Satellite communication method, apparatus, chip and module device

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a satellite communication method, an apparatus, a chip and a module device, the method comprising: a terminal device receiving availability information of a feed link from a network device, the availability information of the feed link being used for indicating whether the feed link is available; and, when the availability information of the feed link indicates that the feed link is unavailable, releasing a radio resource control (RRC) connection. In the case of feed link failures, the method described in the present application helps to save the power consumption of terminal devices.

Description

Satellite communication method, device, chip and module equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on July 25, 2023, with application number 202310922041.5 and application name “A Satellite Communication Method, Device, Chip and Module Equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a satellite communication method, device, chip, and module equipment. Background Art

[0003] In a satellite communication system, there are links between the satellite and the terminal equipment (also known as the service link) and the link between the satellite and the ground gateway (also known as the feeder link). The service link transmits data / signaling based on the Uu protocol over the air interface, while the feeder link transmits data / signaling between the core network equipment and the base station (or satellite) through the NG interface.

[0004] When a feeder link fails, such as due to a ground gateway failure or software upgrade, the terminal device suddenly loses network service or connectivity. The terminal device is unaware of the feeder link failure and continues to request network services, increasing power consumption.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, apparatus, chip, and module device. The method provided in the present application is helpful in saving power consumption of terminal equipment in the event of a feeder link failure.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, the method comprising: a terminal device receives availability information of a feeder link from a network device, the availability information of the feeder link being used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0008] Based on the method provided in the first aspect, the terminal device can perceive whether the feeder link is available based on the availability information of the feeder link, thereby avoiding requesting a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link is unavailable. The terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which is conducive to saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0009] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0010] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device releases the radio resource control RRC connection. By implementing this possible implementation, when the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device in a connected state can perceive that the feeder link is unavailable based on the received availability information of the feeder link and release the RRC connection. Compared with a method in which, when the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device continuously requests to establish a connection to obtain network services because it cannot perceive that the feeder link has failed, the terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which is conducive to saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0011] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period; further, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the terminal device can receive release indication information from the network device and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0012] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period; further, within a second time period before the start moment of the second time period, the terminal device can receive release indication information from the network device and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0013] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Furthermore, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the terminal device sends a request message to the network device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the terminal device receives the release indication information from the network device, and releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0014] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Further, within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, the terminal device sends a request message to the network device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the terminal device receives the release indication information from the network device, and releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0015] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Further, the terminal device can send a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device during the first time period; the terminal device receives an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device and restores the RRC connection based on the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0017] In one possible implementation, a random access request is sent to a network device when a feeder link is available. By implementing this possible implementation, a terminal device in an idle state can sense whether the feeder link is available or unavailable based on the received information about the availability of the feeder link, so that the terminal device can send a random access request to the network device only when the feeder link is available. Compared to a method in which the terminal device cannot sense that a feeder link failure has occurred and continuously sends random access requests to request establishment of a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link fails, the terminal device can avoid unnecessary overhead, which helps save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the terminal device may send a random access request to the network device when the terminal device is in the first time period.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the terminal device may send a random access request to the network device when the terminal device is not in the second time period.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0021] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, the method comprising: a network device sending availability information of a feeder link to a terminal device, the availability information of the feeder link being used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0022] For the beneficial effects obtained based on the method provided in the second aspect, reference can be made to the beneficial effects of the method provided in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0023] In one possible embodiment, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0024] In one possible embodiment, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device, and the release indication message is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0025] In one possible embodiment, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the network device sends a release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0026] In one possible embodiment, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, within a first time before the end of the first time period, the network device receives a request message from the terminal device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the network device sends a release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0027] In one possible embodiment, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, within a second time before the start time of the second time period, the network device receives a request message from the terminal device, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the network device sends a release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. During the first time period, the network device receives a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device; and the network device sends an RRC restore confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device is in an idle state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, in the first time period, the network device receives a random access request from the terminal device.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device is in an idle state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, when the terminal device is not in the second time period, the network device receives a random access request from the terminal device.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication device, which includes a unit for executing the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to enable the chip to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0034] In the fifth aspect, the present application provides a module device, which includes a communication module, a power module, a storage module and a chip, wherein: the power module is used to provide power to the module device; the storage module is used to store data and instructions; the communication module is used for internal communication within the module device, or for the module device to communicate with external devices; the chip is used to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program or computer program product, comprising codes or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in the first or second aspect above.

[0037] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected to each other, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program comprises program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the method as described in the first or second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a satellite system with a regenerative architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a feeder link and a service link provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a satellite communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, apparatus, chip, and module device. In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a particular order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of operations or units is not limited to the listed operations or units, but may optionally include operations or units not listed, or may optionally include other operations or units inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0046] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0047] In the present application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship between corresponding objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the corresponding objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0048] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the embodiments of the present application is first described below:

[0049] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example, it can be an Internet of Things (IoT) system, a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, or a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, or a hybrid architecture of LTE and 5G, or a 5G new radio (NR) system, as well as new communication systems that will emerge in future communication developments. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the solution in the present application can be applied to the communication system. The communication system may include network devices and terminal devices. The number of network devices and terminal devices in Figure 1 is only for illustration and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application. The network devices and terminal devices shown in Figure 1 are described below.

[0050] 1. Terminal Equipment

[0051] A terminal device can be a device with transceiver functions and can also be called a terminal, user equipment (UE), remote terminal equipment (remote UE), relay UE, access terminal equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, mobile device, user terminal equipment, intelligent terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. It should be noted that a relay device is a terminal device that can provide relay forwarding services for other terminal devices (including remote terminal devices).

[0052] For example, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in unmanned autonomous driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0053] For another example, the terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system (such as an NR communication system, a 6G communication system), or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (PLMN), etc., without specific limitation.

[0054] In some possible implementations, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); can be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0055] In some possible implementations, the terminal device may include a device with wireless communication functionality, such as a chip system, a chip, or a chip module. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application may be a chip, a chip module, a device, a unit, etc., without specific limitation.

[0057] 2. Network Equipment

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, a network device is a device that provides wireless communication functions for a terminal device, and may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, an access network device, or an access network element. The network device may support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, NR, etc. For example, the network device includes, but is not limited to, a next-generation base station (gNB) in 5G, an evolved node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a TRP, a transmitting point (TP), a mobile switching center, etc. The network device may also be a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a satellite) or an access network device in an NTN. The network device may also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (CU), and / or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the access network device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a terminal device, a wearable device, an access network device in future mobile communications, or an access network device in a future evolved PLMN. In some embodiments, the network device may also be a device that provides wireless communication functions for a terminal device, such as a chip system. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0059] In some embodiments, the network device may also communicate with an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.

[0060] It is important to note that the interface between terminal devices and network devices is the air interface (referred to as the air interface). A terminal device can connect to one or more network devices. A network device can link and manage multiple terminal devices. Network devices have interfaces, such as X2 interfaces (4G systems) and Xn interfaces (5G systems). Terminal devices have interfaces, such as PC5 and Wireless Fidelity (WIFI).

[0061] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions in this application, some technical terms involved in this application are explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of this application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0062] 1. NTN

[0063] NTN provides seamless communication coverage for terminal devices by deploying base stations or some base station functions on non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites), thereby improving the reliability of the communication system. It should be noted that for ease of understanding, the following description only uses satellites as an example of non-terrestrial network devices in NTN, and this should not be considered a specific limitation of this application.

[0064] In the NTN system, satellite communication architecture can be divided into two categories according to the role of the satellite in the system: 1. Transparent forwarding architecture; in this architecture, the satellite assumes the function of relay or amplifier in the system, used for RF filtering or amplification, etc., and used to regenerate the signal. 2. Regenerative architecture; in this architecture, the satellite carries all or part of the functions of the base station in the system (such as the functions of the DU). The satellite under this architecture can be regarded as a base station, DU, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, etc., for signal processing. As shown in Figure 2, it is a schematic diagram of a satellite system with a regenerative architecture provided by this application. In Figure 2, the base station (or network equipment) is deployed on the satellite, and the satellite carries all the functions of the base station.

[0065] 2. Feeder link and service link

[0066] In an NTN system, the link between a satellite and a terminal device is typically called a service link, and the link between a satellite and an NTN gateway is called a feeder link. The service link transmits data / signaling based on the Uu protocol over the air interface, while the feeder link transmits data / signaling between core network devices and a base station (or satellite) over the NG interface. See Figure 3, which shows a schematic diagram of a feeder link and a service link provided by this application.

[0067] In an NTN system, enabling terminal devices to sense the status of the feeder link, thereby avoiding unnecessary power consumption, is an urgent problem to be solved. To address this issue, this application provides a satellite communication method, apparatus, chip, and module. It should be noted that, to facilitate the description and understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following description of this application uses an NTN communication system in which base stations are deployed on satellites as an example, which should not be construed as a specific limitation of this application. When base stations are not deployed or not fully deployed on satellites, the term "network device" in the following description can be replaced by "satellite."

[0068] The satellite communication method, apparatus, chip, and module device provided in the embodiments of the present application are further described below in detail. Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a satellite communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The execution subject of the method shown in Figure 4 can be a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device; alternatively, the execution subject can also be a network device or a chip in the network device. Figure 4 uses the terminal device and the network device as examples of the execution subjects of the method. As shown in Figure 4, the satellite communication method includes the following steps.

[0069] S401: A terminal device receives availability information of a feeder link from a network device.

[0070] Accordingly, the network device sends the feeder link availability information to the terminal device. The feeder link availability information includes feeder link availability status information and / or feeder link availability time information. It is understood that the feeder link availability status information indicates whether the feeder link is available, and the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state. The feeder link availability time information indicates when the feeder link is available or unavailable, and the availability time information includes a first time period during which the feeder link is available and / or a second time period during which the feeder link is unavailable.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the network device generates feeder link availability information based on the feeder link perception result (or detection result). Several examples of generating feeder link availability information are provided below to help understand the solution of this application. It should be noted that the examples provided in this application are intended only to facilitate understanding and should not be considered as a specific limitation of this application.

[0072] In Example 1, the network device detects a sudden failure of the feeder link (or understands that the feeder link is unavailable). Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is in an unavailable state.

[0073] In Example 2, the network device detects that the feeder link is restored (or understands that the feeder link is available). Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is in an available state.

[0074] In Example 3, the network device detects a sudden failure of the feeder link at a first moment and determines that the fault elimination time is approximately 1 hour. Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable within 1 hour from the first moment (that is, the second time period is a time period starting at the first moment and lasting for 1 hour).

[0075] In Example 4, the network device learns at the second moment that the NTN gateway will perform a system upgrade at the third moment. Further, the network device generates availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available from the second moment to the third moment (that is, the first time period is the time period between the second moment and the third moment).

[0076] In Example 5, the network device learns at the fourth moment that the NTN gateway will perform a system upgrade at the fifth moment, and that the system upgrade will take two hours. Furthermore, the network device generates feeder link availability information, which indicates that the feeder link is unavailable for two hours starting at the fifth moment (i.e., the second time period is a time period starting at the fifth moment and lasting for two hours). The feeder link availability information may also indicate that the feeder link is available starting at the sixth moment (i.e., two hours after the fifth moment) (i.e., the first time period is a time period starting at the sixth moment).

[0077] In a possible implementation of S401, a terminal device in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state and a terminal device in an RRC idle state receive the availability information of the feeder link from the network device in the same manner; for example, the network device sends the availability information of the feeder link to each terminal device by broadcasting, that is, it can be understood that the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information, or it can be understood that the availability information of the feeder link is carried on the broadcast channel.

[0078] In another possible implementation of S401, a terminal device in an RRC connected state and a terminal device in an RRC idle state receive feeder link availability information from a network device in different ways; for example, the network device sends the feeder link availability information to the terminal device in the RRC idle state by broadcasting, and sends the feeder link availability information to the terminal device in the RRC connected state by proprietary signaling. The proprietary signaling includes but is not limited to RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI), or media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0079] The following describes the processing of the terminal device after receiving the feeder link availability information in the following two cases according to the terminal device's status.

[0080] Case 1: The terminal device is in RRC connected state

[0081] After a terminal device in an RRC connected state receives availability information of a feeder link, if the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the terminal device releases the RRC connection. The situation where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable includes: indicating that the availability status information of the feeder link is unavailable, indicating a first time period, or indicating a second time period.

[0082] In one example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the current feeder link is in an unavailable state. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state sends a request message to the network device for requesting the release of the RRC connection, and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; wherein the release indication information can be carried in the same proprietary signaling as the availability information of the feeder link, or can be carried in a different proprietary signaling, which is not limited in this application; after receiving the release indication information, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0083] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device at the end of the first time period or before the end of the first time period (for example, within the first time before the end of the first time period), and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, at the end of the first time period or before the end of the first time period (for example, within the first time before the end of the first time), the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; after receiving the release indication message, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. The length of the first time and the length of the second time mentioned later can be adjusted according to the specific application scenario, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0084] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device at the beginning of the second time period or before the beginning of the second time period (for example, within a second time before the start moment of the second time period), and the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device after receiving the request message; the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message. Alternatively, at the beginning of the second time period or before the beginning of the second time period (for example, within a second time before the start moment of the second time period), the network device sends a release indication message to the terminal device in the RRC connected state; after receiving the release indication message, the terminal device releases the RRC connection according to the release indication message.

[0085] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period and a second time period. The terminal device in the RRC connected state can send a request message for requesting the release of the RRC connection to the network device within a first time period before the end of the first time period or within a second time period between the start time and the end time of the second time period, receive release indication information from the network device, and release the RRC connection. Alternatively, the terminal device receives release indication information sent from the network device within a first time period before the end of the first time period or within a second time period between the start time and the end time of the second time period, and releases the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0086] In one possible implementation, after the terminal device in the RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period (in this case, the first time period is the time period in which the feeder link is in an available state after the RRC connection is released), the terminal device sends a restore RRC connection request message to the network device within the first time period; further, the terminal device receives an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device, and restores the RRC connection according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0087] The RRC connection restoration request message may also carry a resume identifier (also known as a resume ID), which is used to quickly restore the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device. In one possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the resume ID from the network device, that is, the terminal device receives the resume ID from the network device; the resume ID may be carried in the aforementioned release indication information or obtained from the network device during the process of establishing the RRC connection between the terminal device and the network device, which is not limited in this application.

[0088] It should be understood that after a terminal device in an RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the network device side also releases the context information of the terminal device, the terminal device is in an RRC idle state. Subsequently, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available, the terminal device establishes an RRC connection by sending a random access request to the network device; after a terminal device in an RRC connected state releases the RRC connection, if the network device side does not release the context information of the terminal device, the RRC connection can be regarded as being in a suspended state, that is, the terminal device is in an RRC inactive state. Subsequently, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available, the terminal device restores the RRC connection by sending a restore RRC connection request message to the network device.

[0089] Case 2: The terminal device is in RRC idle state

[0090] After the terminal device in the RRC idle state receives the availability information of the feeder link, if the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available, the terminal device initiates random access to the network device (i.e., sends a random access request to the network device). The situation in which the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is available includes: indicating that the availability status information of the feeder link is an available state, indicating a first time period, or indicating a second time period.

[0091] In one example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the current feeder link is in an available state. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state sends a random access request to the network device.

[0092] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates a first time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state may send a random access request to the network device at the beginning of the first time period or at any time within the first time period.

[0093] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link indicates a second time period. In this case, the terminal device in the RRC idle state can send a random access request to the network device at the end of the second time period or at any time other than the second time period (i.e., not in the second time period).

[0094] In another example, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period and a second time period. The terminal device in the RRC idle state can send a random access request to the network device when it is in the first time period (i.e., at any time within the first time period) or at any time when it is not in the second time period.

[0095] By implementing the satellite communication method shown in FIG4 , the terminal device can sense whether the feeder link is available based on the feeder link availability information indicated by the network device, thereby avoiding the situation where the terminal device blindly requests to establish a connection to obtain network services when the feeder link is unavailable, avoiding unnecessary overhead, and helping to save power consumption of the terminal device.

[0096] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a structural diagram of a satellite communication device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the satellite communication device is configured in a terminal device, and the device includes: an acquisition unit 501, a processing unit 502 and a sending unit 503; wherein, the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, and the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0097] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0098] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the processing unit 502 is configured to release the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0100] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive release indication information from the network device; the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0101] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is used to send a request message to the network device within a first time before the end of the first time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the acquisition unit 501 is also used to receive release indication information from the network device; and the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0102] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the sending unit 503 is used to send a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the acquiring unit 501 is also used to receive release indication information from the network device; and the processing unit 502 is used to release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0103] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is used to send a restoration RRC connection request message to the network device in the first time period; the acquiring unit 501 is also used to receive an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device; and the processing unit 502 is used to restore the RRC connection according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0104] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0106] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the time period is in the first time period.

[0107] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the sending unit 503 is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the time period is not the second time period.

[0108] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0109] In this embodiment, the functions of the various unit modules of the described satellite communication device can be specifically implemented according to the terminal device side method in the method embodiment of Figure 4. The specific implementation process can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment of Figure 4 and will not be repeated here.

[0110] In another embodiment, the satellite communication device is configured in a network device, and the device includes: an acquisition unit 501, a processing unit 502 and a sending unit 503; wherein the sending unit 503 is used to send the availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device, and is used to generate the availability information of the feeder link, and the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0111] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0112] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the sending unit 503 is further used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a first time before the end time of the first time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0113] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the sending unit 503 is further used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the wireless resource control RRC connection.

[0114] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The acquisition unit 501 is used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a first time before the end of the first time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the sending unit 503 is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0115] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the acquisition unit 501 is used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; the sending unit 503 is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the acquisition unit 501 is further used to receive a recovery RRC connection request message from the terminal device when in the first time period; the sending unit 503 is further used to send an RRC recovery confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the acquiring unit 501 is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the terminal device is in the first time period.

[0118] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the acquiring unit 501 is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the terminal device is not in the second time period.

[0119] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0120] In this embodiment, the functions of the various unit modules of the described satellite communication device can be specifically implemented according to the network device side method in the method embodiment of Figure 4. The specific implementation process can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment of Figure 4 and will not be repeated here.

[0121] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip that can execute the relevant steps of the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0122] In one embodiment: the chip is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0124] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the chip is further configured to release a radio resource control RRC connection.

[0125] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time period before the end of the first time period, the chip is further configured to receive release indication information from a network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0126] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, the chip is further used to receive release indication information from the network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0127] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is also used to send a request message to the network device within a first time before the end of the first time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; receive release indication information from the network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0128] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is also used to send a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; receive release indication information from the network device; and release the RRC connection according to the release indication information.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further used to send a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device in the first time period; receive an RRC restoration confirmation message from the network device; and restore the RRC connection according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0130] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0131] In a possible implementation, the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0132] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the time period is within the first time period.

[0133] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is further configured to send a random access request to the network device when the time period is not the second time period.

[0134] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0135] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a terminal device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the terminal device.

[0136] In another embodiment: the chip is used to send feeder link availability information to the terminal device, where the feeder link availability information is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0138] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The chip is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a first time before the end of the first time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is also used to send release indication information to the terminal device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. The chip is also used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a first time before the end of the first time period or within a second time before the start of the second time period, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0141] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. The chip is also used to receive a request message from the terminal device within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and send release indication information to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further used to receive a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device in the first time period; and send an RRC restore confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0143] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and the chip is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when in the first time period.

[0144] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and the chip is further configured to receive a random access request from the terminal device when the terminal device is not in the second time period.

[0145] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in signaling.

[0146] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a network device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the network device.

[0147] 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a satellite communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The satellite communication device 600 described in the embodiment of the present application includes: a processor 601 and a memory 602, and the processor 601 and the memory 602 are connected via one or more communication buses.

[0148] The processor 601 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The processor 601 is configured to support the user equipment in executing the corresponding functions of the terminal equipment in the method of FIG. 4 , or to execute the corresponding functions of the network equipment in the method of FIG. 4 .

[0149] The memory 602 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides computer programs and data to the processor 601. A portion of the memory 602 may also include a non-volatile random access memory.

[0150] In one embodiment, when the processor 601 calls the computer program, it is configured to execute: receiving availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0151] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0152] In a possible implementation, when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, the radio resource control RRC connection is released.

[0153] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and release indication information is received from the network device within a first time before an end moment of the first time period; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0154] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and release indication information is received from the network device within a second time period before the start time of the second time period; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0155] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end of the first time period, a request message is sent to the network device, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; release indication information is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0156] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period. Within a second time period before the start time of the second time period, a request message is sent to the network device, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; release indication information is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

[0157] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. In the first time period, a restore RRC connection request message is sent to the network device; an RRC restoration confirmation message is received from the network device; and the RRC connection is restored according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

[0159] In a possible implementation, a random access request is sent to the network device when the feeder link is available.

[0160] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and when the time period is within the first time period, a random access request is sent to the network device.

[0161] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and if the second time period is not reached, a random access request is sent to the network device.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

[0163] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip module, which can be used in a terminal device. The chip module includes the above-mentioned chip that can be used in the terminal device.

[0164] In one embodiment, when the processor 601 calls the computer program, it is configured to execute: sending availability information of the feeder link to the terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes the availability status information of the feeder link and / or the availability time information of the feeder link; wherein the availability status information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the availability time information includes a first time period in an available state and / or a second time period in an unavailable state.

[0166] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and within a first time before the end of the first time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and within a second time before the start time of the second time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

[0168] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period. Within a first time before the end time of the first time period, or within a second time before the start time of the second time period, a request message from the terminal device is received, and the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and release indication information is sent to the terminal device, and the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0169] In one possible implementation, the terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and within a second time before the start time of the second time period, a request message from the terminal device is received, where the request message is used to request the release of the RRC connection; and release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

[0170] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, during which a restore RRC connection request message is received from the terminal device; and an RRC restore confirmation message is sent to the terminal device.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a first time period, and when the terminal device is in the first time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes a second time period, and when the terminal device is not in the second time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

[0173] In a possible implementation, the availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in signaling.

[0174] In a specific implementation, the processor 601 and the memory 602 described in the embodiment of the present invention can execute the implementation method described in the method embodiment of Figure 4 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and can also execute the implementation method of the satellite communication device described in Figure 5 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it can be used to implement the satellite communication method described in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated here.

[0176] The computer-readable storage medium may be an internal storage unit of the computer device of any of the aforementioned embodiments, such as the device's hard disk or memory. The computer-readable storage medium may also be an external storage device of the computer device, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on the device, a Smart Media Card (SMC), a Secure Digital (SD) card, a Flash Card, etc. Furthermore, the computer-readable storage medium may include both an internal storage unit of the computer device and an external storage device. The computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer programs and other programs and data required by the computer device. The computer-readable storage medium may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is about to be output.

[0177] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a processor, the method flow of the above method embodiment is implemented.

[0178] Regarding the various modules / units contained in the various devices and products described in the above embodiments, they can be software modules / units, hardware modules / units, or partly software modules / units and partly hardware modules / units. For example, for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip, the various modules / units contained therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, or at least part of the modules / units can be implemented in the form of software programs, which run on the integrated processor inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in a chip module, the various modules / units contained therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same part of the chip module (such as a chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components ... It is implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on the processor integrated inside the chip module, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in the terminal equipment, the modules / units contained therein can all be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (for example, chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components in the terminal equipment, or, at least some modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on the processor integrated inside the terminal equipment, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits.

[0179] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the processes in the above-described method embodiments can be implemented by instructing related hardware through a computer program. The program can be stored in a readable storage medium, and when executed, the program can include the processes in the above-described method embodiments. The storage medium can be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM).

[0180] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features therein. These modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: A feeder link availability information is received from a network device, where the feeder link availability information is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes available state information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; The available state information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the available time information includes a first time period in the available state and / or a second time period in the unavailable state.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In a case where the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: receiving release indication information from the network device within a first time before the end time of the first time period; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: receiving release indication information from the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: Sending a request message to the network device within a first time before the end of the first time period, where the request message is used to request to release the RRC connection; Receiving release indication information from the network device; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and when the availability information of the feeder link indicates that the feeder link is unavailable, releasing the radio resource control RRC connection includes: Sending a request message to the network device within a second time before the start time of the second time period, where the request message is used to request to release the RRC connection; Receiving release indication information from the network device; The RRC connection is released according to the release indication information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: In the first time period, sending a RRC connection restoration request message to the network device; Receiving an RRC recovery confirmation message from the network device; The RRC connection is restored according to the RRC restoration confirmation message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A random access request is sent to the network device if the feeder link is available.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and sending a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available includes: In the first time period, a random access request is sent to the network device.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and sending a random access request to the network device when the feeder link is available includes: When the second time period is not in progress, a random access request is sent to the network device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in the broadcast information.

14. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The availability information of the feeder link is sent to the terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes available state information of the feeder link and / or available time information of the feeder link; The available state information includes an available state or an unavailable state, and the available time information includes a first time period in the available state and / or a second time period in the unavailable state.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within a first time before the end time of the first time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: Within a second time before the start time of the second time period, release indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the radio resource control RRC connection.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within a first time before the end of the first time period, receiving a request message from the terminal device, the request message being used to request the release of the RRC connection; Send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in a connected state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: Within a second time before the start time of the second time period, receiving a request message from the terminal device, the request message being used to request to release the RRC connection; Send release indication information to the terminal device, where the release indication information is used to indicate the release of the RRC connection.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: Within the first time period, receiving a restore RRC connection request message from the terminal device; Send an RRC recovery confirmation message to the terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the first time period, and the method further includes: In the first time period, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The terminal device is in an idle state, the availability information of the feeder link includes the second time period, and the method further includes: When the second time period is not in place, a random access request is received from the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that: The availability information of the feeder link is carried in broadcast information, or the availability information of the feeder link is carried in dedicated signaling.

24. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Deployed on a terminal device, the device includes: The acquisition unit is used to receive availability information of a feeder link from a network device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

25. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: Deployed on a network device, the device comprises: A sending unit is used to send availability information of a feeder link to a terminal device, where the availability information of the feeder link is used to indicate whether the feeder link is available.

26. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the processor is configured to cause the chip to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

27. A module device, characterized in that: The module device includes a communication module, a power module, a storage module and a chip, wherein: The power module is used to provide electrical energy to the module device; The storage module is used to store data and instructions; The communication module is used for internal communication of the module device, or for communication between the module device and an external device; The chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or the chip is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

28. A satellite communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the processor and the memory are connected to each other, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program comprises program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, or to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 23.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or executes the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises codes or instructions. When the codes or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 23.

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