NTN-based communication method, apparatus, device, medium, and program product

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of satellite communications, and discloses a non-terrestrial network (NTN)-based communication method, an apparatus, a device, a medium, and a program product. The method is executed by a terminal device. The method comprises: sending or receiving an NTN signal in a terrestrial network (TN) spectrum. According to the method, by sending or receiving an NTN signal in a TN spectrum, an NTN can multiplex the working frequency band of a TN, thereby increasing usage scenarios of the NTN, solving the problem that the number of frequency bands which can be used by the NTN is small, and improving the NTN communication capability.

Description

NTN-based communication method, device, equipment, medium and program product Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of satellite communications, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, device, medium and program product based on a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Background Art

[0002] Satellite communication is a typical operating scenario in the NTN communication system. Satellites relay signals from ground base stations, enabling terminal devices in areas beyond the coverage of ground base stations to communicate with satellites, thereby expanding the communication range.

[0003] Currently, the frequency bands used for satellite communications are all specially allocated and cannot be used for terrestrial network (TN) communication systems. However, TN communication systems occupy a large number of frequency bands, resulting in fewer frequency bands available for satellite communications.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, device, medium, and program product based on NTN. The technical solution at least includes:

[0006] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method based on NTN is provided. The method is performed by a terminal device, and the method includes:

[0007] Transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0008] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method based on NTN is provided. The method is performed by an NTN satellite, and the method includes:

[0009] Transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0010] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a terminal-side communication device is provided, the device including:

[0011] The transmission module is used to send or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0012] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a network-side communication device is provided, the device including:

[0013] The transmission module is used to send or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0014] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device including:

[0015] processor;

[0016] a transceiver connected to the processor;

[0017] a memory for storing executable instructions for the processor;

[0018] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the NTN-based communication method according to the various aspects described above.

[0019] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, an NTN satellite is provided, the NTN satellite including:

[0020] processor;

[0021] a transceiver connected to the processor;

[0022] a memory for storing executable instructions for the processor;

[0023] The processor is configured to load and execute executable instructions to implement the NTN-based communication method according to the various aspects described above.

[0024] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which at least one program is stored. The at least one program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the NTN-based communication method according to the various aspects described above.

[0025] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a computer program product or computer program is provided. The computer program product or computer program includes computer instructions, the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium, a processor obtains the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to implement the NTN-based communication method as described in the various aspects above.

[0026] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application may have the following beneficial effects:

[0027] By sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, NTN reuses the TN operating frequency band, thereby increasing the use scenarios of NTN, solving the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that NTN can use, and improving NTN communication capabilities. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0029] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG5 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG6 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG7 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of a time window configuration provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG10 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG11 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG12 is a schematic diagram showing an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG13 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG14 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG15 shows a block diagram of a terminal-side communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG16 shows a block diagram of a network-side communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG17 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device or an NTN satellite provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0047] The terms used in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0048] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining."

[0049] First, some technical knowledge involved in this application is introduced:

[0050] NTN technology;

[0051] NTN technology provides communication services to users on the ground via NTN satellites (or drones) rather than ground base stations. NTN communication systems include at least one of the following: satellite communication systems and high-altitude platform communication systems (such as aircraft-based communication systems and hot air balloon-based communication systems). Among these systems, satellite communication systems are a typical operating scenario.

[0052] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system 100 provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The satellite communication system 100 includes: a terminal device 110, a satellite 120, a gateway 130, a ground base station 140, and a core network 150. The satellite 120 establishes an air interface link with the ground base station 140 through the gateway 130. The satellite 120 can forward the signal of the ground base station 140 to supplement the area where the signal of the ground base station 140 cannot cover. In these areas, the terminal device 110 can communicate with the corresponding satellite 120. In particular, for areas such as remote areas, deserts, mountains, and oceans where the signal of the ground base station 140 cannot cover, the satellite 120 can achieve effective coverage. In the embodiment of the present application, the NTN satellite is simply referred to as a satellite, and the satellite 120 is the NTN satellite 120.

[0053] The terminal device 110 involved in the embodiments of the present application may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication functions, as well as various forms of UE, mobile station (MS), terminal device (terminal device), Internet of Things device, etc. The terminal device 110 may be at least one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, an e-book reader, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a television, a game console, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a virtual reality (VR) terminal and a mixed reality (MR) terminal, a wearable device, a handle, an electronic tag and a controller. For the convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices 110. In the embodiments of the present application, UE is sometimes used to represent terminal devices, and the network device may be a base station or a satellite.

[0054] Taking a cellular communication network as an example, the ground base station 140 is a device used to provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 110. The ground base station 140 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with base station functions may be different. For example, in the fifth generation new radio (5G NR) communication system, it is called the next generation node B (next generation node B, gNB). With the evolution of communication technology, the name "base station" may change. For the convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned devices that provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 110 are collectively referred to as base stations.

[0055] In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5G systems, subsequent evolution systems of 5G NR systems, or other communication systems, and are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0056] The mobility of satellite 120 gives satellite communication system 100 distinct characteristics from terrestrial communication systems. For example, the high-speed movement of satellite 120 results in high-speed cell movement, which in turn reduces the mobility of terminal device 110. Furthermore, the communication distance between terminal device 110 and satellite 120 is significantly greater than the communication distance between terminal device 110 and ground base station 140, requiring a higher transmit power from terminal device 110. Satellite 120 also features a larger antenna array and higher receiver sensitivity, providing enhanced capabilities for receiving and demodulating weak signals.

[0057] Satellite spectrum usage;

[0058] Currently, the spectrum used for satellite communications is specially allocated and cannot be used for terrestrial network communications. Similarly, the spectrum used for terrestrial network communications cannot be used for satellite communications to avoid mutual interference and impact.

[0059] Satellite communication scenarios;

[0060] Satellite communication scenarios include at least one of the following:

[0061] (1) NTN coverage is outside TN coverage;

[0062] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. In this scenario, area 201, corresponding to the NTN coverage area provided by satellite 120, is outside area 202, corresponding to the TN coverage area provided by ground base station 140. For example, area 201 is located at sea or in a desert. The NTN and TN use the same frequency f for signal transmission. When a first terminal device 210 in area 201 sends or receives signals to or from satellite 120, this does not affect the TN coverage area.

[0063] (2) The NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlap, and the first terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area;

[0064] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. In this scenario, area 301 corresponding to the NTN coverage provided by satellite 120 overlaps with area 302 corresponding to the TN coverage provided by ground base station 140. First terminal device 210 is located outside area 302 but within area 301. In this scenario, area 301 is typically much larger than area 302, and one area 301 may overlap with multiple areas 302. This embodiment of the present application uses one area 302 as an example for illustration.

[0065] The possible interference scenarios in this scenario are shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3, including:

[0066] 2-1. The uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the ground base station 140 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the satellite 120 from the first terminal device 210;

[0067] 2-2. The downlink signal transmitted by the satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the second terminal device 220 from the ground base station 140.

[0068] (3) The NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlap, and the first terminal device is located within the TN coverage area;

[0069] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. In this scenario, area 401 corresponding to the NTN coverage provided by satellite 120 overlaps with area 402 corresponding to the TN coverage provided by ground base station 140, and first terminal device 210 is located within area 402. In this scenario, area 401 is typically much larger than area 402, and one area 401 may overlap with multiple areas 402. This embodiment of the present application uses one area 402 as an example for illustration.

[0070] The possible interference scenarios in this scenario are shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3, including:

[0071] 3-1. The uplink signal transmitted by the first terminal device 210 to the satellite 120 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the ground base station 140 from the second terminal device 220;

[0072] 3-2. The downlink signal transmitted by the ground base station 140 to the second terminal device 220 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the first terminal device 210 from the satellite 120;

[0073] 3-3. The uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the ground base station 140 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the satellite 120 from the first terminal device 210;

[0074] 3-4. The downlink signal transmitted by the satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the second terminal device 220 from the ground base station 140.

[0075] The communication distance between terminal devices and satellites is much greater than that between terminal devices and terrestrial communications, placing higher demands on the transmission and reception of communication signals. Furthermore, based on the propagation characteristics of wireless signals, lower frequencies reduce spatial propagation losses, while higher frequencies increase spatial propagation losses. Therefore, low-frequency signals offer stronger network coverage and lower losses. Consequently, a large number of TN communication systems currently exist in low-frequency bands, making it difficult to allocate more frequency bands for NTN. However, NTN is most valuable in areas where TN coverage is limited, such as deep mountains, deserts, and oceans. For these locations, consideration can be given to reusing TN spectrum for satellite communications. Furthermore, given that TN-capable terminal devices already have the ability to transmit and receive signals on this spectrum, if NTN can share the existing TN spectrum, terminal devices can support communication with NTN without requiring hardware modifications.

[0076] FIG5 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a terminal device 110 and an NTN satellite 120. The method includes:

[0077] Step 510: The NTN satellite 120 broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell using the target downlink frequency.

[0078] The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0079] When the NTN satellite 120 determines that the target downlink frequency of the TN can be reused, the NTN satellite 120 broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell on the frequency, so that the terminal device 110 can read the system information and access the NTN.

[0080] In some embodiments, step 510 may be omitted and step 520 may be performed.

[0081] Step 520: The NTN satellite 120 sends an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency.

[0082] The uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, which is used to send uplink signals and falls within the TN spectrum range.

[0083] In some embodiments, when the NTN satellite 120 can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device 110 cannot read the system information broadcast by the NTN satellite 120. At this time, the NTN satellite 120 configures the target uplink frequency to the terminal device 110 through the satellite system dedicated frequency, and the terminal device 110 sends an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0084] In some embodiments, step 520 may be omitted, and step 530 may be performed after step 510 is performed.

[0085] Step 530: The terminal device 110 sends first indication information.

[0086] In some embodiments, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within the TN coverage of the target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether there is TN coverage of the target frequency at the location of the terminal device.

[0087] In some embodiments, the content of the first indication information may be: within the TN coverage of the target frequency, outside the TN coverage of the target frequency; or may be: with TN coverage of the target frequency, without TN coverage of the target frequency, etc.

[0088] In some embodiments, the first indication information is referred to as: at least one of: TN coverage indication of the target frequency, TN coverage indication, and TN coverage area indication of the target frequency. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this and are described using the first indication information as an example.

[0089] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 determines the TN coverage of the location of the terminal device 110 by measuring the downlink signal strength of the TN base station, and thus sends a first indication information, for example, using at least one of the signal strength indication (Signal Strength Indicator, SSI), received signal strength indication (Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI), reference signal received power (Reference Signal Received Power, RSRP), reference signal received quality (Reference Signal Received Quality, RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR), and received signal code power (Received Signal Code Power, RSCP) for judgment.

[0090] When the measured signal strength is higher than or equal to the first threshold, it is considered that the location of the terminal device 110 has TN coverage; when the measured signal strength is lower than the first threshold, it is considered that the location of the terminal device 110 has no TN coverage.

[0091] For example, when determining the TN coverage of the location of the terminal device 110 by measuring RSSI, when the first threshold value is -100 dBm, when the measured RSSI is -50 dBm and higher than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is TN coverage at the location of the terminal device 110; when the measured RSSI is -120 dBm and lower than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is no TN coverage at the location of the terminal device 110.

[0092] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 sends the current geographic location of the terminal device 110 simultaneously with the first indication information. The NTN satellite 120 determines the TN coverage of each terminal device 110 within the NTN coverage area by receiving the first indication information and the current geographic location sent by more terminal devices 110. For example, it is determined based on the first indication information that the terminal device 110 does not have TN coverage, and based on the current geographic location, it is determined that the terminal device 110 is in the geographic location shown in FIG2 .

[0093] Step 540: The NTN satellite 120 determines the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0094] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 determines the overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage based on the received first indication information. For example, if the first indication information indicates that the terminal device 110 is located at a location where TN coverage exists, the NTN satellite 120 determines that the NTN coverage overlaps with the TN coverage.

[0095] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 receives the first indication information sent by multiple terminal devices 110 to make a comprehensive judgment, thereby determining the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0096] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 determines the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area based on the received first indication information and the current geographic location of the terminal device 110. For example, if the first indication information indicates that there is no TN coverage at the location of the terminal device 110, and the current geographic location of the terminal device 110 indicates that the terminal device 110 is at the geographic location shown in FIG3 , the NTN satellite 120 determines that the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, and that the terminal device 110 is outside the TN coverage area.

[0097] Step 550: The NTN satellite 120 transmits an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0098] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 receives NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0099] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency falls within the TN spectrum range.

[0100] NTN satellite 120 transmits NTN signals on target frequencies within the TN spectrum by reusing the TN spectrum, thereby increasing the use scenarios of NTN satellite 120 and solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN.

[0101] In some embodiments, the target frequency comprises:

[0102] Target uplink frequency; or,

[0103] Target downlink frequency; or,

[0104] Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

[0105] In some embodiments, when terminal device 110 is outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency. In this case, NTN satellite 120 reuses only the target uplink frequency for uplink transmission with terminal device 110, while downlink transmission can use other frequencies, thereby avoiding interference of downlink signals transmitted by NTN satellite 120 to terminal device 110 with other terminal devices within the TN coverage area.

[0106] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted via a first beam; or,

[0107] The NTN signal is transmitted through at least one second beam, and the coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the first beam.

[0108] To increase coverage, NTN uses a wide beam (the first beam) to transmit NTN signals. However, the coverage of a wide beam overlaps with many TN coverage areas, making it difficult for NTN to directly reuse TN uplink and downlink frequencies. Therefore, at least one narrow beam (the second beam) can be used to transmit NTN signals to reduce the possibility of NTN coverage overlapping with TN coverage.

[0109] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window;

[0110] The first time window is independent of the second time window. The first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

[0111] Since NTN and TN use the same target frequency, which may cause co-channel interference, a time-division multiplexing (TDM) mode is adopted, wherein the first time window for transmitting the NTN signal is independent of the second time window for transmitting the TN signal.

[0112] In some embodiments, the first time window includes at least one of the following time windows:

[0113] The time window configured in the uplink frequency;

[0114] The time window configured in the downlink frequency.

[0115] The first time window may be configured only in the uplink frequency, may be configured only in the downlink frequency, or may be configured in both the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency.

[0116] In some embodiments, the first time window is referred to as an NTN multiplexing window, a multiplexing window, an NTN window, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this, and the first time window is used as an example for illustration.

[0117] In some embodiments, the time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are the same; or,

[0118] The time windows configured for the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

[0119] The time window may be configured by the TN base station or may be predefined. The time window may be periodically configured, and the configuration parameters include window length, window period, and other parameters.

[0120] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted in a time domain unit corresponding to a target frequency.

[0121] The time domain unit includes at least one of the following: time slot, system frame, subframe group, subframe, time slot group, time slot, symbol group, symbol. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific type of time domain unit and takes the time slot as an example for explanation.

[0122] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency, such as an uplink time slot corresponding to the target frequency.

[0123] In this case, the NTN satellite 120 only reuses the uplink time slot for uplink transmission with the terminal device 110, and downlink transmission can use other frequencies or other time slots, thereby avoiding interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite 120 to the terminal device 110 with other terminal devices within the TN coverage area.

[0124] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 uses uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency to send an uplink signal;

[0125] The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

[0126] In some embodiments, when the terminal device 110 is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device does not detect the system information of the NTN cell, the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency are used to send an uplink signal.

[0127] When the terminal device 110 is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and does not detect the NTN satellite 120 broadcasting system information, it will use the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency to send uplink signals when the NTN satellite 120 passes by the location of the terminal device 110.

[0128] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment sends or receives NTN signals in the TN spectrum through terminal equipment or NTN satellites, thereby realizing NTN multiplexing of the TN working frequency band, thereby increasing the use scenarios of NTN, solving the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that NTN can use, and improving the communication capabilities of NTN.

[0129] The method provided in this embodiment also broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell via the NTN satellite using the target downlink frequency, so that the terminal device can read the system information and access the NTN.

[0130] The method provided in this embodiment further transmits an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency via the NTN satellite. The uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, so that when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device can transmit an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0131] The method provided in this embodiment also enables the terminal device to send an uplink signal when the terminal device fails to detect the system information of the NTN cell by using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency.

[0132] The method provided in this embodiment further sends the first indication information through the terminal device to help the NTN satellite determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area, thereby reducing the workload of the NTN satellite.

[0133] FIG6 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a terminal device 110 and an NTN satellite 120. The method includes:

[0134] Step 610: The NTN satellite 120 broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell using the target downlink frequency.

[0135] In some embodiments, step 610 may be omitted and step 620 may be performed.

[0136] The implementation principles of step 610 and step 510 are the same. Please refer to step 510 for specific implementation details, which will not be repeated here.

[0137] Step 620: The NTN satellite 120 sends an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency.

[0138] In some embodiments, step 620 may be omitted, and step 630 may be performed after step 610 is performed.

[0139] The implementation principles of step 620 and step 520 are the same. Please refer to step 520 for specific implementation details, which will not be repeated here.

[0140] Step 630: The NTN satellite 120 measures energy information on the target frequency within the NTN coverage area.

[0141] The energy information is used to indicate whether the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area.

[0142] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 measures energy information on the target frequency within the NTN coverage area (usually the coverage area of ​​the first beam). When the measured energy information is higher than a second threshold, it is considered that a TN exists within the NTN coverage area.

[0143] In some embodiments, at least one of SSI, RSSI, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSCP is used to represent energy information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner of representing energy information, and SNR is used as an example for illustration. For example, when the second threshold value is 20 decibels, the measured energy information is 25 decibels, which is higher than the second threshold value, and it is considered that TN exists within the coverage area.

[0144] Step 640: The NTN satellite 120 determines the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0145] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite 120 determines the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area by measuring energy information. When the measured energy information is higher than a second threshold, it is considered that there is a TN within the NTN coverage area, that is, the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area.

[0146] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window on a target frequency. Within the first time window, multiple NTN satellites 120 may compete for the right to use the target frequency.

[0147] When the energy information measured by an NTN satellite 120 is higher than the third threshold, it indicates that another NTN satellite 120 is occupying the target frequency, and the third threshold is equal to or not equal to the second threshold. In this case, the energy information within the first time window can be measured again after a period of time, or the energy information within another time window can be measured. When the measured energy information is lower than the fourth threshold, the NTN satellite 120 can use the target frequency to transmit the NTN signal, and the fourth threshold is equal to or not equal to the third threshold.

[0148] Step 650: The NTN satellite 120 transmits an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0149] The implementation principles of step 650 and step 550 are the same. Please refer to step 550 for specific implementation details, which will not be repeated here.

[0150] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment sends or receives NTN signals in the TN spectrum through terminal equipment or NTN satellites, thereby realizing NTN multiplexing of the TN working frequency band, thereby increasing the use scenarios of NTN, solving the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that NTN can use, and improving the communication capabilities of NTN.

[0151] The method provided in this embodiment also broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell via the NTN satellite using the target downlink frequency, so that the terminal device can read the system information and access the NTN.

[0152] The method provided in this embodiment further transmits an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency via the NTN satellite. The uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, so that when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device can transmit an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0153] The method provided in this embodiment also measures energy information on the target frequency within the NTN coverage area through the NTN satellite, and independently determines the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area, thereby reducing the workload of the terminal device and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0154] FIG7 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a terminal device and includes:

[0155] Step 710: Send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0156] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency falls within the TN spectrum range.

[0157] The TN spectrum represents a frequency distribution curve in the TN, and the NTN signal represents a signal that can be transmitted in the NTN.

[0158] NTN satellites reuse the TN spectrum to transmit NTN signals to terminal devices at target frequencies within the TN spectrum range, expanding the use scenarios of NTN satellites and solving the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that NTN can use.

[0159] In some embodiments, the target frequency comprises:

[0160] Target uplink frequency; or,

[0161] Target downlink frequency; or,

[0162] Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

[0163] In a frequency division duplex (FDD) scenario, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency or a target downlink frequency; in a time division duplex (TDD) scenario, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency and a target downlink frequency.

[0164] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes the target uplink frequency. In this case, as shown in FIG8 , the NTN satellite 120 reuses only the target uplink frequency f UL The uplink transmission is performed with the first terminal device 210, and the downlink transmission can use other frequencies. The ground base station 140 and the second terminal device 220 use the frequency f UL&DL By reusing only the target uplink frequency f UL The method avoids interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 on the second terminal device 220 within the TN coverage area.

[0165] Since the first terminal device 210 usually adopts some uplink enhancement methods, such as repeated transmission, to increase its signal-to-noise ratio, the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the ground base station 140 is relatively weak for the NTN satellite 120. Therefore, the interference of the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the NTN satellite 120 is not further considered, and it is believed that the interference is within a controllable range.

[0166] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window;

[0167] The first time window is independent of the second time window. The first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

[0168] Since NTN and TN use the same target frequency, which may cause co-channel interference, TDM is used. The first time window for transmitting the NTN signal is independent of the second time window for transmitting the TN signal.

[0169] In some embodiments, the first time window includes at least one of the following time windows:

[0170] The time window configured in the uplink frequency;

[0171] The time window configured in the downlink frequency.

[0172] The first time window may be configured only in the uplink frequency, may be configured only in the downlink frequency, or may be configured in both the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency.

[0173] In some embodiments, the first time window is referred to as an NTN multiplexing window, a multiplexing window, an NTN window, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this, and the first time window is used as an example for illustration.

[0174] In some embodiments, the time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are the same; or,

[0175] The time windows configured for the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

[0176] The time window may be configured by the TN base station or may be predefined. The time window may be periodically configured, and the configuration parameters include window length, window period, and other parameters.

[0177] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of a time window configuration provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The window length of the first time window 910 for transmitting the NTN signal at the target frequency is T1, the window length of the second time window 920 for transmitting the TN signal is T2, and the window period between the first first time window 910 and the second first time window 910 is T.

[0178] In some embodiments, the window length of the first time window 910 for transmitting the NTN signal is T1, and the remaining time is used for transmitting the TN signal.

[0179] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted in a time domain unit corresponding to a target frequency.

[0180] The time domain unit includes at least one of the following: time slot, system frame, subframe group, subframe, time slot group, time slot, symbol group, symbol. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific type of time domain unit and takes the time slot as an example for explanation.

[0181] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0182] In this case, the NTN satellite only reuses the uplink time slot for uplink transmission with the terminal device, and the downlink transmission can use other frequencies or other time slots, thereby avoiding the interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite to the terminal device on other terminal devices within the TN coverage area.

[0183] In some embodiments, the terminal device uses the target uplink frequency for uplink transmission and uses the first time window configured in the downlink frequency for downlink transmission.

[0184] In some embodiments, the terminal device sends an uplink signal using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency;

[0185] The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

[0186] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device does not detect the system information of the NTN cell, the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency are used to send an uplink signal.

[0187] When the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and does not detect the NTN satellite broadcast system information, it will use the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency to send uplink signals during the time when the NTN satellite passes by the location of the terminal device.

[0188] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment implements NTN multiplexing of TN's operating frequency bands by sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, thereby increasing NTN's usage scenarios, solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN, and improving NTN's communication capabilities.

[0189] The method provided in this embodiment also enables the terminal device to send an uplink signal when the system information of the NTN cell is not detected by using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency.

[0190] FIG10 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a terminal device and includes:

[0191] Step 701: Receive system information of an NTN cell broadcasted using a target downlink frequency.

[0192] The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0193] When the NTN satellite determines that the target downlink frequency of the TN can be reused, the NTN satellite broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell on the frequency for the terminal device to read the system information and access the NTN, and the terminal device receives the system information.

[0194] In some embodiments, step 701 may be omitted and step 702 may be performed.

[0195] Step 702: Receive uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency.

[0196] The uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, which is used to send uplink signals and falls within the TN spectrum range.

[0197] In some embodiments, when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device cannot read the system information broadcast by the NTN satellite. At this time, the NTN satellite configures the target uplink frequency to the terminal device through the satellite system dedicated frequency, and the terminal device 110 sends an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0198] In some embodiments, step 702 may be omitted, and step 705 may be performed after step 701 is performed.

[0199] Step 705: Send first indication information.

[0200] The first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within the TN coverage of the target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether the TN coverage of the target frequency exists at the location of the terminal device.

[0201] In some embodiments, the content of the first indication information may be: within the TN coverage of the target frequency, outside the TN coverage of the target frequency; or may be: with TN coverage of the target frequency, without TN coverage of the target frequency, etc.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first indication information is referred to as: at least one of: TN coverage indication of the target frequency, TN coverage indication, and TN coverage area indication of the target frequency. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this and are described using the first indication information as an example.

[0203] In some embodiments, the terminal device determines the TN coverage of the terminal device's location by measuring the downlink signal strength of the TN base station, and thus sends a first indication information, for example, using at least one of SSI, RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSCP for judgment.

[0204] When the measured signal strength is higher than or equal to the first threshold value, it is considered that the location of the terminal device is covered by TN; when the measured signal strength is lower than the first threshold value, it is considered that the location of the terminal device is not covered by TN.

[0205] For example, when determining the TN coverage of the terminal device's location by measuring RSSI, when the first threshold value is -100 dBm, when the measured RSSI is -50 dBm and higher than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is TN coverage at the terminal device's location; when the measured RSSI is -120 dBm and lower than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is no TN coverage at the terminal device's location.

[0206] In some embodiments, the current geographic location of the terminal device is sent at the same time as the first indication information is sent.

[0207] The NTN satellite determines the TN coverage status of each terminal device within the NTN coverage area by receiving the first indication information and current geographic location sent by more terminal devices. For example, it is determined through the first indication information that the terminal device does not have TN coverage, and the current geographic location is determined to be the geographic location of the terminal device as shown in Figure 2.

[0208] Step 710: Send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0209] In this embodiment, step 701 and step 702 are optional. In different embodiments, one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced, for example, step 701 may be omitted and execution may start from step 702.

[0210] Step 701 , step 705 , and step 710 may be implemented as independent embodiments; step 702 , step 705 , and step 710 may be implemented as independent embodiments; but are not limited thereto.

[0211] Step 701 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for receiving system information;

[0212] Step 702 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, such as being implemented separately as a receiving method for uplink configuration;

[0213] Step 705 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, such as being implemented separately as an information sending method;

[0214] Step 710 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a communication method based on NTN.

[0215] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment implements NTN multiplexing of TN's operating frequency bands by sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, thereby increasing NTN's usage scenarios, solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN, and improving NTN's communication capabilities.

[0216] The method provided in this embodiment also enables the terminal device to read the system information and access the NTN by receiving the system information of the NTN cell broadcast using the target downlink frequency.

[0217] The method provided in this embodiment also receives an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency, the uplink configuration including a target uplink frequency, so that when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device can send an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0218] The method provided in this embodiment also helps the NTN satellite determine the TN coverage status of the terminal device by sending the first indication information, thereby reducing the workload of the NTN satellite.

[0219] FIG11 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by an NTN satellite and includes:

[0220] Step 1110: Send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0221] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency falls within the TN spectrum range.

[0222] In some embodiments, the target frequency comprises:

[0223] Target uplink frequency; or,

[0224] Target downlink frequency; or,

[0225] Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

[0226] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency.

[0227] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted via a first beam; or,

[0228] The NTN signal is transmitted through at least one second beam, and the coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the first beam.

[0229] FIG12 shows a schematic diagram of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application, which includes an NTN satellite 120 , a first terminal device 210 , a second terminal device 220 , and a ground base station 140 .

[0230] To increase coverage, NTN uses a wide beam (the first beam) to transmit NTN signals. However, the coverage of a wide beam overlaps with many TN coverage areas, making it difficult for NTN to directly reuse TN uplink and downlink frequencies. Therefore, at least one narrow beam (the second beam) can be used to transmit NTN signals to reduce the possibility of NTN coverage overlapping with TN coverage.

[0231] As shown in Figure 12, the coverage range corresponding to the first beam is area 301, and area 301 overlaps with area 302 corresponding to the TN coverage range. The second beam includes at least one of beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3 in the figure, and the transmission of NTN signals through beam 3 is used as an example for explanation.

[0232] Although the first terminal device 210 is outside the area 302 , the NTN satellite 120 uses the first beam to communicate with the first terminal device 210 , which will cause interference with the TN. Therefore, the beam 3 is used to achieve two-way communication with the first terminal device 210 .

[0233] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window;

[0234] The first time window is independent of the second time window. The first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first time window includes at least one of the following time windows:

[0236] The time window configured in the uplink frequency;

[0237] The time window configured in the downlink frequency.

[0238] In some embodiments, the time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are the same; or,

[0239] The time windows configured for the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

[0240] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted in a time domain unit corresponding to a target frequency.

[0241] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0242] In some embodiments, the receiving terminal device sends an uplink signal using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency.

[0243] The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

[0244] In some embodiments, when the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device does not detect the system information of the NTN cell, the uplink signal sent by the terminal device using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency is received.

[0245] The specific implementation details of the above-mentioned NTN-based communication method refer to the terminal device side and will not be repeated here.

[0246] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment implements NTN multiplexing of TN's operating frequency bands by sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, thereby increasing NTN's usage scenarios, solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN, and improving NTN's communication capabilities.

[0247] FIG13 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by an NTN satellite and includes:

[0248] Step 1101: Broadcast the system information of the NTN cell using the target downlink frequency.

[0249] The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0250] In some embodiments, step 1101 may be omitted and step 1102 may be performed.

[0251] The specific implementation details of step 1101 refer to step 701 of the embodiment of Figure 11 and are not repeated here.

[0252] Step 1102: Send uplink configuration on the satellite system dedicated frequency.

[0253] Among them, the uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, which is used by the terminal device to send uplink signals, and the target uplink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0254] In some embodiments, step 1102 may be omitted, and step 1105 may be performed after step 1101 is performed.

[0255] For the specific implementation details of step 1102, please refer to step 702 of the embodiment of Figure 11, and will not be repeated here.

[0256] Step 1105: Receive the first indication information sent by the terminal device.

[0257] The first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within the TN coverage of the target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether the TN coverage of the target frequency exists at the location of the terminal device.

[0258] In some embodiments, the current geographic location of the terminal device is received simultaneously with the receiving of the first indication information.

[0259] For the specific implementation details of step 1105, please refer to step 705 of the embodiment of Figure 11, which will not be repeated here.

[0260] Step 1106: Determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0261] In some embodiments, based on the first indication information, the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined. For example, the first indication information indicates that TN coverage exists at the location of the terminal device, and the NTN satellite determines that the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area.

[0262] In some embodiments, a comprehensive judgment is made by receiving first indication information sent by multiple terminal devices to determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0263] In some embodiments, an overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined based on the first indication information and the current geographic location of the terminal device. For example, the first indication information indicates that there is no TN coverage at the location of the terminal device, the current geographic location of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device is at the geographic location shown in FIG3 , and the NTN satellite determines that the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, and the terminal device is outside the TN coverage area.

[0264] Step 1110: Send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0265] In some embodiments, based on the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area, an NTN signal is sent or received in the TN spectrum.

[0266] In some embodiments, when the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area, an NTN signal is transmitted or received in the TN spectrum by using at least one second beam;

[0267] When the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, sending or receiving the NTN signal within the first time window, or sending or receiving the NTN signal at the target frequency;

[0268] The coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the NTN, the first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the target frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0269] Exemplarily, in the case shown in FIG2 , an NTN signal is sent or received in the TN spectrum by using at least one second beam; in the case shown in FIG3 , an NTN signal is sent or received at frequency f; and in the case shown in FIG4 , an NTN signal is sent or received within a first time window.

[0270] In some embodiments, when the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, the NTN signal is transmitted or received in the TN spectrum by using at least one second beam.

[0271] For specific implementation details of step 1110, please refer to step 710 of the embodiment of Figure 7, which will not be repeated here.

[0272] In this embodiment, step 1101, step 1102 and step 1106 are optional. In different embodiments, one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced, for example, step 1101 may be omitted and execution may start from step 1102.

[0273] Step 1101 , step 1105 , step 1106 , and step 1110 may be implemented as independent embodiments; step 1102 , step 1105 , step 1106 , and step 1110 may be implemented as independent embodiments; but are not limited thereto.

[0274] Step 1101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for sending system information;

[0275] Step 1102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for sending an uplink configuration;

[0276] Step 1105 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, such as being implemented separately as an information receiving method;

[0277] Step 1106 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for determining coverage overlap;

[0278] Step 1110 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a communication method based on NTN.

[0279] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment implements NTN multiplexing of TN's operating frequency bands by sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, thereby increasing NTN's usage scenarios, solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN, and improving NTN's communication capabilities.

[0280] The method provided in this embodiment also broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell using the target downlink frequency, so that the terminal device can read the system information and access the NTN.

[0281] The method provided in this embodiment also sends an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency. The uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, so that when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device can send an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0282] The method provided in this embodiment also helps the NTN satellite determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area by receiving the first indication information sent by the terminal device, thereby reducing the workload of the NTN satellite.

[0283] FIG14 shows a flow chart of an NTN-based communication method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by an NTN satellite and includes:

[0284] Step 1103: Measure energy information at the target frequency within the coverage area of ​​the NTN.

[0285] The energy information is used to indicate whether the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area.

[0286] In some embodiments, the NTN satellite measures energy information on the target frequency within the NTN coverage area (usually the coverage area of ​​the first beam). When the measured energy information is higher than a second threshold, it is considered that a TN exists within the NTN coverage area.

[0287] In some embodiments, at least one of SSI, RSSI, SNR, RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSCP is used to represent energy information. The present embodiment does not limit the manner of representing energy information, and SNR is used as an example for illustration. For example, when the second threshold value is 20 decibels, the measured energy information is 25 decibels, which is higher than the second threshold value, and it is considered that a TN exists within the coverage area.

[0288] Step 1106: Determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0289] In some embodiments, the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined based on the energy information on the target frequency.

[0290] In some embodiments, when the energy information is higher than or equal to a first threshold, the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area; when the energy information is lower than the first threshold, the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area.

[0291] In some embodiments, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window on a target frequency. Within the first time window, multiple NTN satellites may compete for the right to use the target frequency.

[0292] When the energy information measured by an NTN satellite exceeds the third threshold, it indicates that another NTN satellite is occupying the target frequency. The third threshold is equal to or not equal to the second threshold. In this case, the energy information within the first time window can be measured again after a period of time, or the energy information within other time windows can be measured. When the measured energy information is lower than the fourth threshold, the NTN satellite can use the target frequency to transmit the NTN signal. The fourth threshold is equal to or not equal to the third threshold.

[0293] Step 1110: Send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum.

[0294] In this embodiment, step 1103 is optional. In different embodiments, this step may be omitted or replaced, for example, step 1103 may be omitted and execution may start from step 1106.

[0295] Step 1106 and step 1110 may be implemented as independent embodiments; but are not limited thereto.

[0296] Step 1103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for measuring energy information;

[0297] Step 1106 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a method for determining coverage overlap;

[0298] Step 1110 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, for example, implemented separately as a communication method based on NTN.

[0299] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment implements NTN multiplexing of TN's operating frequency bands by sending or receiving NTN signals in the TN spectrum, thereby increasing NTN's usage scenarios, solving the problem of a limited number of frequency bands available to NTN, and improving NTN's communication capabilities.

[0300] The method provided in this embodiment also independently determines the overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage by measuring the energy information at the target frequency within the NTN coverage, thereby reducing the workload of the terminal device and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0301] In the above embodiments, steps with the same sequence number may be considered to be the same step. The embodiments corresponding to FIG5 , FIG6 , FIG7 , FIG10 , FIG11 , FIG13 , and FIG14 may be implemented individually or in combination, and this application does not limit this.

[0302] In some embodiments, in order to fully utilize the existing TN spectrum, communication with NTN satellites can be achieved based on the existing hardware of the terminal device. The following analyzes several typical scenarios:

[0303] (1) The NTN coverage area is outside the TN coverage area;

[0304] As shown in Figure 2, in this scenario, NTN coverage area 201 is outside TN coverage area 202, for example, located at sea. Although TN and NTN use the same frequency f for signal transmission, the signal transmission and reception by the first terminal device 210 and the signal transmission and reception by the NTN satellite 120 do not affect each other. Therefore, as long as the NTN satellite 120 can identify area 201, it can communicate with the first terminal device 210 in area 201 using the same frequency f as the TN.

[0305] (2) The NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, but the terminal equipment is outside the TN coverage area;

[0306] As shown in Figure 3, for this scenario, the NTN coverage area 301 includes the TN coverage area 302 (NTN cells are generally much larger than TN cells, and one NTN cell may overlap with many TN cells). The first terminal device 210 is located within the NTN coverage area 301 but outside the TN coverage area 302. Possible interference scenarios in this scenario (shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3) include:

[0307] 2-1. The uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the ground base station 140 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the NTN satellite 120 from the first terminal device 210;

[0308] 2-2. The downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the second terminal device 220 from the ground base station 140.

[0309] (3) The NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, and the terminal equipment is within the TN coverage area;

[0310] As shown in FIG4 , in this scenario, the NTN coverage area 401 overlaps with the TN coverage area 402 , and the first terminal device 210 communicating with the NTN satellite 120 is within the TN coverage area 402 . The possible interferences are:

[0311] 3-1. The uplink signal transmitted by the first terminal device 210 to the NTN satellite 120 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the ground base station 140 at the second terminal device 220;

[0312] 3-2. The downlink signal transmitted by the ground base station 140 to the second terminal device 220 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the first terminal device 210 from the NTN satellite 120;

[0313] 3-3. The uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 to the ground base station 140 may interfere with the uplink signal received by the NTN satellite 120 of the first terminal device 210;

[0314] 3-4. The downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 may interfere with the downlink signal received by the second terminal device 220 from the ground base station 140.

[0315] Here are the solutions:

[0316] First, for the above scenario, the NTN satellite needs to determine whether the coverage area of ​​a beam overlaps with the TN coverage area;

[0317] Method 1: The terminal device reports whether it is in the coverage area of ​​the TN base station of the target frequency and reports it to the NTN satellite;

[0318] For example, the terminal device measures the downlink signal strength of the TN base station to determine the TN coverage of its location. When the measured signal strength is higher than a certain threshold, it can be considered that the terminal device is within the TN coverage, otherwise it is considered to be outside the TN coverage.

[0319] For reporting the TN coverage indication information of the target frequency at the location of the terminal device, a "TN coverage indication of the target frequency" is introduced:

[0320] The indication information content may be: within the TN coverage of the target frequency, outside the TN coverage of the target frequency;

[0321] Alternatively, the indication information content may be: TN coverage with target frequency, TN coverage without target frequency.

[0322] After receiving the TN coverage indication information for the target frequency of the terminal device, the NTN satellite can determine whether the target frequency can be used for communication at the current terminal device's location. However, the problem is that the coverage area of ​​the NTN satellite is usually very large, which means that the use of its frequency must take into account the situation of more terminal devices. In other words, it is necessary to determine whether there is TN coverage within a larger area (the coverage area of ​​a single NTN satellite beam on the ground). In the embodiments of the present application, the coverage area and the coverage area have the same meaning.

[0323] To address this issue, NTN satellites need to know the current terminal device's geographic location. This information can be provided by the terminal device along with its TN coverage indication. NTN satellites can then collect statistics on TN coverage measurements and reports from more devices and determine which of the scenarios shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4 a terminal device within the coverage area of ​​an NTN satellite beam is in.

[0324] Method 2: The NTN satellite measures the energy information on the target frequency;

[0325] In this method, the NTN satellite directly measures the energy information at the target frequency within a target area (usually within the coverage area of ​​a beam). When the measured energy information exceeds a certain threshold A, a TN is considered to exist within the area. This method can distinguish the scenario shown in Figure 2, but it may not be able to distinguish the specific situations in Figures 3 and 4.

[0326] In addition, in Method 2 of the NTN and TN frequency reuse method described below, an NTN reuse window is defined. Within the NTN reuse window, multiple NTN systems / satellites may compete for frequency use rights. Therefore, when the NTN satellite measures that the energy in the target area on the target frequency exceeds a certain threshold B (B may be equal to or different from A), it indicates that another NTN satellite may be communicating on the target frequency. In this case, the method of waiting for a period of time and then rechecking the energy information within the NTN reuse window can be adopted (the NTN reuse window for the second energy check can be the NTN reuse window used in the previous energy check, or another NTN reuse window). When the energy information falls below threshold C (C may be equal to or different from B), the NTN satellite can use the target frequency for communication.

[0327] Of course, for FIG3 , the overlapping coverage scenario of FIG3 can be transformed into the non-overlapping coverage scenario of FIG2 as long as the NTN satellite adjusts the width of its beam.

[0328] 2. NTN and TN frequency reuse methods;

[0329] Method 1: NTN reuses TN uplink and downlink frequencies;

[0330] This method is mostly applicable to the situation where the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area as shown in FIG2 .

[0331] To increase coverage, NTNs typically use wide beams. This can cause NTN coverage to overlap with many TN coverage areas, making it difficult for NTNs to directly reuse TN uplink and downlink frequencies. To address this issue, NTNs can use multiple narrow beams for ground coverage, reducing the possibility of overlap between NTN and TN coverage areas.

[0332] As shown in Figure 12, when NTN satellite 120 uses a wide beam, it can achieve greater coverage (area 301), which overlaps with the TN coverage area (area 302). Although the first terminal device 210 is actually outside the TN coverage area, if NTN satellite 120 uses a wide beam to communicate with the first terminal device 210, it will cause downlink interference to the TN.

[0333] When the NTN satellite 120 uses multiple narrow beams to achieve coverage of this area, through the method described above that "the NTN satellite needs to determine whether the coverage range of a beam overlaps with the TN coverage area", the NTN satellite 120 can use beam 3 to achieve two-way communication with the first terminal device 210 on the target frequency.

[0334] Method 2: NTN reuses TN uplink and downlink frequencies within the first time window;

[0335] This method can be applied to scenarios where the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, including those shown in FIG3 and FIG4 .

[0336] When the NTN satellite determines that its current coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, and the terminal devices it serves are partially or entirely within the TN coverage area, using the same target frequency will cause co-channel interference. Therefore, one possible solution is to use TDM to reuse the target frequency.

[0337] For the TDM operating mode, an NTN operating window (first time window) can be defined only for the uplink frequency, only for the downlink frequency, or for both the uplink and downlink (this window can use the same window configuration for both the uplink and downlink, or different window configurations for the uplink and downlink). As shown in FIG9 , the first time window 910 can be periodically configured, with configuration parameters including the window length T1 and the window period T. This configuration can be configured by the TN base station or predefined.

[0338] Method 3: NTN reuses only the TN uplink frequency;

[0339] When the NTN satellite determines that the current coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, but the terminal devices being served are all outside the TN coverage area, such as the situation shown in Figure 8, then the NTN satellite can reuse only the target uplink frequency f UL The first terminal device 210 may be uplinked to the first terminal device 210 using the uplink time slot corresponding to the target frequency (when the frequency band is FDD), or using the uplink time slot corresponding to the target frequency (when the frequency band is TDD). Other frequencies may be used for downlink transmission to avoid interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite 120 to the first terminal device 210 with the second terminal device 220 within the TN coverage area.

[0340] The interference of the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 when communicating with the ground base station 140 on the NTN satellite 120 is not further considered here. This is because the first terminal device 210 generally uses some uplink enhancement methods, such as repeated transmission, to increase its signal-to-noise ratio. In comparison, the signal transmitted by the second terminal device 220 is relatively weak for the NTN satellite 120 as the receiving side. Therefore, it is considered here that the interference of the second terminal device 220 on the reception of the NTN satellite 120 is within a controllable range.

[0341] Of course, the above method 2 and method 3 can also be combined. In this case, the first terminal device 210 uses the target uplink frequency f UL Perform uplink transmission at the target downlink frequency f DL Downlink transmission is performed by transmitting signals in the first time window.

[0342] 3. Method for terminal equipment to access NTN satellite at target frequency;

[0343] When the NTN satellite determines that the target downlink frequency f of TN can be reused on a certain beam DL When the NTN satellite broadcasts system information on this frequency, the terminal equipment can read the system information and access the NTN.

[0344] When the NTN satellite can only reuse the TN target uplink frequency f on a certain beam UL When the terminal device cannot read the system message broadcast by NTN satellite, there are two ways to do this:

[0345] Method 1: NTN satellite uses the satellite system dedicated frequency to transmit the target uplink frequency f UL Configured to the terminal device, and then the terminal device according to the configuration of the target uplink frequency f UL Transmitting uplink signals;

[0346] Method 2: A resource pool on the target frequency is predefined. When the terminal device detects that it is outside the TN coverage area of ​​the target frequency and the terminal device cannot detect the system message broadcast by the NTN satellite, the terminal device attempts to transmit an uplink signal on the resource pool during the time when the NTN satellite passes through the area.

[0347] Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a terminal-side communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The device can be implemented as a terminal device or as a part of a terminal device through software or hardware or a combination of both. The device includes a transmission module 1510, wherein the function of the transmission module 1510 is implemented by a receiver or transmitter in the terminal device.

[0348] The transmission module 1510 is configured to send or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0349] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0350] The TN spectrum represents a frequency distribution curve in the TN, and the NTN signal represents a signal that can be transmitted in the NTN.

[0351] NTN satellites reuse the TN spectrum to transmit NTN signals to terminal-side communication devices at target frequencies within the TN spectrum range, increasing the use scenarios of NTN satellites and solving the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that NTN can use.

[0352] In a possible design of this embodiment, the target frequency includes:

[0353] Target uplink frequency; or,

[0354] Target downlink frequency; or,

[0355] Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

[0356] In an FDD scenario, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency or a target downlink frequency; in a TDD scenario, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency and a target downlink frequency.

[0357] In one possible design of this embodiment, when a terminal-side communication device is located outside the TN coverage area, and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency. In this case, the NTN satellite reuses only the target uplink frequency for uplink transmission with the first terminal-side communication device. Downlink transmission can use other frequencies, and the ground base station uses the target frequency for signal transmission with the second terminal-side communication device. By reusing only the target uplink frequency, interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite to the first terminal-side communication device on the second terminal-side communication device within the TN coverage area is avoided.

[0358] Since the first terminal side communication device usually adopts some uplink enhancement methods, such as repeated transmission to increase its signal-to-noise ratio, the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal side communication device to the ground base station is relatively weak for the NTN satellite. Therefore, the interference of the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal side communication device to the NTN satellite is not further considered, and it is believed that the interference is within the controllable range.

[0359] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window;

[0360] The first time window is independent of the second time window. The first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

[0361] Since NTN and TN use the same target frequency, which may cause co-channel interference, TDM is used. The first time window for transmitting the NTN signal is independent of the second time window for transmitting the TN signal.

[0362] In a possible design of this embodiment, the first time window includes at least one of the following time windows:

[0363] The time window configured in the uplink frequency;

[0364] The time window configured in the downlink frequency.

[0365] The first time window may be configured only in the uplink frequency, may be configured only in the downlink frequency, or may be configured in both the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency.

[0366] In a possible design of this embodiment, the time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are the same; or,

[0367] The time windows configured for the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

[0368] The time window may be configured by the TN base station or may be predefined. The time window may be periodically configured, and the configuration parameters include window length, window period, and other parameters.

[0369] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted within a time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0370] In a possible design of this embodiment, when the terminal-side communication device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0371] In this design, the NTN satellite only reuses the uplink time slot for uplink transmission with the terminal-side communication device, and the downlink transmission can use other frequencies or other time slots, thereby avoiding the interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the NTN satellite to the terminal-side communication device on other terminal-side communication devices within the TN coverage area.

[0372] In a possible design of this embodiment, the terminal-side communication device uses the target uplink frequency for uplink transmission and uses the first time window configured in the downlink frequency for downlink transmission.

[0373] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is also used to send a first indication message, where the first indication message is used to indicate whether the terminal side communication device is within the TN coverage of the target frequency, or the first indication message is used to indicate whether the location of the terminal side communication device has TN coverage of the target frequency.

[0374] In a possible design of this embodiment, the content of the first indication information can be: within the TN coverage of the target frequency, outside the TN coverage of the target frequency; it can also be: TN coverage with target frequency, TN coverage without target frequency, etc.

[0375] In a possible design of this embodiment, the terminal side communication device determines the TN coverage of the location of the terminal side communication device by measuring the downlink signal strength of the TN base station, and thereby sends a first indication information, for example, using at least one of SSI, RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSCP for judgment.

[0376] When the measured signal strength is higher than or equal to the first threshold value, it is considered that the location of the terminal side communication device is covered by TN; when the measured signal strength is lower than the first threshold value, it is considered that the location of the terminal side communication device is not covered by TN.

[0377] For example, when the TN coverage of the location where the terminal side communication device is located is determined by measuring RSSI, when the first threshold value is -100 dBm, when the measured RSSI is -50 dBm and higher than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is TN coverage at the location where the terminal side communication device is located; when the measured RSSI is -120 dBm and lower than -100 dBm, it is considered that there is no TN coverage at the location where the terminal side communication device is located.

[0378] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is further configured to send the current geographic location of the terminal-side communication device at the same time as sending the first indication information.

[0379] The NTN satellite determines the TN coverage status of each terminal side communication device within the NTN coverage area by receiving the first indication information and current geographical location sent by more terminal side communication devices.

[0380] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is further configured to receive system information of the NTN cell broadcast using the target downlink frequency;

[0381] The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0382] When the NTN satellite determines that the target downlink frequency of the TN can be reused, the NTN satellite broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell on the frequency for the terminal side communication device to read the system information and access the NTN, and the terminal side communication device receives the system information.

[0383] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is further configured to receive an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency, where the uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, and the target uplink frequency is used to send an uplink signal.

[0384] The target uplink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0385] In one possible design of this embodiment, when the NTN satellite can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal-side communication device cannot read the system information broadcast by the NTN satellite. At this time, the NTN satellite configures the target uplink frequency to the terminal-side communication device through the satellite system's dedicated frequency, and the terminal-side communication device sends an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0386] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is further configured to send an uplink signal using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency;

[0387] The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

[0388] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 is used to send an uplink signal using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency when the terminal side communication device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal side communication device has not detected the system information of the NTN cell.

[0389] When the terminal side communication device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and does not detect the NTN satellite broadcast system information, it will use the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency to send uplink signals during the time when the NTN satellite passes by the location of the terminal side communication device.

[0390] In this embodiment, the transmission module 1510 can be divided into multiple transmission modules, such as a first transmission module and a second transmission module. The first transmission module is configured to transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum, and the second transmission module is configured to transmit first indication information, receive system information of the NTN cell broadcasted using the target downlink frequency, and receive uplink configurations on a satellite system dedicated frequency. Alternatively, the first transmission module is configured to transmit first indication information, receive system information of the NTN cell broadcasted using the target downlink frequency, and receive uplink configurations on a satellite system dedicated frequency, and the second transmission module is configured to transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum. This embodiment does not limit the functions of the different transmission modules.

[0391] This embodiment is described by taking one transmission module 1510 as an example, and the number of transmission modules 1510 is not limited.

[0392] For an introduction to the functions of the transmission module 1510 , please refer to the contents of step 710 in the embodiment of FIG. 7 , and steps 701 , 702 , and 705 in the embodiment of FIG. 10 .

[0393] FIG16 shows a block diagram of a network-side communication device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The device can be implemented as an NTN satellite, or as part of an NTN satellite, through software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes a transmission module 1610, a determination module 1620, and a measurement module 1630. The function of the transmission module 1610 is implemented by a receiver or transmitter in the NTN satellite, and the functions of the determination module 1620 and the measurement module 1630 are implemented by a processor in the NTN satellite.

[0394] The transmission module 1610 is configured to send or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum.

[0395] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0396] The network-side communication device transmits NTN signals to the terminal device at the target frequency within the TN spectrum by multiplexing the TN spectrum, which increases the use scenarios of the network-side communication device and solves the problem of the limited number of frequency bands that can be used by NTN.

[0397] In a possible design of this embodiment, the target frequency includes:

[0398] Target uplink frequency; or,

[0399] Target downlink frequency; or,

[0400] Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

[0401] In one possible design of this embodiment, when a terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes a target uplink frequency. In this case, the network-side communication device reuses only the target uplink frequency for uplink transmission with the first terminal device. Downlink transmission can use other frequencies, and the ground base station and the second terminal device use the target frequency for signal transmission. By only reusing the target uplink frequency, interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the network-side communication device to the first terminal device on the second terminal device within the TN coverage area is avoided.

[0402] Since the first terminal device usually adopts some uplink enhancement methods, such as repeated transmission to increase its signal-to-noise ratio, the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device to the ground base station is relatively weak for the network-side communication device. Therefore, the interference of the uplink signal transmitted by the second terminal device to the network-side communication device is not further considered, and it is believed that the interference is within a controllable range.

[0403] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted through the first beam; or,

[0404] The NTN signal is transmitted through at least one second beam, and the coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the first beam.

[0405] To increase coverage, NTN uses a wide beam (the first beam) to transmit NTN signals. However, the coverage of a wide beam overlaps with many TN coverage areas, making it difficult for NTN to directly reuse TN uplink and downlink frequencies. Therefore, at least one narrow beam (the second beam) can be used to transmit NTN signals to reduce the possibility of NTN coverage overlapping with TN coverage.

[0406] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window;

[0407] The first time window is independent of the second time window. The first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

[0408] Since NTN and TN use the same target frequency, which may cause co-channel interference, TDM is used. The first time window for transmitting the NTN signal is independent of the second time window for transmitting the TN signal.

[0409] In a possible design of this embodiment, the first time window includes at least one of the following time windows:

[0410] The time window configured in the uplink frequency;

[0411] The time window configured in the downlink frequency.

[0412] The first time window may be configured only in the uplink frequency, may be configured only in the downlink frequency, or may be configured in both the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency.

[0413] In a possible design of this embodiment, the time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are the same; or,

[0414] The time windows configured for the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

[0415] The time window may be configured by the TN base station or may be predefined. The time window may be periodically configured, and the configuration parameters include window length, window period, and other parameters.

[0416] In a possible design of this embodiment, the NTN signal is transmitted within a time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0417] In a possible design of this embodiment, when the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

[0418] In this design, the network-side communication device only reuses the uplink time slot for uplink transmission with the terminal device, and the downlink transmission can use other frequencies or other time slots, thereby avoiding the interference of the downlink signal transmitted by the network-side communication device to the terminal device on other terminal devices within the TN coverage area.

[0419] In a possible design of this embodiment, the determination module 1620 is configured to determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area;

[0420] The transmission module 1610 is configured to send or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum based on the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0421] In one possible design of this embodiment, the overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage is determined based on the first indication information. For example, if the first indication information indicates that TN coverage exists at the location of the terminal device, the network-side communication device determines that the NTN coverage overlaps with the TN coverage.

[0422] In a possible design of this embodiment, a comprehensive judgment is made by receiving first indication information sent by multiple terminal devices to determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0423] In a possible design of this embodiment, the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined based on the first indication information and the current geographical location of the terminal device.

[0424] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is configured to send or receive an NTN signal in the TN spectrum by using at least one second beam when the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area;

[0425] When the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, sending or receiving the NTN signal within the first time window, or sending or receiving the NTN signal at the target frequency;

[0426] The coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the NTN, the first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the target frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0427] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is further configured to receive first indication information sent by a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within TN coverage of a target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether TN coverage of the target frequency exists at the location of the terminal device;

[0428] In a possible design of this embodiment, the content of the first indication information can be: within the TN coverage of the target frequency, outside the TN coverage of the target frequency; it can also be: TN coverage with target frequency, TN coverage without target frequency, etc.

[0429] The determination module 1620 is configured to determine, based on the first indication information, an overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area.

[0430] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is further configured to receive the current geographical location of the terminal device while receiving the first indication information;

[0431] The determination module 1620 is used to determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area based on the first indication information and the current geographical location of the terminal device.

[0432] The network-side communication device determines the TN coverage status of each terminal device within the NTN coverage area by receiving the first indication information and current geographical location sent by more terminal devices.

[0433] In one possible design of this embodiment, the measurement module 1630 is configured to measure energy information on a target frequency within an NTN coverage area, where the energy information is used to indicate whether the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area.

[0434] The determination module 1620 is configured to determine the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area based on the energy information on the target frequency.

[0435] In a possible design of this embodiment, when the energy information is higher than or equal to a first threshold, the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area;

[0436] When the energy information is lower than the first threshold, the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area.

[0437] In a possible design of this embodiment, the network-side communication device measures the energy information at the target frequency within the NTN coverage range (usually the coverage range of the first beam). When the measured energy information is higher than the second threshold value, it is considered that there is a TN within the NTN coverage range.

[0438] In one possible design of this embodiment, at least one of SSI, RSSI, SNR, RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and RSCP is used to represent energy information. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the method of representing energy information and uses SNR as an example for illustration. For example, when the second threshold value is 20 decibels, the measured energy information is 25 decibels, which is higher than the second threshold value, and it is considered that TN exists within the coverage area.

[0439] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is further configured to broadcast the system information of the NTN cell using the target downlink frequency;

[0440] The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0441] When the network-side communication device determines that the target downlink frequency of the TN can be reused, the network-side communication device broadcasts the system information of the NTN cell on the frequency for the terminal device to read the system information and access the NTN.

[0442] In one possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is further configured to send an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency, where the uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, which is used by the terminal device to send an uplink signal.

[0443] The target uplink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

[0444] In a possible design of this embodiment, when the network-side communication device can only reuse the target uplink frequency, the terminal device cannot read the system information broadcast by the network-side communication device. At this time, the network-side communication device configures the target uplink frequency to the terminal device through the satellite system dedicated frequency, and the terminal device sends an uplink signal on the target uplink frequency.

[0445] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is further configured to receive an uplink signal sent by a terminal device using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency;

[0446] The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

[0447] In a possible design of this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 is used to receive an uplink signal sent by the terminal device using uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency when the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device has not detected the system information of the NTN cell.

[0448] When the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and does not detect the network side communication device broadcasting system information, it will use the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency to send uplink signals during the time when the network side communication device passes by the location of the terminal device.

[0449] In this embodiment, the transmission module 1610 can be divided into multiple transmission modules, such as a first transmission module and a second transmission module. The first transmission module is configured to transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum, and the second transmission module is configured to receive first indication information sent by a terminal device, broadcast system information of the NTN cell using a target downlink frequency, and transmit uplink configuration information on a satellite system dedicated frequency. Alternatively, the first transmission module is configured to receive first indication information sent by a terminal device, broadcast system information of the NTN cell using a target downlink frequency, and transmit uplink configuration information on a satellite system dedicated frequency, and the second transmission module is configured to transmit or receive NTN signals in the TN spectrum. This embodiment does not limit the functions of the different transmission modules.

[0450] This embodiment is described by taking one transmission module 1610 as an example, and the number of transmission modules 1610 is not limited.

[0451] For an introduction to the functions of the transmission module 1610, reference may be made to the contents of step 1110 in the embodiment of FIG. 11 and steps 1101, 1102, and 1105 in the embodiment of FIG. 13 ;

[0452] For an introduction to the functions of the determination module 1620, please refer to the contents of step 1106 in the embodiment of FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 ;

[0453] For an introduction to the functions of the measurement module 1630 , please refer to the content of step 1103 in the embodiment of FIG14 .

[0454] FIG17 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device or NTN satellite 1700 provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application, including: a processor 1701 , a receiver 1702 , a transmitter 1703 , a memory 1704 and a bus 1705 .

[0455] The processor 1701 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 1701 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules. In some embodiments, the processor 1701 can be used to implement the functions and steps of the above-mentioned determination module 1620 and measurement module 1630.

[0456] Receiver 1702 and transmitter 1703 may be implemented as a communication component, which may be a communication chip and referred to as a transceiver. In some embodiments, receiver 1702 may be used to implement the functions and steps of transmission module 1510 and transmission module 1610 described above, and transmitter 1703 may be used to implement the functions and steps of transmission module 1510 and transmission module 1610 described above.

[0457] The memory 1704 is connected to the processor 1701 via a bus 1705 .

[0458] The memory 1704 may be used to store at least one instruction, and the processor 1701 may be used to execute the at least one instruction to implement each step in the above method embodiment.

[0459] In addition, the memory 1704 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof. Volatile or non-volatile storage devices include but are not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory (PROM).

[0460] In some embodiments, the receiver 1702 receives signals / data independently, or the processor 1701 controls the receiver 1702 to receive signals / data, or the processor 1701 requests the receiver 1702 to receive signals / data, or the processor 1701 cooperates with the receiver 1702 to receive signals / data.

[0461] In some embodiments, the transmitter 1703 independently sends signals / data, or the processor 1701 controls the transmitter 1703 to send signals / data, or the processor 1701 requests the transmitter 1703 to send signals / data, or the processor 1701 cooperates with the transmitter 1703 to send signals / data.

[0462] In an exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores at least one program, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the NTN-based communication method provided by each of the above method embodiments.

[0463] In an exemplary embodiment, a computer program product or a computer program is further provided. When the computer program product or the computer program is executed on a processor, the terminal device or the NTN satellite 1700 executes the NTN-based communication method provided by the above-mentioned various method embodiments.

[0464] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above embodiments may be accomplished by hardware, or may be accomplished by instructing relevant hardware through a program, and the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0465] The above are only optional embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method based on a non-terrestrial network NTN, characterized in that: The method is performed by a terminal device, and the method includes: Send or receive NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency falls within the TN spectrum range.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The target frequencies include: Target uplink frequency; or, target downlink frequency; or, Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that In the case where the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage and the TN coverage overlaps with the NTN coverage, the target frequency includes the target uplink frequency.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window; The first time window is independent of the second time window, the first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first time window includes at least one of the following time windows: The time window configured in the uplink frequency; The time window configured in the downstream frequency.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The time window configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency is the same; or, The time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted in a time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that In the case where the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage and the TN coverage overlaps with the NTN coverage, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Send a first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within the TN coverage of the target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether there is TN coverage of the target frequency at the location of the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: While sending the first indication information, the current geographical location of the terminal device is sent.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receiving system information of the NTN cell broadcasted using the target downlink frequency; The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receiving an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency, the uplink configuration including a target uplink frequency, the target uplink frequency being used to send an uplink signal; The target uplink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The sending of NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum includes: Sending an uplink signal using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency; The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The sending of an uplink signal using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency includes: When the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device has not detected the system information of the NTN cell, the uplink signal is sent using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency.

16. A communication method based on a non-terrestrial network NTN, characterized in that: The method is performed by an NTN satellite, and the method comprises: Send or receive NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted at a target frequency, and the target frequency falls within the TN spectrum range.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The target frequencies include: Target uplink frequency; or, target downlink frequency; or, Target uplink frequency and target downlink frequency.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that When the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the target frequency includes the target uplink frequency.

20. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted via a first beam; or, The NTN signal is transmitted through at least one second beam, and the coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the first beam.

21. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted within a first time window; The first time window is independent of the second time window, the first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal, and the second time window is used to transmit the TN signal.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The first time window includes at least one of the following time windows: The time window configured in the uplink frequency; The time window configured in the downstream frequency.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The time window configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency is the same; or, The time windows configured in the uplink frequency and the downlink frequency are different.

24. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The NTN signal is transmitted in a time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that When the terminal device is located outside the TN coverage area and the TN coverage area overlaps with the NTN coverage area, the time domain unit includes an uplink time domain unit corresponding to the target frequency.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine the overlap between NTN coverage and TN coverage; The sending or receiving of NTN signals in the TN spectrum comprises: Based on the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area, the NTN signal is sent or received in the TN spectrum.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The sending or receiving the NTN signal in the TN spectrum based on the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area includes: In a case where the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area, the NTN signal is transmitted or received in the TN spectrum by using at least one second beam; In a case where the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area, sending or receiving the NTN signal within a first time window, or sending or receiving the NTN signal at a target frequency; The coverage of the second beam is smaller than the coverage of the NTN, and the first time window is used to transmit the NTN signal. The target frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

28. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving first indication information sent by a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device is within the TN coverage of a target frequency, or the first indication information is used to indicate whether there is TN coverage of the target frequency at the location of the terminal device; The determining of the overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage includes: Based on the first indication information, an overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage is determined.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The method further comprises: While receiving the first indication information, receiving the current geographical location of the terminal device; The determining, based on the first indication information, an overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area includes: Based on the first indication information and the current geographical location of the terminal device, the overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined.

30. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The method further comprises: Measuring energy information on a target frequency within an NTN coverage area, where the energy information is used to indicate whether the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area; The determining of the overlap between the NTN coverage and the TN coverage includes: Based on the energy information on the target frequency, an overlap between the NTN coverage area and the TN coverage area is determined.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that In a case where the energy information is higher than or equal to a first threshold, the NTN coverage area overlaps with the TN coverage area; When the energy information is lower than the first threshold, the NTN coverage area does not overlap with the TN coverage area.

32. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Use the target downlink frequency to broadcast the system information of the NTN cell; The target downlink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

33. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending an uplink configuration on a satellite system dedicated frequency, wherein the uplink configuration includes a target uplink frequency, and the target uplink frequency is used for a terminal device to send an uplink signal; The target uplink frequency belongs to the TN spectrum range.

34. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, characterized in that: The receiving of NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum comprises: receiving an uplink signal sent by a terminal device using uplink resources in a resource pool of a target frequency; The target frequency is within the TN spectrum range.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that The receiving an uplink signal sent by the terminal device using an uplink resource in a resource pool of a target frequency includes: When the terminal device is outside the TN coverage of the target frequency and the terminal device has not detected the system information of the NTN cell, the uplink signal sent by the terminal device using the uplink resources in the resource pool of the target frequency is received.

36. A terminal side communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: The transmission module is used to send or receive NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum.

37. A network side communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: The transmission module is used to send or receive NTN signals in the terrestrial network TN spectrum.

38. A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device comprises: processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions for the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method based on the non-terrestrial network NTN as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15.

39. A non-terrestrial network NTN satellite, characterized in that: The NTN satellites include: processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions for the processor; The processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the NTN-based communication method as described in any one of claims 16 to 35.

40. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores at least one program, and the at least one program is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the communication method based on the non-terrestrial network NTN as described in any one of claims 1 to 35.

41. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions, which are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor obtains the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method based on the non-terrestrial network NTN as described in any one of claims 1 to 35.

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