided ephemeris information is more accurate and to ensure that the terminal device can perform searches and measurements more quickly and accurately, it is necessary to update the NTN parameter information. Therefore, after the expiration of the valid duration of the first configuration information, it is necessary to continue the measurement using the updated second configuration information to ensure the measurement accuracy and meet the communication latency requirements.

[0074] When the network device and the terminal device are in a connected state, it can be understood that the network device may determine that the valid duration of the first configuration information has expired. Therefore, the network device may send the second configuration information to the terminal device. However, when the network device is in an idle state or an inactive state, the network device may not be able to determine the valid duration of the first configuration information. In this scenario, the network device may not be able to send the second configuration information to the terminal device in a timely manner.

[0075] Optionally, the valid duration configured by the network for the first configuration information indicates the longest time that the UE can use the first configuration information when the UE does not obtain new assistance information (such as satellite ephemeris information, TA parameters, etc.).

[0076] Optionally, when the network device determines that the valid time of the NTN parameter information (first configuration information) required by the terminal device for measurement has expired, the network device may reconfigure the NTN parameter information (second configuration information) required for measurement for the terminal device.

[0077] Optionally, the network device reconfigures the second configuration information for the terminal device before the expiration of the valid time.

[0078] Optionally, for example, the network device may determine the validity period based on parameters such as the satellite's moving speed and orbital height. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0079] Optionally, the network device may send the second configuration information via a broadcast message or may send the second configuration information via a dedicated signaling message.

[0080] In the present application, the terminal device receives new NTN parameter information (second configuration information) and performs measurements based on the new NTN parameter information and the measurement configuration information.

[0081] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by a network device or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured within the network device. In the present application, this is not limited.

[0082] This method includes the following: The network device determines the second configuration information based on the first configuration information. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The network device sends the first configuration information, the second configuration information, and the first information. The first information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information. The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0083] According to this technical solution, a network device (source network device) instructs a terminal device to receive common information (first configuration information) of cells to be accessed under reasonable conditions (such as appropriate time, appropriate location, etc.). The terminal device accesses a target cell to be accessed based on the common information and the second configuration information, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of the common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0084] In this application, the first configuration information includes common configuration information for a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the common configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0085] When different terminal devices access the same target network device, the common configuration information may be the same. It can be understood that when different terminal devices access different target network devices, the common configuration information is usually different.

[0086] Optionally, the first information further includes cell-specific configuration information.

[0087] Optionally, after receiving the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first information, the terminal device receives the cell-specific configuration information.

[0088] It can be understood that the cell-specific configuration information is different for different target network devices.

[0089] Referring to the third aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first information includes a first condition, and the first condition indicates that the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0090] In this technical solution, the network device indicates specific conditions to the terminal device, whereby the terminal device determines whether the conditions are met and receives first configuration information.

[0091] Referring to the third aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the first start time, where the first start time is the start time of the first time period, and the first time period is the time period during which the terminal device should switch from the current serving cell of the network device to the target cell to be accessed.

[0092] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current time is before the start time of the first time period, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0093] Referring to the third aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than the first threshold value, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than the second threshold value. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, where the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, and the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0094] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current position meets the position condition, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0095] The first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0096] Referring to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first information includes first instruction information, and the first instruction information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0097] In this technical solution, the network device directly instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information by using the instruction information.

[0098] Referring to the third aspect, in a possible implementation, the first information includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0099] In this technical solution, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within a corresponding time by indicating specific time information.

[0100] Optionally, the first information includes a handover command message.

[0101] Optionally, the network device transmits the first information before transmitting the handover command message to the terminal device.

[0102] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an offset time. For example, the first time information is represented by using an offset value from a reference time. The reference time may be the cell service end time.

[0103] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an absolute time.

[0104] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using system frames and sub - frames.

[0105] According to a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured within the terminal device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0106] This method includes the following: The terminal device receives first information. The terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information. The first configuration information includes cell - specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell via a non - terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0107] According to this technical solution, the terminal device can receive common information of the cell to be accessed under reasonable conditions (such as appropriate time, appropriate position, etc.) based on the instructions of a network device (source network device), thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0108] In this application, the first configuration information includes common configuration information for the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the common configuration information includes cell - specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0109] It can be understood that when different terminal devices access the same target network device, the common configuration information may be the same, and when different terminal devices access different target network devices, the common configuration information is usually different.

[0110] Optionally, the first information further includes cell-specific configuration information.

[0111] Optionally, after receiving the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first information, the terminal device receives cell-specific configuration information.

[0112] It can be understood that the cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the target network device.

[0113] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines a first condition based on the first information. The terminal device determines to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first condition.

[0114] In this technical solution, the network device indicates specific conditions to the terminal device, whereby the terminal device determines whether the conditions are met and receives the first configuration information.

[0115] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines that the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the start time of the first time period, and the first time period is the time period during which the terminal device should switch from the current serving cell of the network device to the target cell to be accessed. The terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current time.

[0116] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current time is before the start time of the first time period, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0117] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines that the first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than the first threshold, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than the second threshold. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error. The terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current position.

[0118] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current position meets the position condition, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0119] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the first instruction information based on the first information. The terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first instruction information.

[0120] In this technical solution, the network device directly instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information by using the instruction information.

[0121] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device determines the first time information based on the first information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The terminal device receives the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information, and receives the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0122] In this technical solution, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at or within a corresponding time by indicating specific time information.

[0123] Optionally, the first information includes a handover command message.

[0124] Optionally, the network device sends the first information before sending the handover command message to the terminal device.

[0125] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an offset time. For example, the first time information is represented by using an offset value of a reference time. The reference time may be the cell service end time.

[0126] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an absolute time.

[0127] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using a system frame and a subframe.

[0128] Referring to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0129] According to the fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by the network device, or may be executed by a chip or a circuit configured in the network device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0130] This method includes the following: The network device sends a first message, and the first message includes group identification information, where the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The network device multicasts to the terminal device the first configuration information and the second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0131] According to this technical solution, the network device sends to the terminal device the common information (first configuration information) of the cell to be accessed via a multicast message, and the terminal device can directly receive the first configuration information via the multicast message. Thereby, the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information can be reduced, and the power consumption overhead of the terminal can be reduced.

[0132] Optionally, the group identification information may be a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0133] For example, the network device configures the same G-RNTI for terminal devices belonging to the same group. That is, terminal devices having the same G-RNTI belong to the same group.

[0134] In this scenario, the terminal not only needs to receive terminal-specific messages but also needs to receive multicast messages of the group to which the terminal belongs. For example, the terminal not only needs to receive messages scrambled by using the terminal-specific C-RNTI but also needs to receive messages scrambled by using the G-RNTI.

[0135] Referring to the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the network device transmits third configuration information, and the third configuration information includes a handover trigger condition, and the handover trigger condition instructs the terminal device to switch to the target cell.

[0136] In this technical solution, the network device configures a specific handover trigger condition for the terminal device in order to instruct the terminal device to switch to the target cell.

[0137] Referring to the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the third configuration information further includes the identification information of the target cell.

[0138] Referring to the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0139] According to the sixth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method may be executed by the terminal device, or may be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0140] This method includes the following: The terminal device receives a first message, and the first message includes group identification information, and the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0141] According to this technical solution, the terminal device receives the grouping information sent by the network device, further determines the group to which the terminal device belongs, and further receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information sent by the network device for the group to which the terminal device belongs. That is, the terminal device can directly receive the first configuration information via a multicast message, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0142] Optionally, the group identification information may be a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0143] For example, the network device configures the same G-RNTI for the terminal devices belonging to the same group. That is, the terminal devices having the same G-RNTI belong to the same group.

[0144] In this scenario, the terminal not only needs to receive the terminal-specific message, but also needs to receive the multicast message of the group to which the terminal belongs. For example, the terminal not only needs to receive the message scrambled by using the terminal-specific C-RNTI, but also needs to receive the message scrambled by using the G-RNTI.

[0145] Referring to the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the terminal device receives the third configuration information, and the third configuration information includes a handover trigger condition. The terminal device switches to the target cell based on the handover trigger condition.

[0146] In this technical solution, the terminal device determines to switch to the target cell based on the specific handover trigger condition configured by the network device.

[0147] Referring to the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the third configuration information further includes the identification information of the target cell.

[0148] Referring to the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0149] In the prior art, the common part of the handover command can be transmitted via a common message. In the existing procedure, after switching to the current cell, the terminal starts to receive the common information of the candidate target cells. However, the NTN cell has a wide coverage and there are many adjacent cells. Due to the movement of the satellite, the candidate target cells change, the NTN cell updates the broadcast common information of the candidate target cells, and the terminal needs to receive the common information of the latest candidate target cells. After the terminal switches to the current cell, usually, the handover does not occur again immediately. However, before the handover occurs, the terminal frequently receives the common information of the candidate target cells. This causes an overhead in the power consumption of the terminal.

[0150] In view of this, the present application communicates the common message required by the terminal to access the candidate target cell between the terminal device and the network device, and avoids the case where the terminal frequently receives the common information of the candidate target cell before the handover occurs, thereby providing a communication method for reducing the power consumption overhead.

[0151] According to the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided. This device may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit configured within the terminal device. In the present application, this is not limited.

[0152] The apparatus includes a transceiver unit configured to obtain first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by a terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and a processing unit configured to perform measurements on a carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and measurement configuration information, where the measurement configuration information indicates configuration information of measurements to be performed by the terminal device, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0153] Based on the foregoing technical solution, when obtaining measurement configuration information, the transceiver unit may directly obtain the NTN parameter information required for the measurement, or may determine the NTN parameter information based on instruction information. Further, the processing unit performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information. The processing unit compensates or adjusts offsets such as measurement frequency and measurement time caused by the movement of the satellite based on the ephemeris information in the NTN parameter information, ensuring that the search and measurement can be performed more quickly and accurately, thereby satisfying the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0154] In this application, the NTN parameter information is required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and includes parameter information related to accessing the NTN network by the terminal device, and the parameter information may be ephemeris information.

[0155] In this application, the processing unit measures a cell on the carrier frequency of the cell.

[0156] In this application, the measurement configuration information indicates configuration information of measurements to be performed by the terminal device.

[0157] In this application, the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device may include measurement configuration information such as intra-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-RAT measurement configuration information, or measurement gap configuration information.

[0158] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first information, and the first information includes first configuration information and measurement configuration information.

[0159] In this technical solution, the transceiver unit may simultaneously acquire the first configuration information when acquiring the measurement configuration information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0160] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, the second information includes measurement configuration information and first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information. The processing unit is configured to determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0161] In this technical solution, the processing unit is configured to determine the first configuration information based on the indication information sent by the network device and further use the first configuration information for measurement.

[0162] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information. The processing unit is further specifically configured to determine the first configuration information in the third information based on the system information block and / or index information, and the third information includes the first configuration information.

[0163] In this technical solution, the first indication information may indicate the position of the first configuration information or a specific bearer resource, and the processing unit may determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0164] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third information, and the third information further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0165] In this technical solution, the transceiver unit receives third information from the network device, and further determines first configuration information in the third information based on the instruction information.

[0166] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0167] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell can be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0168] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0169] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency of the cell can be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0170] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second configuration information, the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0171] In this technical solution, in the movement of the satellite, movement parameter information such as speed, position, and orbit changes dynamically. Therefore, it is necessary to update the NTN parameter information to ensure that the provided ephemeris information is more accurate and to ensure that the processing unit can perform searches and measurements more quickly and accurately. Therefore, after exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, it is necessary to continue measurements using the updated second configuration information to ensure measurement accuracy and meet the communication latency requirements.

[0172] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is configured to receive first information, the first information includes first configuration information and measurement configuration information, the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target. The processing unit is configured to perform measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0173] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is configured to receive second information, and the second information includes measurement configuration information and first indication information. The processing unit is configured to determine first configuration information based on the first indication information, and the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The processing unit is further configured to perform measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement object.

[0174] Referring to the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is further configured to obtain first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency. The processing unit is further configured to perform measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the intra-frequency / inter-frequency / RAT measurement configuration information, and the intra-frequency or inter-frequency measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement object.

[0175] In this application, in the idle state or the non-active state, the network device transmits the intra-frequency measurement configuration information, the inter-frequency measurement configuration information, or the inter-RAT measurement configuration information via a broadcast message. In addition, the broadcast message may further carry the first indication information. The terminal device determines the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information. The terminal device further determines the first configuration information in the third information based on the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located, and the third information is information transmitted by the network device via a broadcast message and includes the first configuration information.

[0176] According to an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device, or the device may be a chip or circuit configured within a network device. In the present application, this is not limited.

[0177] The device is a processing unit configured to determine first configuration information based on measurement configuration information, where the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by a terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information indicates configuration information of measurements to be performed by the terminal device, and a transceiver unit configured to transmit the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, where the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information are used by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0178] Based on the above technical solution, when transmitting the measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the transceiver unit may directly transmit the NTN parameter information required for the measurement, or may simultaneously transmit indication information for indicating the position of the NTN parameter information, so that the transceiver unit can directly obtain the NTN parameter information. Further, the processing unit performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information. The processing unit compensates or adjusts offsets such as the measurement frequency and measurement time caused by the movement of the satellite based on the ephemeris information in the NTN parameter information, ensuring that the search and measurement can be performed more quickly and accurately, thereby satisfying the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0179] In the present application, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by a terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency and parameter information related to accessing the NTN network by the terminal device, and the parameter information may be ephemeris information.

[0180] In this application, the terminal device measures the cell on the carrier frequency of the cell.

[0181] In this application, the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device.

[0182] In this application, the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device may include measurement configuration information such as intra-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-RAT measurement configuration information, or measurement gap configuration information.

[0183] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit first information, and the first information includes first configuration information and measurement configuration information.

[0184] In this technical solution, the transceiver unit may simultaneously transmit the first configuration information when configuring the measurement configuration information, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0185] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit second information, and the second information includes measurement configuration information and first indication information. The first indication information indicates the position for carrying the first configuration information, and the first indication information is used by the terminal device to determine the first configuration information.

[0186] In this technical solution, the network device may indicate the position of the first configuration information by using the indication information so that the terminal device determines the first configuration information for measurement.

[0187] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first indication information indicates index information and / or a system information block in which the first configuration information is located within the third information.

[0188] In this technical solution, the first indication information may indicate the position of the first configuration information or a specific bearer resource, and the terminal device may determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0189] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit third information, and the third information further includes cell identification information of the cell and / or carrier frequency information.

[0190] In this technical solution, the transceiver unit transmits the third information, whereby the terminal device determines the first configuration information in the third information based on the indication information.

[0191] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0192] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell may be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0193] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0194] In this technical solution, when the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information corresponding to a plurality of cells, the NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency of the cell may be determined based on the first configuration information index.

[0195] Referring to the eighth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit second configuration information, where the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of at least one cell on different carrier frequencies, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access at least one cell via NTN. The second configuration information is used by the terminal device to measure at least one cell within a first duration, and the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information. The effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0196] In this technical solution, in the movement of the satellite, movement parameter information such as speed, position, and orbit changes dynamically. Therefore, it is necessary to update the NTN parameter information to ensure that the provided ephemeris information is more accurate and to ensure that the terminal device can perform searches and measurements more quickly and accurately. Therefore, after the effective duration of the first configuration information has passed, it is necessary to continue the measurement using the updated second configuration information to ensure the measurement accuracy and meet the communication latency requirements.

[0197] According to the ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device or a chip or circuit configured within the network device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0198] The apparatus is a processing unit configured to determine second configuration information based on first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by a terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and a transceiver unit configured to transmit the first configuration information, the second configuration information, and first information, where the first information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information, and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0199] According to this technical solution, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive common information (first configuration information) of a cell to be accessed under reasonable conditions (such as appropriate time, appropriate location, etc.), and the terminal device accesses the target cell to be accessed based on the common information and the second configuration information, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0200] Referring to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first information includes a first condition, and the first condition indicates that the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0201] In this technical solution, the network device indicates specific conditions to the terminal device, whereby the terminal device determines whether the conditions are met and receives the first configuration information.

[0202] Referring to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the first start time, where the first start time is the start time of the first time period, and the first time period is the time period during which the terminal device should switch from the current serving cell of the network device to the target cell to be accessed.

[0203] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current time is before the start time of the first time period, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0204] Referring to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than the first threshold, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than the second threshold. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, where the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device. The second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0205] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current position satisfies the position condition, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0206] Referring to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation, the first information includes first instruction information, and the first instruction information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0207] In this technical solution, by using the instruction information, the network device directly instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0208] Referring to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the first information includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0209] In this technical solution, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the corresponding time by indicating specific time information.

[0210] According to the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. This device may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit configured within the terminal device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0211] The device includes a transceiver unit configured to receive first information, and a processing unit configured to receive first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0212] According to this technical solution, the terminal device can receive the common information of the cell to be accessed under reasonable conditions (such as appropriate time, appropriate location, etc.) based on the instruction of the network device, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0213] Referring to the 10th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the terminal device determines a first condition based on the first information. The terminal device determines to receive first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first condition.

[0214] In this technical solution, the network device indicates a specific condition to the terminal device, whereby the terminal device determines whether the condition is met and receives the first configuration information.

[0215] Referring to the 10th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the terminal device determines that the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the start time of the first time period, and the first time period is the time period during which the terminal device should switch to the target cell to be accessed from the current serving cell of the network device. The terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current time.

[0216] In this technical solution, when the terminal device determines that the current time is before the start time of the first time period, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0217] Referring to the tenth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine that the first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than the first threshold, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than the second threshold. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error. The transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current position.

[0218] In this technical solution, when the network device determines that the current position meets the position condition as determined by the terminal device, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information.

[0219] Referring to the tenth aspect, in a possible implementation form, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the first instruction information based on the first information. The transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first instruction information.

[0220] In this technical solution, the network device directly instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information by using the instruction information.

[0221] Referring to the 10th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the processing unit is specifically configured to determine first time information based on the first information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0222] In this technical solution, the network device instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the corresponding time by indicating specific time information.

[0223] Referring to the 10th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the processing unit is further configured to switch to the target cell based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0224] According to the 11th aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a network device, or a chip or circuit configured within the network device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0225] The device includes a transceiver unit configured to transmit a first message, the first message including group identification information indicating the group to which the terminal device belongs, the transceiver unit being further configured to transmit, in a multicast manner, first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device, the first configuration information including cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the second configuration information including parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the first configuration information and the second configuration information being used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0226] According to this technical solution, the network device transmits common information (first configuration information) of the cell to be accessed to the terminal device via a multicast message, and the terminal device can directly receive the first configuration information via the multicast message, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0227] Referring to the eleventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to transmit third configuration information, the third configuration information including a handover trigger condition for instructing the terminal device to switch to the target cell.

[0228] In this technical solution, the network device configures specific handover trigger conditions for the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to switch to the target cell.

[0229] Referring to the eleventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the third configuration information further includes identification information of the target cell.

[0230] Referring to the 11th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0231] According to the 12th aspect, a communication device is provided. This device may be a terminal device, or a chip or circuit configured within the terminal device. In this application, this is not limited.

[0232] This device includes a transceiver unit configured to receive a first message, the first message includes group identification information, the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs, and the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0233] According to this technical solution, the terminal device receives the grouping information sent by the network device, further determines the group to which the terminal device belongs, and further receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information sent by the network device for the group to which the terminal device belongs. That is, the terminal device can directly receive the first configuration information via a multicast message, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0234] Referring to the 12th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third configuration information, and the third configuration information includes a handover trigger condition. The processing unit is further used by the terminal device to switch to the target cell based on the handover trigger condition.

[0235] In this technical solution, the terminal device determines to switch to the target cell based on specific handover trigger conditions configured by the network device.

[0236] Referring to the 12th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the third configuration information further includes the identification information of the target cell.

[0237] Referring to the 12th aspect, in a possible implementation form, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0238] According to the 13th aspect, a communication device is provided. This device is configured to execute the method provided in the 1st aspect. Specifically, the communication device may include units and / or modules configured to execute the methods provided in any implementation forms of the 1st aspect and the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect and the 4th aspect, or the 5th aspect and the 6th aspect, for example, a processing unit and / or a communication unit.

[0239] In one implementation form, the communication device includes a communication unit and a processing unit. The communication unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. The processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0240] In another implementation form, the communication device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit within a network device. When the communication device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit within a network device, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, pins, related circuits, etc. on the chip, the chip system, or the circuit, and the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit, a logic circuit, etc.

[0241] According to a 14th aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and optionally further includes a memory. The processor is configured to control a transceiver to receive and transmit signals. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to call the computer program from the memory and execute the computer program, whereby the communication device executes the method in any possible implementation form of the 1st aspect and the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect and the 4th aspect, or the 5th aspect and the 6th aspect.

[0242] Optionally, there is one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0243] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor are arranged separately.

[0244] Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver. Specifically, the transceiver can be a transmitter and a receiver.

[0245] According to a 15th aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a terminal device configured to execute the method in any possible implementation form of the 1st aspect, the 4th aspect, or the 6th aspect, and a network device configured to execute the method in any possible implementation form of the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect, or the 5th aspect.

[0246] According to the 16th aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or code. When the computer program or code is executed on a computer, the computer can execute the method in any possible implementation form of the 1st aspect and the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect and the 4th aspect, or the 5th aspect and the 6th aspect.

[0247] According to the 17th aspect, a chip is provided, including at least one processor. The at least one processor is coupled to a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to call the computer program from the memory and execute the computer program, whereby the transmission device installed with the chip executes the method in any possible implementation form of the 1st aspect and the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect and the 4th aspect, or the 5th aspect and the 6th aspect.

[0248] The chip may include an input circuit or interface configured to transmit information or data, and an output circuit or interface configured to receive information or data.

[0249] According to the 18th aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer program code. When the computer program code is executed by a transmission device, the method in any possible implementation form of the 1st aspect and the 2nd aspect, the 3rd aspect and the 4th aspect, or the 5th aspect and the 6th aspect is executed.

[0250] For the beneficial effects of the 7th aspect to the 18th aspect, refer to the beneficial effects of the 1st aspect to the 6th aspect. Details are not described.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0251]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0252] Hereinafter, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0253] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, next-generation communication systems (e.g., fifth-generation (5G) communication systems), converged systems of multiple access systems, evolved systems, three main application scenarios of 5G mobile communication systems, namely, enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC), or new communication systems that will emerge in the future. The technical solutions provided in the present application can be further applied to future communication systems, such as sixth-generation mobile communication systems. In the present application, this is not limited.

[0254] The technical solution provided in this application can be further applied to machine type communication (MTC), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), device-to-device (D2D) network, machine-to-machine (M2M) network, internet of things (IoT) network, or another network. The IoT network may include, for example, the internet of vehicles. The communication mode in the internet of vehicle system is generally referred to as vehicle to X (V2X, where X can represent all). For example, V2X may include vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle to pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle to network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0255] The network device in the embodiment of this application may also be called a (radio) access network ((R)AN) device. The (R)AN can manage radio resources, provide access services to user equipment, and complete the transfer of user equipment data between the user equipment and the core network. The (R)AN may also be understood as a base station in the network, and is a device arranged in the radio access network to provide a wireless communication function to a mobile station (MS).

[0256] For example, the access network device in the embodiments of the present application may be any communication device having a wireless transceiver function and configured to communicate with user equipment. The access network device includes, but is not limited to, evolved NodeB (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), NodeB (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home evolved NodeB (HeNB or home NodeB, HNB), base band unit (BBU), access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP), transmission reception point (TRP), etc. Alternatively, the access network device may be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G system such as an NR system, or one antenna panel or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting the gNB or the transmission point, for example, a base band unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU). It can be understood that all or some of the functions of the access network device in the present application may alternatively be implemented by using software functions operating on hardware, or by using virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0257] In some deployments, the gNB may include a central unit (CU) and a DU. The gNB may further include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some functions of the gNB, and the DU implements some functions of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services and implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services and implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and functions related to active antennas. Information in the RRC layer is generated by the CU and is ultimately encapsulated into information in the PHY layer at the DU's PHY layer or converted from information in the PHY layer. Therefore, in this architecture, upper layer signaling, for example, RRC layer signaling, may also be considered to be transmitted by the DU or transmitted by the DU and the AAU. It can be understood that the access network device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, or the AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as an access network device in the radio access network (RAN), or the CU may be classified as an access network device in the core network (CN). In this application, this is not limited.

[0258] The terminal device in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. The terminal in the embodiments of this application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, 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, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G network, a terminal in a future evolved network, etc.

[0259] Wearable devices, sometimes called wearable intelligent devices, are a general term for wearable devices developed by applying wearable technology to the intelligent design of daily clothing, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that can be worn directly on the body or incorporated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices but also implement powerful functions through software support, data exchange, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, intelligent wearable devices include, for example, full-function large devices that can implement complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, and devices specialized for only one type of application, such as various smart bands or smart jewelry for monitoring physical signs, which need to be used in combination with other devices such as smartphones.

[0260] In an embodiment of the present application, a communication device configured to implement the functions of a network device may be a network device, a network device having some functions of a base station, or a device that can support a network device when implementing functions, such as a chip system. The device may be installed in a network device.

[0261] In actual network deployment, it is impossible for the terrestrial network to cover all areas, especially areas with a small population, such as deserts, seas, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. The non-terrestrial network (NTN) network has wide coverage, is easy to provide coverage in areas with a small population, and is suitable for deployment in areas with a small population. Embodiments of the present application are applicable to non-terrestrial network (NTN) network communications. The NTN network is a network or network segment that uses radio frequencies mounted on satellites (UAS platforms). Hereinafter, as an example, by using a satellite communication system, the technical solution in the present application will be described in detail.

[0262] In a satellite communication system, the network device may include a satellite.

[0263] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The terrestrial mobile terminal UE accesses the network via 5G New Radio. The 5G access network device is deployed on a satellite and connected to the terrestrial core network via a wireless link. In addition, there is a wireless link between satellites to implement signaling exchange and user data transmission between access network devices. The network elements and their interfaces in FIG. 1 are described as follows.

[0264] The terminal device is a mobile device that supports 5G New Radio. Typical examples of mobile devices include mobile phones and pads. The terminal device can access the satellite network via an air interface and initiate services such as calls and Internet access.

[0265] The 5G access network device mainly provides wireless access services, schedules wireless resources for access terminals, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc., such as a base station.

[0266] The 5G core network provides services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and charging, includes multiple functional units, and can be divided into a control plane functional entity and a data plane functional entity. The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The User Plane Function (UPF) is responsible for the management of functions such as user plane data transmission and traffic statistics collection.

[0267] The terrestrial station is responsible for transferring signaling and service data between the satellite access network device and the 5G core network.

[0268] 5G New Radio is a wireless link between the terminal and the access network device.

[0269] The Xn interface is an interface between 5G access network devices, mainly for signaling exchange such as handover.

[0270] The NG interface is an interface between the 5G access network device and the 5G core network, mainly for exchanging signaling such as NAS signaling of the core network and user service data.

[0271] Figure 2 is a diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the communication system may include at least one network device such as the satellite device shown in Figure 1. The communication system may further include at least one terminal device such as the terminal device shown in Figure 1. The network device may communicate with the terminal device via a wireless link.

[0272] It should be understood that a network device in a wireless communication system can be any device having a wireless transceiver function. The device includes, but is not limited to, a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), etc., and can also be one antenna panel or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system or the like, or a satellite or the like.

[0273] It should be understood that only one network device and one terminal device are shown in FIG. 2. In one example, the communication system is not limited and may include more terminal devices. For example, in a satellite communication network, a satellite can cover multiple terminal devices for communication. Each terminal device is not limited to communicating with one network device. For example, after the satellite moves, the terminal device may need to reselect the satellite for access communication.

[0274] It can be understood that FIG. 2 is only an example and does not constitute any limitation to the protection scope of this application. The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may further include network elements or devices not shown in FIG. 2. Naturally, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application may alternatively include only some of the network elements shown in FIG. 2.

[0275] In an NTN network, the dynamic movement of a satellite has a great impact on a terminal device. For example, when the satellite moves at a high speed, the reception timing and reception frequency of the terminal device vary with time. Therefore, the terminal device needs to estimate the position and speed of the satellite based on ephemeris information, and thereby perform adjustment or compensation of offsets such as frequency and time caused by the movement of the satellite.

[0276] In the NTN network, it should be understood that satellite ephemeris information is for describing satellite orbit data, and parameters such as the time, coordinates, azimuth, and speed of a satellite can be calculated based on the orbit parameters.

[0277] In existing standard protocols, satellite ephemeris information of adjacent cells is broadcast in System Information Block 19 (SIB19). The current ephemeris information is cell-based, and it is specified that the maximum number of NTN adjacent cells providing satellite ephemeris information is 4.

[0278] Considering that NTN cells have a wide coverage and there are a large number of adjacent cells, ephemeris information is required when a terminal measures a measurement target. Currently, it is only possible to provide ephemeris information of a maximum of 4 adjacent cells, and the measurement requirements cannot be met with a small amount of ephemeris information. However, when the network configures a measurement target for a terminal by using dedicated signaling, the current standard protocol does not indicate to the terminal the ephemeris information required for measuring the measurement target. When a terminal does not have ephemeris information, the measurement of the terminal may not meet the latency and accuracy requirements.

[0279] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method and apparatus for transmitting ephemeris information necessary for measurement to a terminal device so that the terminal device can measure a measurement target, thereby satisfying communication latency requirements and improving measurement accuracy.

[0280] Hereinafter, the solutions in the present application will be described.

[0281] FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to the present application. In this embodiment, an example in which a network device and a terminal device are used as execution entities of the interaction diagram will be used to describe the method. However, in the present application, the execution entity of the interaction diagram is not limited. For example, the network device in FIG. 3 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the network device when implementing the present method, or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The terminal device in FIG. 3 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the terminal device when implementing the present method, or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0282] Step S310: The terminal device acquires first configuration information.

[0283] In the present application, the first configuration information includes NTN parameter information. The NTN parameter information is required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency and includes parameter information related to the terminal device accessing the NTN network. It can be understood that the parameter information may be ephemeris information.

[0284] In the present application, the terminal device measures the cell on the carrier frequency of the cell.

[0285] In a possible implementation form, the terminal device receives the first configuration information and measurement configuration information.

[0286] Therefore, the network device transmits the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information to the terminal device.

[0287] The measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device.

[0288] For example, the configuration information of the measurement to be executed by the terminal device may include measurement configuration information such as intra-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-frequency measurement configuration information, inter-RAT measurement configuration information, or measurement gap configuration information.

[0289] By way of non-limiting example, the terminal device receives first information from the network device, and the first information includes measurement configuration information and first configuration information.

[0290] Therefore, the network device transmits the first information to the terminal device, and the first information includes measurement configuration information and first configuration information.

[0291] By way of non-limiting example, the terminal device receives first information from the network device, the first information includes measurement configuration information, the terminal device receives second information from the network device, and the second information includes first configuration information.

[0292] Therefore, the network device transmits the first information to the terminal device, the first information includes measurement configuration information, the network device transmits the second information to the terminal device, and the second information includes first configuration information.

[0293] The first information and the second information may be transmitted via the same message or different messages. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0294] In a possible implementation, the terminal device receives measurement configuration information and determines first configuration information based on the measurement configuration information.

[0295] By way of non-limiting example, the terminal device receives second information from the network device, the second information includes measurement configuration information and first instruction information, and the first instruction information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information. The terminal device determines the first configuration information based on the first instruction information.

[0296] For example, the first indication information may indicate the bearer resource of the first configuration information.

[0297] For example, the terminal device may determine the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information, and the terminal device determines the first configuration information based on the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located.

[0298] For example, the terminal device may receive third information, and the third information includes the first configuration information. The terminal device determines the first configuration information in the third information based on the system information block and / or index information indicated by the first indication information.

[0299] It should be understood that the network device transmits the third information to the terminal device, and the third information may include different NTN parameter information. The different NTN parameter information may be transmitted via different messages or the same message. In addition, the message transmission may be performed in a broadcast manner. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0300] Optionally, the third information further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0301] It should be understood that the carrier frequency information includes the carrier frequency corresponding to the cell, and the cell identified by the cell identification information corresponds to the carrier frequency.

[0302] There is an association relationship between the first configuration information and the carrier frequency.

[0303] There is a correspondence between the first configuration information and the cell. That is, at least one cell found on the corresponding carrier frequency through search can be measured by using one set of NTN parameter information. In other words, different cells may correspond to different NTN parameter information, or different cells may correspond to the same set of NTN parameter information.

[0304] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information, and there is a correspondence between the carrier frequency and the first configuration information. That is, the first configuration information is for performing measurements on the carrier frequency.

[0305] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes a first configuration information index, and there is a correspondence between the cell and the first configuration information index. That is, the first configuration information index indicates the NTN parameter information corresponding to different cells.

[0306] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information or a list of cell identification information. There is a correspondence between the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information and the first configuration information. That is, the cell identification information or the list of cell identification information can indicate the cell corresponding to the first configuration information.

[0307] Optionally, the cell identification information can be a physical cell ID.

[0308] Optionally, when adding, modifying, or deleting a cell on the carrier frequency, the network device modifies the first configuration information corresponding to the cell accordingly.

[0309] In this application, the measurement configuration information includes information such as measurement target information, reporting configuration information, and measurement identifiers. In this embodiment of this application, this is not limited.

[0310] The measurement object (MO) defines the measurement target. For example, the measurement object may include a carrier frequency for measurement, adjacent cell information, and a physical cell identifier (PCI) value. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0311] Step S320: The terminal device performs measurements on the carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0312] Specifically, when performing search and measurement on the carrier frequency, the terminal device performs the search and measurement by using the NTN parameter information (first configuration information) of the carrier frequency.

[0313] Optionally, when performing search and measurement on the carrier frequency, the terminal uses the NTN parameter information of one or more cells on the carrier frequency to search for and measure the corresponding cells.

[0314] Optionally, if the cell on the carrier frequency does not have the corresponding NTN parameter information, the terminal may select whether to measure the cell or not.

[0315] In a possible implementation, the terminal device receives second configuration information, the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0316] Optionally, it is understood that the effective duration configured by the network for the first configuration information indicates the longest time for the UE to use the first configuration information when the UE does not obtain new assistance information (such as satellite ephemeris information, TA parameters, etc.).

[0317] Optionally, when the network device determines that the expiration time of the NTN parameter information (first configuration information) required by the terminal device for measurement has expired, it is understood that the network device can reconfigure the NTN parameter information (second configuration information) required for measurement for the terminal device.

[0318] Optionally, it is understood that the network device can reconfigure the second configuration information for the terminal device before the expiration time expires.

[0319] Optionally, for example, it is understood that the network device can determine the expiration time based on parameters such as the moving speed and orbital height of the satellite. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0320] Optionally, the network device may transmit the second configuration information via a broadcast message or may transmit the second configuration information via a dedicated signaling message.

[0321] In the present application, the terminal device receives the new NTN parameter information (second configuration information) and performs measurements based on the new NTN parameter information and the measurement configuration information.

[0322] According to this technical solution, when transmitting the measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the network device directly transmits the NTN parameter information required for measurement or indicates the position of the NTN parameter information within the measurement configuration information, whereby the terminal device can obtain the NTN parameter information and further perform measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information, thereby satisfying the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0323] Hereinafter, examples of specific communication methods applicable to the aforementioned method 300 are provided.

[0324] FIG. 4 is a schematic interaction diagram of the communication method according to the present application. It should be understood that FIG. 4 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are merely examples. In this embodiment of the present application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 4 may be alternatively executed.

[0325] Optionally, the procedures shown in FIG. 4 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the network device and having corresponding functions, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the terminal device and having corresponding functions. This embodiment is applicable to NTN communication scenarios, such as the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Specific steps will be described below.

[0326] S410: The network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0327] In the present application, the network device transmits a first message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first message.

[0328] Specifically, the first message includes measurement configuration information and NTN parameter information required for measurement (first NTN parameter information used as an example of the first configuration information).

[0329] In the present application, the network device may transmit the first message to the terminal device via a broadcast message or dedicated signaling.

[0330] S420: The terminal device performs a measurement based on the first message.

[0331] In this application, the terminal device determines carrier frequency #a based on the measurement configuration information, and performs search and measurement on carrier frequency #a by using the first NTN parameter information of carrier frequency #a.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the first NTN parameter information of one or more cells on carrier frequency #a is used to search for and measure the corresponding cells.

[0333] It can be understood that when the cell on carrier frequency #a does not have the corresponding NTN parameter information, the terminal device may perform blind measurement or may choose not to measure the cell.

[0334] S430: The network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

[0335] In this application, the network device may send a second message to the terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device may receive the second message sent by the network device.

[0336] Note that step S430 is an optional step.

[0337] In this application, the second message includes second NTN parameter information.

[0338] Optionally, the second NTN parameter information is used by the terminal device to perform measurement on carrier frequency #a within a first duration, and the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurement by using the first configuration information.

[0339] Optionally, the effective duration configured by the network for the first configuration information indicates the longest time that the UE can use the first configuration information when the UE does not obtain new assistance information (such as satellite ephemeris information, TA parameters, etc.).

[0340] In a possible implementation, the network device may determine that the NTN parameter information (first NTN parameter information) required by the terminal device for measurement exceeds the validity period, and thereby send new NTN parameter information (second NTN parameter information) to the terminal device.

[0341] In a possible implementation, the network device may periodically send NTN parameter information to the terminal device.

[0342] Optionally, the network device may send the second message via a broadcast message or may send the second message via a dedicated signaling message.

[0343] In this application, the terminal device receives new NTN parameter information and performs measurements based on the new NTN parameter information and measurement configuration information.

[0344] According to this technical solution, when sending measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the network device directly sends the NTN parameter information required for measurement, whereby the terminal device can obtain the NTN parameter information and further perform measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information, thereby meeting the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0345] FIG. 5 is a schematic interaction diagram of the communication method according to this application. It should be understood that FIG. 5 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 5 may be alternatively executed.

[0346] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 5 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the network device and having corresponding functions, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the terminal device and having corresponding functions. This embodiment is applicable to NTN communication scenarios, such as the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Specific steps will be described below.

[0347] S510: The network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0348] In this application, the terminal device receives the first message.

[0349] The first message includes parameter information required by the terminal device to access the cell via NTN.

[0350] The first message further includes NTN parameter information required by the terminal device for measurement.

[0351] In this application, the first message further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0352] It should be understood that the carrier frequency information includes the carrier frequency corresponding to the cell, and the cell identified by the cell identification information corresponds to the carrier frequency.

[0353] In this application, the network device may transmit the first message in a broadcast manner.

[0354] S520: The network device transmits a second message to the terminal device.

[0355] The second message includes measurement configuration information and first indication information.

[0356] The first indication information may indicate a bearer resource for NTN parameter information (first NTN parameter information) required by the terminal device for measurement.

[0357] Therefore, the terminal device receives the second message and determines the location of the NTN parameter information required for measurement based on the first indication information.

[0358] For example, the first indication information indicates a system information block where the NTN parameter information is located. The terminal device may determine the system information block where the first NTN parameter information is located based on the first indication information.

[0359] In another example, the first indication information indicates index information where the NTN parameter information is located, and the terminal device determines the required NTN parameter information in the first message based on the index information where the NTN parameter information is located.

[0360] It should be understood that the order of step S510 and step S520 is not limited.

[0361] S530: The terminal device performs measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information required for the measurements.

[0362] For this step, refer to S320 of method 300 and S420 of method 400. Details will not be described again.

[0363] S540: The network device transmits a third message to the terminal device.

[0364] In this application, the network device may send a third message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device may receive the third message sent by the network device.

[0365] Note that step S540 is an optional step.

[0366] In this application, the third message includes second NTN parameter information.

[0367] In a possible implementation, the network device may determine that the NTN parameter information (first NTN parameter information) required by the terminal device for measurement exceeds the validity period, and thereby send new NTN parameter information (second NTN parameter information) to the terminal device.

[0368] In a possible implementation, the network device may periodically send NTN parameter information to the terminal device.

[0369] Optionally, the network device may send the third message via a broadcast message or via a dedicated signaling message.

[0370] In this application, the terminal device receives new NTN parameter information and performs measurements based on the new NTN parameter information and measurement configuration information.

[0371] According to this technical solution, when sending measurement configuration information to the terminal device, the network device indicates the position of the NTN parameter information, whereby the terminal device can obtain the NTN parameter information and further perform measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information, thereby meeting the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0372] In this application, methods 400 and 500 are corresponding scenarios when the network device and the terminal device are in a connected state. Hereinafter, a communication method applicable to scenarios in an idle state or an inactive state will be described.

[0373] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram It should be understood that FIG. 6 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or modifications of the operations in FIG. 6 may be alternatively executed.

[0374] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 6 may be executed by the network device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the network device and having corresponding functions, or may be executed by the terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the terminal device and having corresponding functions. This embodiment is applicable to NTN communication scenarios, for example, the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, specific steps will be described.

[0375] S610: The network device sends a first message to the terminal device.

[0376] The first message includes parameter information required by the terminal device to access the cell via NTN.

[0377] The first message further includes NTN parameter information required by the terminal device for measurement.

[0378] In this application, the first message further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0379] The carrier frequency information includes the carrier frequency corresponding to the cell, and it should be understood that the cell identified by the cell identification information corresponds to the carrier frequency.

[0380] In this application, the network device may send the first message in a broadcast manner.

[0381] S620: The network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

[0382] The second message includes at least one of an in-band measurement configuration message, an inter-band measurement configuration message, or an inter-RAT measurement configuration message. The in-band measurement configuration message, the inter-band measurement configuration message, or the inter-RAT measurement configuration message is used by the terminal device to perform measurements when the terminal device is in an idle state.

[0383] It can be understood that the in-band measurement configuration message, the inter-band measurement configuration message, or the inter-RAT measurement configuration message may be sent via one message (for example, the second message) or via a plurality of messages. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0384] For example, the in-band measurement configuration message may be an SIB3 message, and the inter-band measurement configuration message or the inter-RAT measurement configuration message may be an SIB4 message.

[0385] The second message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information may indicate the position of the NTN parameter information required by the terminal device for measurement.

[0386] For example, the first indication information may indicate the bearer resource of the NTN parameter information required by the terminal device for measurement.

[0387] Therefore, the terminal device receives the second message and determines the position of the NTN parameter information required for measurement based on the first instruction information.

[0388] For example, the first instruction information indicates the system information block where the NTN parameter information is located. The terminal device may determine the system information block where the NTN parameter information is located based on the first instruction information.

[0389] In another example, the first instruction information indicates the index information where the NTN parameter information is located, and the terminal device determines the necessary NTN parameter information (an example of the first configuration information) in the first message based on the index information where the NTN parameter information is located.

[0390] It should be understood that the order of step S610 and step S620 is not limited.

[0391] S630: The terminal device performs measurements based on the intra-frequency / inter-frequency / RAT-inter measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information required for the measurement.

[0392] For this step, refer to S320 of method 300 and S420 of method 400. Details will not be described again.

[0393] According to this technical solution, when transmitting the intra-frequency / inter-frequency / RAT-inter measurement configuration information to the terminal device in the idle state or non-active state, the network device indicates the position of the NTN parameter information, whereby the terminal device can obtain the NTN parameter information and further perform measurements based on the measurement configuration information and the NTN parameter information, thereby meeting the communication latency requirement and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0394] In this application, further, in the NTN network, a cell has a wide coverage and there are a large number of terminals. Due to the movement of the satellite, a large number of handovers of UEs can be caused within a short time. As a result, a large amount of signaling is exchanged between the network and the UE within a short time, and a large amount of signaling overhead is generated.

[0395] In the prior art, the common part of the handover command can be transmitted via a common message. For example, in R16, T304 and ServingCellConfigCommon in ReconfigurationWithSync are the same for all terminals and can be regarded as the common part. Table 1 below shows the common part of the handover signaling, that is, the overhead required for T304 and / or ServingCellConfigCommon.

Table 1

[0396] The overhead required for ServingCellConfigCommon (excluding the ntn-config field) is about 85 bytes. The overhead required for ntn-config is about 28 or 29 bytes. Due to the physical layer limitation, the maximum size of the SI message is 2976 bits. Therefore, when the number of candidate target cells is 4 or more, the common message required by the terminal to access the candidate target cells needs to be transmitted in a new SIB.

[0397] In the existing procedure, after switching to the current cell, the terminal starts to receive the common information of the candidate target cells. However, the NTN cell has a wide coverage and there are many adjacent cells. Due to the movement of the satellite, the candidate target cells change, the NTN cell updates the broadcast common information of the candidate target cells, and the terminal needs to receive the common information of the latest candidate target cells.

[0398] After the terminal switches to the current cell, handover usually does not occur again immediately. However, before handover occurs, the terminal frequently receives the common information of the candidate target cells. This causes an overhead in the power consumption of the terminal. ServingCellConfigCommon is newly introduced in 3GPP R17 to include satellite ephemeris. The satellite ephemeris information is updated frequently. The terminal can synchronize with the target cell based only on the ephemeris information and switch to the target cell. To obtain the latest ephemeris information, the terminal needs to receive the common information of the latest candidate target cells.

[0399] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method for communicating the common messages required by the terminal to access the candidate target cells between the terminal device and the network device, avoiding the case where the terminal frequently receives the common information of the candidate target cells before handover occurs, thereby reducing the power consumption overhead.

[0400] The solution in the present application will be described below.

[0401] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method according to the present application. In this embodiment, an example in which a first network device, a second network device, and a terminal device are used as the executors of the interaction diagram is used to explain the method. However, in the present application, the executor of the interaction diagram is not limited. For example, the first network device in FIG. 7 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the first network device when implementing the present method, or may be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The second network device in FIG. 7 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the second network device when implementing the present method, or may be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The terminal device in FIG. 7 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the terminal device when implementing the present method, or may be a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0402] S710: The terminal device receives first information.

[0403] In the present application, the first network device is the current access network of the terminal device, and the second network device is the target access network of the terminal device.

[0404] In the present application, the first network device transmits the first information to the terminal device.

[0405] The first information indicates that the terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information.

[0406] Optionally, the first information further includes cell-specific configuration information.

[0407] Optionally, after receiving the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first information, the terminal device receives cell-specific configuration information.

[0408] It can be understood that the cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the target network device.

[0409] In this application, the first information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0410] The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell (the second network device).

[0411] The first configuration information includes common configuration information for the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the common configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0412] When different terminal devices access the same target network device, the common configuration information may be the same, and when different terminal devices access different target network devices, it can be understood that the common configuration information is usually different.

[0413] In this application, the common configuration information may further include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0414] The second configuration information includes NTN parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0415] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0416] When the second configuration information includes the NTN parameter information of the target cell, it can be understood that the second configuration information may not include the cell identification information and / or the carrier frequency information.

[0417] In a possible implementation form, the first network device may determine the second configuration information based on the first configuration information.

[0418] In a possible implementation form, the first network device may send the first configuration information via the first message and send the second configuration information via the second message.

[0419] Optionally, the first message further includes second indication information, and the second indication information indicates the bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0420] For example, the second indication information indicates the system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0421] In a possible implementation form, the first network device may send two pieces of configuration information via the same message.

[0422] In this application, the first message and the second message may be sent in a broadcast manner, may be sent via dedicated signaling, may be sent in the same manner, or may be sent in different manners. In this embodiment of this application, this is not limited.

[0423] It should be noted that the order in which the network device sends the first information, the first configuration information, and the second configuration information is not limited in this application.

[0424] S720: The terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first information.

[0425] In a possible manner, the first information includes a first condition, and the terminal device receives first configuration information and second configuration information based on an instruction of the first condition.

[0426] By way of non-limiting example, the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before a first time point, and the first time point is the start time point of a first time period.

[0427] For example, in the time-based conditional handover (CHO) trigger condition currently defined in NTN, time is defined by T1 and T2, where T1 is an absolute time value and T2 is a duration starting from T1. The terminal device acquires the current time of the terminal device. If the current time is within the time range from T1 to T1 + T2, the time-based trigger condition is considered to be satisfied. In this embodiment, based on the current CHO trigger condition, the first time period in the first condition may be the time range from T1 to T1 + T2. In this case, the first time point is time point T1. That is, the terminal device determines that the current time is before time point T1. In this case, the terminal device may receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0428] By way of non-limiting example, the first condition is that the difference between a first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a first reference point is greater than a first threshold value, or the sum of a second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a second reference point is less than a second threshold value.

[0429] The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of a first network device, the second reference point is a position within the coverage of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0430] For example, in the location-based CHO trigger conditions currently defined by NTN, the location is defined as the distance between the terminal device and the reference point. Parameters such as referenceLocation1, referenceLocation2, distanceThresFromReference1, distanceThresFromReference2, and hysteresis are included. referenceLocation1 is associated with the serving cell, and referenceLocation2 is associated with the candidate target cell. When the difference between the hysteresis and the distance between the terminal and the serving cell is greater than distanceThresFromReference1, and the sum of the hysteresis and the distance between the UE and the candidate target cell is less than distanceThresFromReference2, the UE considers that the distance-based trigger condition is satisfied. In this embodiment, based on the current CHO trigger conditions, the first condition is that the difference between the hysteresis and the distance between the terminal and the serving cell is greater than distanceThresFromReference1, or the sum of the hysteresis and the distance between the UE and the candidate target cell is less than distanceThresFromReference2. In this case, the terminal device may receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0431] Optionally, the first information may further include third indication information, and the third indication information indicates the location of the first configuration information. Based on the third indication information, the terminal device may receive all system information blocks or index information that may include the first configuration information. For the indication method of the third indication information, refer to the second indication information in this method. Details will not be described again.

[0432] Optionally, the first information may further include fourth indication information, and the fourth indication information indicates the position of the second configuration information. Based on the fourth indication information, the terminal device may receive all system information blocks or index information that may include the second configuration information. For the indication method of the fourth indication information, please refer to the second indication information in this method. Details will not be described again.

[0433] Optionally, the third indication information and the second indication information may be the same indication information. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0434] In a possible implementation form, the first information includes first indication information, and the first indication information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0435] Specifically, the first indication information indicates the bearer resources of the first configuration information and the bearer resources of the second configuration information. Based on the first indication information, the terminal device may receive all system information blocks or index information that may include the second configuration information. For the indication method of the first indication information, please refer to the second indication information in this method. Details will not be described again.

[0436] It should be understood that in this application, the first indication information may collectively indicate the bearer resources of the first configuration information and the bearer resources of the second configuration information, or two indication information may respectively indicate the positions of the first configuration information and the second configuration information. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0437] After receiving the first indication information, it can be understood that the terminal device can clearly find the first configuration information and the second configuration information. In other words, the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information on the corresponding bearer resources based on the first indication information.

[0438] In a possible manner, the first information includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the first network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the first network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the first network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the first network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0439] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine the time when the first network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the first network device transmits the second configuration information based on the first time information, and receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information at / within the corresponding time.

[0440] Optionally, the first information includes a handover command message.

[0441] Optionally, the network device transmits the first information before transmitting the handover command message to the terminal device.

[0442] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an offset time. For example, the first time information is represented by using an offset value of a reference time. The reference time may be the cell service end time.

[0443] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an absolute time.

[0444] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using a system frame and a subframe.

[0445] S730: The terminal device switches to the second network device based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0446] Specifically, the terminal device determines whether to perform a handover, and then switches to the second network device based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0447] It can be understood that the terminal device switches from the current serving cell of the first network device to the target serving cell to be accessed by the second network device.

[0448] For example, when the first information includes CHO trigger conditions, the terminal device may evaluate whether the handover conditions are met to determine whether it is necessary to trigger a handover.

[0449] In another example, the terminal device may trigger a handover when it receives a handover command.

[0450] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0451] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) instructs the terminal device to receive common information of the cell to be accessed under reasonable conditions (such as appropriate time, appropriate location, etc.), thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0452] Hereinafter, examples of specific communication methods applicable to the foregoing method 700 are provided.

[0453] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram It is. It should be understood that FIG. 8 shows steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 8 may be alternatively executed.

[0454] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 8 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the network device and having the corresponding function, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or integrated circuit) installed in the terminal device and having the corresponding function. This embodiment is applicable to an NTN communication scenario, for example, the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Specific steps will be described below.

[0455] S810: The first network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0456] In this application, the first message includes first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes common configuration information of target cells to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0457] For the common configuration information, please refer to the description in method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0458] In this application, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0459] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a bearer resource of second configuration information.

[0460] For example, the first indication information indicates a system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0461] In this application, the first network device may transmit the first message via a broadcast message or may transmit the first message via dedicated signaling.

[0462] S820: The first network device transmits a second message to the terminal device.

[0463] In this application, the second message includes second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access a target cell to be accessed via NTN.

[0464] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0465] It can be understood that when the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of the target cell, the second configuration information may not include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0466] In this application, the first network device may transmit the second message via a broadcast message or may transmit the second message via dedicated signaling.

[0467] It should be understood that the order of step S810 and step S820 is not limited.

[0468] It should be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information may alternatively be transmitted via the same message and are not limited to the solution of being transmitted separately. In this embodiment of this application, this is not limited.

[0469] S830: The first network device transmits a third message to the terminal device.

[0470] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third message.

[0471] The third message includes cell-specific configuration information. The cell-specific configuration information may be different by the target network device.

[0472] The third message further includes a time-based CHO trigger condition. The condition includes a time range from T1 to T1+T2. The terminal device determines that the current time is before time T1. In this case, the terminal device may receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0473] Optionally, the third message may further include second indication information, and the second indication information indicates a bearer resource of the first configuration information.

[0474] For example, the second indication information indicates a system information block or index information where the first configuration information is located.

[0475] Optionally, the third message may further include third indication information, and the third indication information indicates a bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0476] For example, the third indication information indicates a system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0477] S840: The terminal device receives the first message and the second message based on the third message.

[0478] The terminal device determines to receive the first message and the second message based on the CHO trigger condition.

[0479] Specifically, when the terminal device determines that the current time is before time T1, the terminal device receives the first message and the second message.

[0480] Furthermore, the terminal device determines the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first message and the second message.

[0481] S850: The terminal device determines to trigger a handover based on the third message.

[0482] The terminal device determines to trigger a handover based on the CHO trigger condition.

[0483] When the terminal device determines that the current time is after time point T1 and within time period T2, and another condition of the target cell is also satisfied, and the handover condition of another candidate target cell is not satisfied, the terminal device may trigger a handover.

[0484] S860: The terminal device performs a handover.

[0485] The terminal device disconnects from the first network device and accesses the second network device.

[0486] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0487] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) instructs the terminal device to receive the common information of the cell to be accessed at / within a proper time, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0488] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram It is to be understood that FIG. 9 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 9 may be alternatively executed.

[0489] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 9 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or an integrated circuit) having a corresponding function installed in the network device, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or an integrated circuit) having a corresponding function installed in the terminal device. This embodiment is applicable to an NTN communication scenario, for example, the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, specific steps will be described.

[0490] S910: The first network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0491] In this application, the first message includes first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes common configuration information of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0492] For the common configuration information, please refer to the description in method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0493] In this application, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0494] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the position of the second configuration information.

[0495] For example, the first indication information indicates a bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0496] For example, the first indication information indicates a system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0497] In this application, the first network device may transmit the first message via a broadcast message, or may transmit the first message via dedicated signaling.

[0498] S920: The first network device transmits a second message to the terminal device.

[0499] In this application, the second message includes second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access a target cell to be accessed via NTN.

[0500] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0501] It can be understood that when the second configuration information includes the NTN parameter information of the target cell, the second configuration information may not include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0502] In this application, the first network device may transmit the second message via a broadcast message or may transmit the second message via dedicated signaling.

[0503] It should be understood that the order of step S910 and step S920 is not limited.

[0504] It should be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information may alternatively be transmitted via the same message and are not limited to the solution of being transmitted separately. In this embodiment of the application, this is not limited.

[0505] S930: The first network device transmits a third message to the terminal device.

[0506] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third message.

[0507] The third message includes cell-specific configuration information. The cell-specific configuration information may be different depending on the target network device.

[0508] The third message further includes location-based CHO trigger conditions, and the parameters of the trigger conditions include reference point 1, reference point 2, distance threshold 1, distance threshold 2, offset value 1, and offset value 2.

[0509] Specifically, the conditions are as follows: The terminal device determines whether the difference between offset value 1 and the distance between the current location and reference point 1 is greater than distance threshold 1, or the terminal device determines whether the sum of offset value 2 and the distance between the current location and reference point 2 is less than distance threshold 2.

[0510] Optionally, offset value 1 and offset value 2 may be the same value.

[0511] Optionally, offset value 1 or offset value 2 may be a zero value.

[0512] Optionally, when offset value 1 or offset value 2 is the default, offset value 1 or offset value 2 is the default zero value.

[0513] Optionally, offset value 1 and offset value 2 are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0514] Optionally, the third message may further include second indication information, and the second indication information indicates the bearer resource of the first configuration information.

[0515] For example, the second indication information indicates the system information block or index information where the first configuration information is located.

[0516] Optionally, the third message may further include third indication information, and the third indication information indicates the bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0517] For example, the third instruction information indicates the system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0518] S940: The terminal device receives the first message and the second message based on the third message.

[0519] The terminal device determines to receive the first message and the second message based on the CHO trigger condition.

[0520] Specifically, when the terminal device determines that the difference between the offset value 1 and the distance between the current position and the reference point 1 is greater than the distance threshold 1, or when the terminal device determines that the sum of the offset value 2 and the distance between the current position and the reference point 2 is less than the distance threshold 2, the terminal device receives the first message and the second message.

[0521] The reference point 1 is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the first network device, the reference point 2 is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the offset value 1 and the offset value 2 are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0522] Furthermore, the terminal device determines the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first message and the second message.

[0523] S950: The terminal device determines to trigger a handover based on the third message.

[0524] The terminal device determines to trigger a handover based on the CHO trigger condition.

[0525] The terminal device determines that the difference between the offset value 1 and the distance between the current position and the reference point 1 is greater than the distance threshold 1, and the terminal device determines that the sum of the offset value 2 and the distance between the current position and the reference point 2 is less than the distance threshold 2. When another condition of the target cell is also satisfied and the handover condition of another candidate target cell is not satisfied, the terminal device may trigger a handover.

[0526] S960: The terminal device performs a handover.

[0527] The terminal device disconnects from the first network device and accesses the second network device.

[0528] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0529] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) instructs the terminal device to receive the common information of the cell to be accessed at a reasonable position, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0530] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram It is. It should be understood that FIG. 10 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 10 may be alternatively executed.

[0531] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 10 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or an integrated circuit) installed in the network device and having corresponding functions, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., a chip or an integrated circuit) installed in the terminal device and having corresponding functions. This embodiment is applicable to an NTN communication scenario, e.g., the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Specific steps will be described below.

[0532] S1010: The first network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0533] In this application, the first message includes first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes common configuration information for a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0534] The common configuration information is described in detail in method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0535] In this application, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0536] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the position of the second configuration information.

[0537] For example, the first indication information indicates the bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0538] For example, the first indication information indicates the system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0539] In this application, the first network device may send the first message via a broadcast message or may send the first message via dedicated signaling.

[0540] S1020: The first network device sends a second message to the terminal device.

[0541] In this application, the second message includes second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access a target cell to be accessed via NTN.

[0542] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0543] It can be understood that when the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of the target cell, the second configuration information may not include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0544] In this application, the first network device may send the second message via a broadcast message or may send the second message via dedicated signaling.

[0545] It should be understood that the order of step S1010 and step S1020 is not limited.

[0546] It should be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information may alternatively be sent via the same message and are not limited to the solution of being sent separately. In this embodiment of the application, this is not limited.

[0547] S1030: The first network device sends a third message to the terminal device.

[0548] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the third message.

[0549] The third message includes cell-specific configuration information. It can be understood that the cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the target network device.

[0550] The third message further includes second indication information. Specifically, the second indication information indicates the bearer resources of the first configuration information and the bearer resources of the second configuration information. Based on the second indication information, the terminal device can receive all system information blocks or index information that may include the second configuration information.

[0551] Optionally, the third message further includes a handover command that instructs the terminal device to switch to the second network device after the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0552] It should be understood that in this application, the second indication information may collectively indicate the bearer resources of the first configuration information and the bearer resources of the second configuration information, or the two indication information may respectively indicate the positions of the first configuration information and the second configuration information. In this embodiment of the present application, this is not limited.

[0553] S1040: The terminal device receives the first message and the second message based on the third message.

[0554] It can be understood that the terminal device receives the third message and can clearly find the first configuration information and the second configuration information in the first message and the second message based on the second indication information in the third message. In other words, the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information on the corresponding bearer resources based on the second indication information.

[0555] S1050: The terminal device receives the fourth message.

[0556] The fourth message includes a handover command message that instructs the terminal device to switch to the second network device after the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0557] Optionally, the fourth message includes cell-specific configuration information. The cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the terminal.

[0558] It can be understood that step S1050 is an optional step. For example, if the third message in step S1030 includes a handover command, the first network device may not need to send the fourth message to the terminal device, and the terminal device may not need to receive the fourth message sent by the first network device.

[0559] S1060: The terminal device disconnects from the first network device and accesses the second network device.

[0560] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0561] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) instructs the terminal device to directly receive the common information of the cell to be accessed, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0562] FIG. 11 is a schematic of the communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram is. It should be understood that FIG. 11 shows the steps or operations of the communication method, but these steps or operations are only examples. In this embodiment of this application, other operations or variations of the operations in FIG. 11 may be alternatively executed.

[0563] Optionally, the procedure shown in FIG. 11 may be executed by a network device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., chip or integrated circuit) having a corresponding function and installed in the network device, or may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a module, component (e.g., chip or integrated circuit) having a corresponding function and installed in the terminal device. This embodiment is applicable to an NTN communication scenario, for example, the scenario shown in FIG. 1. Specific steps will be described below.

[0564] S1110: The first network device transmits a third message to the terminal device.

[0565] Therefore, the terminal device receives the third message.

[0566] The third message includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the first network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the first network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the first network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the first network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0567] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an offset time. For example, the first time information is represented by using an offset value of a reference time. The reference time may be the cell service end time.

[0568] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using an absolute time.

[0569] Optionally, the first time information may be represented by using a system frame and a subframe.

[0570] S1120: The first network device transmits a first message to the terminal device.

[0571] In this application, the first message includes first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes common configuration information for a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0572] The common configuration information is described in detail in method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0573] In this application, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0574] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the position of the second configuration information.

[0575] For example, the first indication information indicates the bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0576] For example, the first indication information indicates the system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0577] In this application, the first network device may transmit the first message via a broadcast message or may transmit the first message via dedicated signaling.

[0578] S1130: The first network device transmits a second message to the terminal device.

[0579] In this application, the second message includes second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access a target cell to be accessed via NTN.

[0580] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0581] When the second configuration information includes the NTN parameter information of the target cell, it can be understood that the second configuration information may not include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0582] In this application, the first network device may send the second message via a broadcast message or may send the second message via dedicated signaling.

[0583] It should be understood that the order of step S1120 and step S1130 is not limited.

[0584] It should be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information may alternatively be sent via the same message and are not limited to the solution of being sent separately. In this embodiment of this application, this is not limited.

[0585] S1140: The terminal device receives the first message and the second message based on the third message.

[0586] Based on the first time information, the terminal device determines the time when the first network device sends the first configuration information and the time when the first network device sends the second configuration information, and can receive the first message and the second message at the corresponding time / within the corresponding time.

[0587] S1150: The terminal device receives the fourth message.

[0588] The fourth message includes cell-specific configuration information. The cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the terminal.

[0589] S1160: The terminal device performs a handover.

[0590] The terminal device disconnects from the first network device and accesses the second network device.

[0591] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0592] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) transmits the common information of the cell to be accessed to the terminal device via a multicast message, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0593] FIG. 12 is a schematic of the communication method according to this application Dialogue Diagram is shown. In this embodiment, an example in which the first network device, the second network device, and the terminal device are used as the executors of the interaction diagram is used to describe the method. However, in this application, the executors of the interaction diagram are not limited. For example, the first network device in FIG. 12 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the first network device when implementing this method, or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The second network device in FIG. 12 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the second network device when implementing this method, or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The terminal device in FIG. 12 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that can support the terminal device when implementing this method, or a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0594] S1210: The first network device transmits a first message.

[0595] The first message includes group identification information, and the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0596] Optionally, the group identification information may be a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0597] For example, the first network device configures the same G-RNTI for terminal devices belonging to the same group. That is, terminal devices having the same G-RNTI belong to the same group.

[0598] In this scenario, the terminal not only needs to receive a terminal-specific message but also needs to receive a multicast message of the group to which the terminal belongs. For example, the terminal needs to receive not only a message scrambled by using the terminal-specific C-RNTI but also a message scrambled by using the G-RNTI.

[0599] S1220: The first network device transmits the first message and a second message to the terminal device.

[0600] In this embodiment, the first network device transmits the first message and the second message to the terminal device in a multicast manner.

[0601] In the present application, the first message includes first configuration information, and the first configuration information includes common configuration information of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device.

[0602] The common configuration information is described in detail in Method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0603] In this application, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0604] Optionally, the first message further includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the bearer position of the second configuration information.

[0605] For example, the first indication information indicates the bearer resource of the second configuration information.

[0606] For example, the first indication information indicates the system information block or index information where the second configuration information is located.

[0607] In this application, the second message includes the second configuration information, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via NTN.

[0608] Optionally, the second configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0609] It can be understood that when the second configuration information includes the NTN parameter information of the target cell, the second configuration information may not include cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information.

[0610] In this application, the first network device may send the second message via a broadcast message or may send the second message via dedicated signaling.

[0611] It should be understood that the first configuration information and the second configuration information may alternatively be sent via the same message and are not limited to the solution of sending them separately. In this embodiment of the application, this is not limited.

[0612] S1230: The first network device sends a third message.

[0613] The third message includes cell-specific configuration information. The cell-specific configuration information varies depending on the terminal.

[0614] Optionally, the third message may further include a CHO trigger condition, which is used by the terminal device to determine whether to perform a handover.

[0615] S1240: The terminal device performs a handover.

[0616] Optionally, the terminal device determines whether to perform a handover based on the CHO trigger condition. The specific determination method is described in detail in Method 700. Details will not be described again.

[0617] The terminal device disconnects from the first network device and accesses the second network device.

[0618] In this application, the specific handover method is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

[0619] According to this technical solution, the first network device (source network device) transmits common information to the terminal device in a multicast manner, thereby reducing the number of times the terminal receives the common information of the cell and the amount of common information, and reducing the power consumption overhead of the terminal.

[0620] In this application, it can be understood that the first and the second are merely distinctions for ease of explanation and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, different information is distinguished.

[0621] It can be further understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application may be in scenarios independent of other features or in scenarios combined with other features. This is not limited.

[0622] The solutions in the embodiments of this application may be appropriately combined for use, and it can be further understood that the descriptions or explanations of terms in the embodiments may be mutually referred to or explained in the embodiments. This is not limited.

[0623] It can be further understood that the various serial numbers of the numbers in the embodiments of this application do not mean the execution order, but are merely distinctions for the convenience of explanation, and therefore should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0624] In the embodiments of the foregoing method, it can be further understood that the methods and operations implemented by the device can alternatively be implemented by the components of the device (for example, chips or circuits).

[0625] Corresponding to the methods provided in the embodiments of the foregoing method, the embodiments of this application further provide a corresponding device. This device includes corresponding modules configured to execute the embodiments of the foregoing method. The module can be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. It can be understood that the technical features described in the embodiments of the method are also applicable to the following embodiments of the device.

[0626] FIG. 13 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0627] The device 1300 includes a transceiver unit 1310 and a processing unit 1320. The transceiver unit 1310 may be configured to implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing unit 1320 may be configured to execute data processing.

[0628] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310, which may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit, includes a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit. The transceiver unit 1310 can be a transceiver (including a transmitter and / or a receiver), an input / output interface (including an input interface and / or an output interface), pins, circuits, etc. The transceiver unit 1310 can be configured to perform the transmitting step and / or the receiving step in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0629] Optionally, the processing unit 1320 can be a processor (which may include one or more processors), a processing circuit having processor functions, etc., and can be configured to perform steps other than transmitting and receiving in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0630] Optionally, the apparatus 1300 further includes a storage unit. The storage unit can be a memory, an internal storage unit (such as a register or a cache), an external storage unit (such as a read-only memory or a random access memory), etc. The storage unit is configured to store instructions. The processing unit 1320 executes the instructions stored in the storage unit, whereby the communication apparatus executes the foregoing method.

[0631] In one design, the apparatus 1300 can be configured to perform the actions executed by the terminal device in the embodiments of the foregoing method. For example, the apparatus 1300 can be configured to perform the actions executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method 300, 400, 500, or 600. In this case, the apparatus 1300 can be a component of the terminal device. The transceiver unit 1310 is configured to perform operations related to receiving and transmitting on the terminal device side in the embodiments of the foregoing method, and the processing unit 1320 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the terminal device side in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0632] For example, the transceiver unit 1310 is configured to obtain first configuration information, the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency. The processing unit 1320 is configured to use the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency based on the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information. The measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0633] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is specifically configured to receive first information, and the first information includes the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0634] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is specifically configured to receive second information, the second information includes the measurement configuration information and the first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information. The processing unit 1320 is specifically configured to determine the first configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0635] Optionally, the processing unit 1320 is specifically configured to determine the system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information. The processing unit 1320 is further specifically configured to determine the first configuration information in the third information based on the system information block and / or index information, and the third information includes the first configuration information.

[0636] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is further configured to receive third information, and the third information further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information.

[0637] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0638] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0639] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is further configured to receive second configuration information, the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information.

[0640] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1310 and the processing unit 1320 may further perform another operation executed by the terminal device in any one of method 300, method 400, method 500, and method 600. Details are not described one by one here again.

[0641] In one design, the apparatus 1300 can be configured to perform the actions performed by the network device in the embodiments of the foregoing methods. For example, the apparatus 1300 can be configured to perform the actions performed by the network device in the foregoing methods 300, 400, 500, or 600. In this case, the apparatus 1300 can be a component of the network device. The transceiver unit 1310 is configured to perform operations related to reception and transmission on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing methods, and the processing unit 1320 is configured to perform processing-related operations on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing methods.

[0642] For example, the processing unit 1320 is configured to determine first configuration information based on measurement configuration information, where the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device. The transceiver unit 1310 is configured to transmit the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, and the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information are used by the terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target.

[0643] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is specifically configured to transmit first information, where the first information includes the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information.

[0644] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is specifically configured to transmit second information, where the second information includes the measurement configuration information and first indication information, the first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information, and the first indication information is used by the terminal device to determine the first configuration information.

[0645] Optionally, the first indication information indicates index information and / or a system information block in which the first configuration information is located within the third information.

[0646] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is further configured to transmit the third information, and the third information further includes cell identification information and / or carrier frequency information of the cell.

[0647] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0648] Optionally, the first configuration information further includes carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

[0649] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1310 is further configured to transmit the second configuration information, the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of at least one cell on a different carrier frequency, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access at least one cell via NTN, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to measure at least one cell within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurement by using the first configuration information.

[0650] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1310 and the processing unit 1320 may further perform another operation executed by the network device in any one of method 300, method 400, method 500, and method 600. Details will not be described one by one here again.

[0651] It should be further understood that the apparatus 1300 in this specification is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" in this specification may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group of processors), a memory, a merge logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 1300 may specifically be a network device in the foregoing embodiments and may be configured to execute the procedures and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the embodiments of the foregoing method. To avoid repetition, details will not be described again here.

[0652] The apparatus 1300 in the foregoing solution has the function of implementing the corresponding steps executed by the device in the foregoing method, or the apparatus 1300 in the foregoing solution has the function of implementing the corresponding steps executed by the network device in the foregoing method. The function may be implemented by using hardware or by hardware that executes the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the foregoing functions. For example, the transceiver unit may be replaced with a transceiver (e.g., the transmission unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced with a transmitter, and the reception unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced with a receiver), and another unit such as a processing unit may be replaced with a processor to separately execute the processing operations related to the reception and transmission operations in the embodiments of the method.

[0653] In addition, the transceiver unit 1310 may alternatively be a transceiver circuit (for example, the transceiver circuit may include a receiver circuit and a transmitter circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0654] Note that the apparatus in FIG. 13 may be a network element or device in the foregoing embodiments, or may be a chip or chip system, such as a system-on-chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on a chip. Here, this is not limited.

[0655] FIG. 14 is a diagram of a communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1400 shown in FIG. 14 includes a processor 1410, a memory 1420, and a transceiver 1430. The processor 1410 is coupled to the memory 1420 and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 1420 to control the transceiver 1430 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0656] It should be understood that the processor 1410 and the memory 1420 may be integrated into one processing device. The processor 1410 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 1420 to implement the foregoing functions. In a specific implementation form, the memory 1420 may alternatively be integrated with the processor 1410 or may be independent of the processor 1410. It should be understood that the processor 1410 may alternatively correspond to each processing unit in the foregoing communication device, and the transceiver 1430 may correspond to each receiving unit and transmitting unit in the foregoing communication device.

[0657] It should be further understood that the transceiver 1430 may include a receiver (also called a receiver) and a transmitter (also called a transmitter). The transceiver may further include an antenna. The antenna may be one or plural. The transceiver may alternatively be a communication interface or an interface circuit.

[0658] Specifically, the communication device 1400 may correspond to the terminal device in the method 300, method 400, method 500, or method 600 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1400 may include units of the method executed by the network device in the method 300, method 400, method 500, or method 600. It should be understood that the specific process by which the unit executes the corresponding steps described above has been described in detail in the embodiments of the above methods. For the sake of brevity, the details will not be described again here.

[0659] When the communication device 1400 is a chip, the chip includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit may be a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0660] FIG. 15 is a diagram of the structure of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0661] The device 1500 includes a transceiver unit 1510 and a processing unit 1520. The transceiver unit 1510 may be configured to implement the corresponding communication function, and the processing unit 1520 may be configured to execute data processing.

[0662] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1510, which may also be referred to as a communication interface or communication unit, includes a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit. The transceiver unit 1510 can be a transceiver (including a transmitter and / or a receiver), an input / output interface (including an input interface and / or an output interface), pins, a circuit, etc. The transceiver unit 1510 can be configured to perform the transmitting step and / or the receiving step in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0663] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 may be a processor (which may include one or more processors), a processing circuit having processor functions, etc., and can be configured to perform steps other than transmitting and receiving in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0664] Optionally, the apparatus 1500 further includes a storage unit. The storage unit can be a memory, an internal storage unit (e.g., a register or a cache), an external storage unit (e.g., a read-only memory or a random access memory), etc. The storage unit is configured to store instructions. The processing unit 1520 executes the instructions stored in the storage unit, whereby the communication apparatus executes the foregoing method.

[0665] In one design, the apparatus 1500 can be configured to perform the actions executed by the network device in the embodiments of the foregoing method. For example, the apparatus 1500 can be configured to perform the actions executed by the first network device in the foregoing methods 700, 800, 900, 1000, or 1100. In this case, the apparatus 1500 can be a component of the first network device. The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to perform operations related to receiving and transmitting on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing method, and the processing unit 1520 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing method.

[0666] For example, the processing unit 1520 is configured to determine second configuration information based on first configuration information, the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to transmit the first configuration information, the second configuration information, and first information, the first information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information, and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0667] Optionally, the first information includes a first condition, and the first condition indicates that the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0668] Optionally, the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before a first start time, the first start time is the start time of a first time period, and the first time period is a time period during which the terminal device switches from the current serving cell of the first network device to the target cell to be accessed.

[0669] Optionally, the first condition is that the difference between a first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a first reference point is greater than a first threshold value, or the sum of a second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a second reference point is less than a second threshold value. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error.

[0670] Optionally, the first information includes first instruction information, and the first instruction information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0671] Optionally, the first information includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0672] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1510 and the processing unit 1520 may further perform another operation executed by the network device in any one of method 700, method 800, method 900, method 1000, and method 1100. For details, they will not be described one by one here again.

[0673] In one design, the device 1500 may be configured to perform the actions executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments. For example, the device 1500 may be configured to perform the actions executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method 700, 800, 900, 1000, or 1100. In this case, the device 1500 may be a component of the terminal device. The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to perform operations related to reception and transmission on the terminal device side in the foregoing method embodiments, and the processing unit 1520 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the terminal device side in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0674] For example, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to receive first information. The transceiver unit 1510 is further configured to receive first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information, where the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0675] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is configured to determine a first condition based on the first information. Specifically, the transceiver unit 1510 determines to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first condition.

[0676] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is particularly configured to determine that the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the start time of a first time period, where the first time period is a time period during which the terminal device switches from the current serving cell of a first network device to the target cell to be accessed. The transceiver unit 1510 is particularly configured to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current time.

[0677] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is specifically configured to determine that the first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than the first threshold, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than the second threshold. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the first offset value and the second offset value are hysteresis parameters, and the hysteresis parameter is the maximum value of the allowable error. The transceiver unit 1510 is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current position.

[0678] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is further configured to determine the first indication information based on the first information. The transceiver unit 1510 is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first indication information.

[0679] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is further configured to determine the first time information based on the first information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The transceiver unit 1510 is specifically configured to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information.

[0680] Optionally, the processing unit 1520 is further configured to switch to the target cell based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0681] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1510 and the processing unit 1520 may further perform another operation executed by the terminal device in any one of the methods 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100. For details, they will not be described one by one here again.

[0682] In one design, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform an action executed by a network device in the embodiments of the foregoing methods. For example, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform an action executed by a first network device in the foregoing method 1200. In this case, the apparatus 1500 may be a component of the first network device. The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to perform operations related to reception and transmission on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing methods, and the processing unit 1520 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the network device side in the embodiments of the foregoing methods.

[0683] For example, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to transmit a first message, and the first message includes group identification information, and the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs.

[0684] The transceiver unit 1510 is further configured to transmit, in a multicast manner, first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0685] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1510 is further configured to transmit third configuration information, the third configuration information including a handover trigger condition, the handover trigger condition instructing the terminal device to switch to a target cell.

[0686] Optionally, the third configuration information further includes identification information of the target cell.

[0687] Optionally, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0688] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1510 and the processing unit 1520 may further perform other operations executed by the network device in the foregoing method 1200. Details are not described one by one here again.

[0689] In one design, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform actions executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments. For example, the apparatus 1500 may be configured to perform actions executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method 1200. In this case, the apparatus 1500 may be a component of the terminal device. The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to perform operations related to reception and transmission on the terminal device side in the foregoing method embodiments, and the processing unit 1520 is configured to perform operations related to processing on the terminal device side in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0690] For example, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to receive a first message, the first message includes group identification information, and the group identification information indicates the group to which the terminal device belongs. The transceiver unit 1510 is further configured to receive first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs. The first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed.

[0691] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1510 is further configured to receive third configuration information, and the third configuration information includes handover trigger conditions. The processing unit 1520 is configured to switch to a target cell based on the handover trigger conditions.

[0692] Optionally, the third configuration information further includes identification information of the target cell.

[0693] Optionally, the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

[0694] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1510 and the processing unit 1520 may further perform other operations executed by the terminal device in the foregoing method 1200. Details will not be described one by one here again.

[0695] It should be understood that the apparatus 1500 in this specification is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" in this specification may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group of processors), a memory, a merged logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 1500 may specifically be a network device in the foregoing embodiments and may be configured to execute the corresponding procedures and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the method embodiments. To avoid repetition, details will not be described herein again.

[0696] The apparatus 1500 in the foregoing solution has a function of implementing the corresponding steps executed by the device in the foregoing method, or the apparatus 1500 in the foregoing solution has a function of implementing the corresponding steps executed by the network device in the foregoing method. The function may be implemented by using hardware or by hardware that executes the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the foregoing functions. For example, the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the transmission unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and the reception unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a receiver), and another unit such as a processing unit may be replaced by a processor to separately execute the processing operations related to the reception and transmission operations in the method embodiments.

[0697] In addition, the transceiver unit 1510 may alternatively be a transceiver circuit (e.g., the transceiver circuit may include a receiver circuit and a transmitter circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0698] Note that the apparatus of FIG. 15 may be a network element or device in the foregoing embodiments, or may be a chip or chip system, such as a system-on-chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit may be a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on a chip. Here, this is not limited.

[0699] FIG. 16 is a diagram of a communication architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1600 shown in FIG. 16 includes a processor 1610, a memory 1620, and a transceiver 1630. The processor 1610 is coupled to the memory 1620 and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 1620 to control the transceiver 1630 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0700] It should be understood that the processor 1610 and the memory 1620 may be integrated into one processing device. The processor 1610 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 1620 to implement the foregoing functions. In a specific implementation form, the memory 1620 may alternatively be integrated into the processor 1610 or may be independent of the processor 1610. It should be understood that the processor 1610 may alternatively correspond to each processing unit in the foregoing communication device, and the transceiver 1630 may correspond to each receiving unit and transmitting unit in the foregoing communication device.

[0701] It should be further understood that the transceiver 1630 may include a receiver (also called a receiver) and a transmitter (also called a transmitter). The transceiver may further include an antenna. The antenna may be one or multiple. The transceiver may alternatively be a communication interface or an interface circuit.

[0702] Specifically, the communication device 1600 may correspond to the terminal device in method 700, method 800, method 900, method 1000, method 1100, or method 1200 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 1600 may include units of the method executed by the network device in method 700, method 800, method 900, method 1000, method 1100, or method 1200. It should be understood that the specific process by which the unit executes the corresponding steps described above has been described in detail in the embodiments of the above methods. For the sake of brevity, details will not be described again here.

[0703] When the communication device 1600 is a chip, the chip includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit may be a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip.

[0704] In the implementation process, the steps in the above method may be completed by using the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by using instructions in the form of software. The steps in the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present application may be directly executed and completed by the hardware processor, or may be executed and completed by using a combination of the hardware in the processor and the software module. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines it with the hardware of the processor to complete the steps in the above method. For the sake of avoiding repetition, details will not be described again here.

[0705] The processor in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip, and it should be noted that it has signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the steps in the embodiments of the foregoing method may be completed by using the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by using instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The processor may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps in the method disclosed with reference to the embodiments of this application may be directly executed and completed by a hardware decoding processor, or may be executed and completed by using a combination of the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a mature storage medium in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines it with the hardware of the processor to complete the steps in the foregoing method.

[0706] This application further provides a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the functions in any one of the embodiments of the foregoing method are implemented.

[0707] This application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is executed by a computer, the functions in any one of the embodiments of the foregoing method are implemented.

[0708] All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement an embodiment, all or some of the embodiment may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, or microwave) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., digital video disc (DVD)), a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive (SSD)), etc.

[0709] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "example" or "for example" are used to give examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design approach described as an "example" in this application should not be described as being more preferable or having more advantages than other embodiments or design approaches. Exactly, the term "example" is used to present a concept in a specific way.

[0710] It should be understood that the "an embodiment" referred to throughout this specification means that the specific features, structures, or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, the embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any appropriate manner in one or more embodiments.

[0711] In various embodiments of this application, it should be understood that the sequence numbers of the aforementioned processes do not mean the execution order. The execution order of the process should be determined based on the function and internal logic of the process, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of this application. The names of all nodes and messages in this application are only set to facilitate the description in this application and may be different in an actual network. It should not be understood that the names of various nodes and messages in this application are limited. On the contrary, any name having the same or similar function as the function of the node or message used in this application is regarded as a method or an equivalent alternative in this application and falls within the protection scope of this application.

[0712] In this application, "when" and "if" mean that the UE or the base station executes corresponding processing in an objective situation, and are not intended to limit time. It should be further understood that the UE or the base station does not necessarily have a decision-making action during implementation and does not mean other limitations.

[0713] In addition, the terms "system" and "network" are generally used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" in this specification only describes the associative relationship between related objects and represents that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: when only A exists, when both A and B exist, and when only B exists.

[0714] The term "at least one of..." in this specification represents all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" can represent six cases: when only A exists, when only B exists, when only C exists, when both A and B exist, when both B and C exist, and when all of A, B, and C exist. In this specification, "at least one" means one or more. "A plurality of" means two or more.

[0715] In the embodiments of this application, it should be understood that "B corresponding to A" indicates that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined only based on A, that is, it should be further understood that B can also be determined based on A and / or other information. The terms "include", "contain", "have", and their variants all mean "including but not limited to" unless otherwise particularly emphasized.

[0716] In various embodiments of this application, it should be understood that the first, second, and various numbers are merely distinctions for ease of explanation and are not for limiting the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, different information is distinguished.

[0717] Those skilled in the art can recognize that the present application can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of electronic hardware and computer software with reference to the units and algorithm steps in the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification. Whether a function is executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can implement the functions described for each specific application using different methods, but the implementation forms should not be considered as exceeding the scope of the present application.

[0718] For the sake of convenient and concise description, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the detailed operation processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices, and units, reference can be made to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Details will not be described again here.

[0719] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described embodiments of the device are only examples. For example, the division into units is only a logical function division, and other divisions may be possible during actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or described mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection can be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units can be implemented in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0720] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located at one position or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected based on the actual requirements for achieving the objectives of the embodiments' solutions.

[0721] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0722] When the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions in the present application are essentially the parts that contribute to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of software products. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes some instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to execute all or some of the steps of the method in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0723] The foregoing description is only a specific implementation form of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any deformation or substitution that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall follow the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

Claim 1 A communication method, comprising: a step of obtaining first configuration information by a terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, and the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device for performing measurements on a carrier frequency; a step of performing measurements on the carrier frequency by the terminal device based on the first configuration information and measurement configuration information, wherein the measurement configuration information indicates configuration information of the measurements to be performed by the terminal device, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement target; A method comprising the above steps. Claim 2 The step of obtaining first configuration information by a terminal device according to claim 1 comprises: a step of receiving first information by the terminal device, wherein the first information includes the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information; The method according to claim 1, comprising the above step. Claim 3 The step of obtaining the first configuration information by a terminal device according to claim 1 comprises: a step of receiving second information by the terminal device, wherein the second information includes the measurement configuration information and first indication information, and the first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information; a step of determining the first configuration information by the terminal device based on the first indication information; The method according to claim 1, comprising the above steps. Claim 4 The step of determining the first configuration information by the terminal device based on the first indication information according to claim 3 comprises: a step of determining, by the terminal device, system information block and / or index information where the first configuration information is located based on the first indication information; a step of determining the first configuration information in third information by the terminal device based on the system information block and / or the index information, wherein the third information includes the first configuration information; The method according to claim 3, comprising the above steps. Claim 5 The method further comprises: a step of receiving the third information by the terminal device, wherein the third information further includes carrier frequency information and / or cell identification information; The method according to claim 4, further comprising the above step. Claim 6 The first configuration information further includes the cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to a cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The first configuration information further includes the carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index, the first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The method includes: a step of receiving, by the terminal device, second configuration information, where the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurements by using the first configuration information. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further including the step.

9. A communication method, including: a step of determining, by a network device, first configuration information based on measurement configuration information, where the first configuration information includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) parameter information, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information required by a terminal device to perform measurements on a carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information indicates the configuration information of the measurement to be performed by the terminal device; and a step of transmitting, by the network device, the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information, where the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information are used by the terminal device to perform measurements on the carrier frequency, and the measurement configuration information and the first configuration information correspond to the same measurement object. A method including the above steps.

10. The step of transmitting the first configuration information by the network device is as follows: The step of transmitting first information by the network device, where the first information includes the first configuration information and the measurement configuration information. The method according to claim 9, comprising the above.

11. The step of transmitting the first configuration information by the network device is as follows: The step of transmitting second information by the network device, where the second information includes the measurement configuration information and first indication information. The first indication information indicates a position for carrying the first configuration information, and the first indication information is used by the terminal device to determine the first configuration information. The method according to claim 9, comprising the above.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first indication information indicates index information and / or a system information block in which the first configuration information is located within third information.

13. The method further comprises the step of transmitting the third information by the network device, where the third information further includes cell identification information of a cell and / or carrier frequency information. The method according to claim 12.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the first configuration information further includes the cell identification information and / or a first configuration information index. The first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the cell, and the cell identification information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the first configuration information further includes the carrier frequency information and / or a first configuration information index. The first configuration information index indicates NTN parameter information corresponding to the carrier frequency information, and the carrier frequency information corresponds to the first configuration information index.

16. The method is as follows: A step of transmitting second configuration information by the network device, where the second configuration information includes NTN parameter information of at least one cell on the carrier frequency, the NTN parameter information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the at least one cell via NTN, the second configuration information is used by the terminal device to measure the at least one cell within a first duration, the first duration is a time length exceeding the effective duration of the first configuration information, and the effective duration is the longest time for the terminal device to perform measurement by using the first configuration information. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, further comprising. **Claim 17** A communication method, comprising: A step of determining, by a first network device, second configuration information based on first configuration information, where the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by a terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN). A step of transmitting, by the network device, the first configuration information, the second configuration information, and first information, where the first information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information, and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed. A method comprising. **Claim 18** The method according to claim 17, where the first information includes a first condition, and the first condition indicates that the terminal device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information. **Claim 19** The method according to claim 18, where the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before a first start time, the first start time is the start time of a first time period, and the first time period is a time period for the terminal device to switch from the current serving cell of the network device to the target cell to be accessed. **Claim 20** The first condition is that the difference between the first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the first reference point is greater than a first threshold, or the sum of the second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and the second reference point is less than a second threshold. The first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, and the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The method according to claim 18.

21. The first information includes first indication information, and the first indication information instructs the terminal device to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information. The method according to claim 17.

22. The first information includes first time information, and the first time information indicates the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The first time information is used by the terminal device to receive the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and to receive the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information. The method according to claim 17.

23. A communication method, comprising the step of receiving, by a terminal device, first information; and the step of receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information, wherein the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed. A method comprising.

24. The step of receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information is The step of determining, by the terminal device, a first condition based on the first information; The step of determining, by the terminal device, to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first condition; The method according to claim 23, comprising the above.

25. The step of determining, by the terminal device, to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first condition is: The step of determining, by the terminal device, that the first condition is that the current time of the terminal device is before the start time of a first time period, where the first time period is a time period during which the terminal device switches from the current serving cell of the network device to the target cell to be accessed; The step of receiving, by the terminal device, the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current time; The method according to claim 24, comprising the above.

26. The step of determining, by the terminal device, to receive the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first condition is: The step of determining, by the terminal device, that the first condition is that the difference between a first offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a first reference point is greater than a first threshold, or the sum of a second offset value and the distance between the terminal device and a second reference point is less than a second threshold, where the first reference point is a position within the coverage of the current serving cell of the terminal device, the current serving cell is a cell within the coverage of the network device, and the second reference point is a position within the coverage of the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device; The step of receiving, by the terminal device, the first configuration information and the second configuration information at the current position; The method according to claim 24, comprising the above.

27. The step of receiving, by the terminal device, the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first information is: The step of determining, by the terminal device, first instruction information based on the first information; The step of receiving, by the terminal device, the first configuration information and the second configuration information based on the first instruction information; The method according to claim 23, comprising

28. The step of receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information and second configuration information based on the first information, wherein The step of determining, by the terminal device, first time information based on the first information, wherein the first time information indicates a time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and a time when the network device transmits the second configuration information, and The step of receiving, by the terminal device, the first configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the first configuration information and receiving the second configuration information at / within the time when the network device transmits the second configuration information The method according to claim 23, comprising

29. The method further comprises The step of the terminal device switching to the target cell based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, further comprising

30. A communication method, comprising The step of transmitting, by a network device, a first message, wherein the first message includes group identification information, and the group identification information indicates a group to which the terminal device belongs, and The step of transmitting, by the network device, first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs to the terminal device in a multicast manner, wherein the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed, and A method comprising

31. The method according to claim 30 further includes a step of transmitting, by the network device, third configuration information, where the third configuration information includes a handover trigger condition for instructing the terminal device to switch to the target cell.

32. The method according to claim 31, where the third configuration information further includes identification information of the target cell.

33. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 32, where the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

34. A communication method, comprising: a step of receiving, by a terminal device, a first message, where the first message includes group identification information indicating a group to which the terminal device belongs; and a step of receiving, by the terminal device, first configuration information and second configuration information corresponding to the group to which the terminal device belongs, where the first configuration information includes cell-specific parameters of a target cell to be accessed by the terminal device, and the second configuration information includes parameter information used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed via a non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the first configuration information and the second configuration information are used by the terminal device to access the target cell to be accessed; A method comprising the above steps.

35. The method further includes: a step of receiving, by the terminal device, third configuration information, where the third configuration information includes a handover trigger condition; and a step of the terminal device switching to the target cell based on the handover trigger condition. The method according to claim 34 further includes the above steps.

36. The method according to claim 35, where the third configuration information further includes identification information of the target cell.

37. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 36, where the group identification information is a group radio network temporary identifier.

38. A communication device comprising a unit configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, 17 to 29, or 30 to 37.

39. A communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a computer code or an instruction and transmit the computer code or the instruction to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute the computer code or the instruction to enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, or the method according to any one of claims 30 to 37 to be executed.

40. A communication device comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to at least one memory, and the at least one processor is configured to execute a computer program or an instruction stored in the at least one memory to enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, or the method according to any one of claims 30 to 37 to be executed.

41. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, or the method according to any one of claims 30 to 37 is executed.

42. A computer program product, wherein when the computer program product is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the steps in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, the steps in the method according to any one of claims 17 to 29, or the steps in the method according to any one of claims 30 to 37.

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