Communication method, apparatus and device, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus and device, and a storage medium. The method: when a terminal accesses a first network by using a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access technology, the terminal receives first information and / or second information sent by a network device, wherein the first information is used for indicating whether the network device supports the terminal in executing first switching, the first switching comprises switching of the terminal from using a 3GPP access technology to access a first network to using a non-3GPP access technology to access the first network, the second information is used for indicating whether the network device supports the terminal in executing second switching, the second switching comprises switching of the terminal from using a 3GPP access technology to access the first network to using a non-3GPP access technology to access a second network, and the second network is a network other than the first network. The method of the present disclosure can avoid the phenomenon of switching failure when the terminal switches from a 3GPP access technology to a non-3GPP access technology, and ensure the communication quality.

Description

Communication method and device, communication equipment, communication system, and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods and devices, communication equipment, communication systems, and storage media. Background Art

[0002] In a communication system, a terminal may access the network through a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access technology or through a non-3GPP access technology.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, including:

[0006] When the terminal uses the Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology to access the first network, the terminal receives first information and / or second information sent by the network device; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the non-Third Generation Partnership Project Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0007] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, including:

[0008] When a terminal uses the Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology to access a first network, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0009] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided for use in a communication system, the communication system including a terminal and a network device, the method including at least one of the following:

[0010] When a terminal accesses a first network using a Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and the second handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0011] When the terminal accesses the first network using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, including:

[0013] A receiving module is used to receive first information and / or second information sent by a network device when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0014] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, including:

[0015] A sending module is used to send first information and / or second information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0016] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, including:

[0017] one or more processors;

[0018] The processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0019] According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, characterized in that it includes a terminal and a network device, wherein the network device is configured to implement the communication method described in the first aspect, and the terminal is configured to implement the communication method described in the second aspect.

[0020] According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions, and is characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of some communication systems provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] 2A-2C are interactive diagrams of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] 3A-3D are flowcharts of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] 4A-4C are flowcharts of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG5A is a flow chart of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG5B is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction when a terminal accesses an EPC network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG5C is an interactive diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG5D is a schematic diagram of terminal processing logic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG5E is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction when a terminal accesses a 5GC (or 5GCN) network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG5F is an interactive diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG5G is a schematic diagram of terminal processing logic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG6A is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG7B is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0038] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is executed by a terminal. The method includes:

[0039] When the terminal uses the Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology to access the first network, the terminal receives first information and / or second information sent by the network device; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the non-Third Generation Partnership Project Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0040] In the above embodiment, when the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the first network, the network device will send first information and / or second information to the terminal, wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology. It can be seen from this that the network device will inform the terminal of the network device's support for the process of "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology" by sending the first information and / or the second information to the terminal, so that the terminal can know whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology". Therefore, when the terminal currently uses 3GPP access technology to access the network, if the terminal determines that it currently needs to switch to Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal can refer to whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology" to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology". Among them, when the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology", the terminal can use the 3GPP access technology to switch to Non-3GPP access technology. 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, the terminal will determine to execute the process of “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”; otherwise, the terminal will determine not to execute the process of “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, thereby avoiding the situation that “because the terminal cannot know whether the network it is currently accessing supports “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, when the network currently accessed by the terminal does not support “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, the terminal determines to execute the process of switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology, resulting in switching failure, resulting in call drop and bearer link disconnection”, thereby improving the success rate of switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology and ensuring communication quality.

[0041] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using an enhanced packet data gateway ePDG;

[0042] The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accesses the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0043] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0044] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0045] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0046] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0047] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0048] The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0049] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0050] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0051] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0052] With reference to some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes a Registration request message, and the fourth message includes a Registration accept message.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the method of the present disclosure can be applied to the situation when the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access a 4G network or a 5G network, and thus has a wide range of applicability. In addition, the present disclosure also provides a method for how the terminal obtains first information and / or second information from a network device when the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access a 4G network or a 5G network, so that the terminal can successfully obtain the first information and / or second information, so that the terminal can subsequently know whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to non-3GPP access technology" based on the first information and / or second information. When the terminal currently uses 3GPP access technology to access the network, if the terminal determines that it needs to switch to non-3GPP access technology, the terminal can refer to whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to non-3GPP access technology" to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the "switching from 3GPP access technology to non-3GPP access technology" process, thereby improving the success rate of switching from 3GPP access technology to non-3GPP access technology and ensuring communication quality.

[0054] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0055] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, and the terminal determines not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the non-3GPP access technology;

[0056] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover;

[0057] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover, or the terminal determines to perform the second handover.

[0058] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover.

[0059] In the above embodiment, a method is provided for a terminal to determine whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information, so that the terminal can successfully perform the first handover and / or the second handover, and avoid the situation where "the terminal performs the first handover and / or the second handover when the network device does not support the first handover and / or the second handover", thereby ensuring that the first handover and / or the second handover can be successfully performed, thereby ensuring the quality of voice communication.

[0060] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is performed by a network device. The method includes:

[0061] When a terminal uses the Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology to access a first network, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0062] In the above embodiment, when the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the first network, the network device will send first information and / or second information to the terminal, wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology. It can be seen from this that the network device will inform the terminal of the network device's support for the process of "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology" by sending the first information and / or the second information to the terminal, so that the terminal can know whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology". Therefore, when the terminal currently uses 3GPP access technology to access the network, if the terminal determines that it currently needs to switch to Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal can refer to whether the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology" to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology". Among them, when the network device supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology", the terminal can use the 3GPP access technology to switch to Non-3GPP access technology. 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, the terminal will determine to execute the process of “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”; otherwise, the terminal will determine not to execute the process of “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, thereby avoiding the situation that “because the terminal cannot know whether the network it is currently accessing supports “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, when the network currently accessed by the terminal does not support “switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology”, the terminal determines to execute the process of switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology, resulting in switching failure, resulting in call drop and bearer link disconnection”, thereby improving the success rate of switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology and ensuring communication quality.

[0063] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using ePDG;

[0064] The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accesses the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project 3GPP interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0065] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0066] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0067] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0068] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0069] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0070] The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0071] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0072] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0073] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0074] With reference to some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes a Registration request message, and the fourth message includes a Registration accept message.

[0075] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method for a communication system, wherein the communication system includes a terminal and a network device, and the method includes at least one of the following:

[0076] When a terminal accesses a first network using a Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and the second handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0077] When the terminal accesses the first network using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device.

[0078] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a terminal, including:

[0079] A receiving module is used to receive first information and / or second information sent by a network device when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0080] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using an enhanced packet data gateway ePDG;

[0081] The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accesses the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0082] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the receiving module is further configured to:

[0083] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0084] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0085] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0086] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0087] The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0088] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the receiving module is further configured to:

[0089] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0090] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0091] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes a registration request message, and the fourth message includes a registration accept message.

[0092] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal is further used for at least one of the following:

[0093] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, and the terminal determines not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the non-3GPP access technology;

[0094] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover;

[0095] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover, or the terminal determines to perform the second handover.

[0096] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover.

[0097] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network device, including:

[0098] A sending module is used to send first information and / or second information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0099] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using ePDG;

[0100] The fifth network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal uses the Non-3GPP access technology to access the second network, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project 3GPP interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0101] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0102] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0103] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0104] In combination with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0105] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0106] The fifth network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0107] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0108] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0109] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0110] In combination with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes a registration request message, and the fourth message includes a registration accept message.

[0111] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0112] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a terminal and a network device; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0113] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0114] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0115] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0116] It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, network devices, communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, and computer programs are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0117] The present disclosure provides invention titles. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "information processing method," "information sending method," and "information receiving method" are interchangeable; the terms "communication device" and "information processing device," "information sending device," and "information receiving device" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system," "communication system," "information sending system," and "information receiving system" are interchangeable.

[0118] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0119] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0120] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0121] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0122] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0123] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0124] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, descriptions such as “at least one of A, B, C…”, “A and / or B and / or C…”, etc. include the situation where any one of A, B, C… exists alone, and also include any combination of any multiple of A, B, C…, and each situation can exist alone; for example, “at least one of A, B, C” includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B, and C; for example, A and / or B includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, and the combination of A and B.

[0125] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "in one case A, in another case B," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B," may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: executing A independently of B (in some embodiments, A); executing B independently of A (in some embodiments, B); selectively executing A and B (in some embodiments, selecting between A and B); and executing both A and B (in some embodiments, A and B). The same applies when there are more branches, such as A, B, and C.

[0126] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0127] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0128] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0129] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0130] In some embodiments, devices, etc. can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

[0131] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0132] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0133] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0134] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (for example, it can also be called device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it can also be set as a structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, language such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by language corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

[0135] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0136] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0137] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0138] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0139] The correspondences shown in the tables of the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values ​​of the information in each table are merely examples and can be configured to other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the correspondences between information and parameters, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, in the tables of the present disclosure, the correspondences shown in certain rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above tables, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables may also adopt other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values ​​or representations of the parameters may also adopt other values ​​or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures may also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables, etc.

[0140] The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

[0141] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include at least one of a network device 101 and a terminal 102. The network device 101 may include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0142] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, 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 self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0143] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, but is not limited thereto.

[0144] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0145] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0146] In some embodiments, the core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each including all or part of one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network, for example, includes at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC). Alternatively, the core network device may also be a location management function network element. Exemplarily, the location management function network element includes a location server (location server), which may be implemented as any one of the following: Location Management Function (LMF), Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Centre (E-SMLC), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), and Secure User Plane Location Platform (SUPLLP).

[0147] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0148] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in Figure 1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in Figure 1, or may include other entities outside of Figure 1. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0149] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0150] Optionally, when the terminal accesses the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, it can implement a voice over WIreless-FIdelity (VoWiFi) service based on a wireless fidelity network. The VoWiFi service can be understood as voice communication based on a WiFi network, for example. When the terminal accesses the network through the 3GPP access technology, it can implement a voice over New Radio (VoNR) service based on a new air interface network and a voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) service based on a long-term evolution network. The VoNR service and the VoLTE service can be understood as communication based on cellular technology, for example. Optionally, when the terminal accesses the LTE network through the 3GPP access technology, the VoLTE service can be implemented, and when the terminal accesses the NR network through the 3GPP access technology, the VoNR service can be implemented.

[0151] Optionally, when the terminal accesses the network through the 3GPP access technology, in some cases the terminal may need to switch to accessing the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, wherein the terminal may determine whether to switch from the 3GPP access technology to the Non-3GPP access technology. For example, when the terminal accesses the network through the 3GPP access technology, if the terminal is currently executing the VoNR service or the VoLTE service, at this time, when the cellular signal of the network accessed by the terminal through the 3GPP access technology is not good (such as the LTE signal of the LTE network accessed is not good, or the NR signal of the NR network accessed is not good), it will affect the voice communication quality of the VoNR service or the VoLTE service. At this time, the terminal determines that the access technology needs to be switched from the 3GPP access technology to the Non-3GPP access technology, so as to avoid using the VoNR service and the VoLTE service for voice communication, and smoothly and seamlessly switch to using the VoNR service for voice communication. Alternatively, when the terminal accesses the network through 3GPP access technology, if the terminal is currently executing VoNR service or VoLTE service, at this time, when the terminal moves to an environment with only WiFi network, the terminal can only perform voice communication through VoLTE service. At this time, the terminal determines that the access technology needs to be switched from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology in order to smoothly and seamlessly switch to using VoNR service for voice communication.

[0152] However, in the communication system, the network may not support the process of "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology", and the terminal cannot know whether the network it is currently accessing supports "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology". It may happen that the network the terminal is currently accessing does not support "switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology", but the terminal determines to switch from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology, and executes the process of switching from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology, which may cause switching failure, resulting in dropped calls, bearer link disconnection and other phenomena, affecting the quality of voice communication.

[0153] FIG2A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0154] Step 2101: When a terminal accesses (eg, initially accesses) a 4G network using 3GPP access technology, the terminal sends a first message.

[0155] Optionally, the first message may be sent by the terminal to the network device, and the network device may receive the first message.

[0156] Optionally, the first message can be used by the terminal to request access registration (e.g., initial registration) to the 4G network. The first message can be, for example, an attach request message, etc., which is not limited in this disclosure. Optionally, the 4G network mentioned in this disclosure can be, for example, an LTE network, which can include a 4G core network (Evolved Packet Core, EPC). Optionally, the above-mentioned terminal using 3GPP access technology to access the 4G network can include: establishing a link between the terminal and the EPC, and / or establishing an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Packet Data Network (PDN) connection between the terminal and the EPC.

[0157] Step 2102: The network device sends a second message, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0158] Optionally, the network device may send the second message to the terminal, and the terminal may receive the second message. Optionally, the second message may be a response message to the first message, such as an attach accept message, etc., which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0159] Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2A, the terminal currently accesses a 4G network using 3GPP access technology. At this time, the first information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover. Optionally, the first handover may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology; the second information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover. The second handover may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology. Optionally, the 5G network may be, for example, an NR network, which may include a 5G Core Network (5GCN). Optionally, the first information may be named HOePDG, and the second information may be named HON3IWF.

[0160] Optionally, the above-mentioned "terminal accesses the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology" may, for example, include: the terminal accesses the EPC using an evolution Packet Data Gateway (ePDG), and / or, establishing an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG; it should be noted that the difference between the "terminal accesses the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology" here and the aforementioned "terminal accesses the 4G network using 3GPP access technology" is that: "terminal accesses the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology" means that the terminal accesses the EPC through the ePDG, while "terminal accesses the 4G network using 3GPP access technology" means that the terminal establishes a link with the EPC, but the terminal does not establish a link with the EPC through the ePDG. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2A, the above-mentioned first switching can also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the EPC to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG, or as: switching the terminal's IMS PDN connection from the EPC to the ePDG.

[0161] Optionally, the above-mentioned “terminal accesses the 5G network using non-3GPP access technology” may include, for example: the terminal accesses the 5GCN using a non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF) and / or, establishing an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2A, the above-mentioned second switching may also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the EPC to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF, or as: switching the IMS PDN connection of the terminal from the EPC to the N3IWF.

[0162] Optionally, the first information and the second information can both be N bit codes, where N is a positive integer, wherein when the first information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and when the first information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching; when the second information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching, and when the second information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching.

[0163] Step 2103: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0164] Optionally, it can be seen from the content of the aforementioned step 2102 that in the embodiment of Figure 2A, the terminal currently accesses the 4G network using 3GPP access technology, and the first switching may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology; the second switching may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0165] Based on this, in some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, the terminal can determine not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the Non-3GPP access technology, that is, not to perform the first handover and the second handover, and the terminal still uses the 3GPP access technology to reside on the 4G network. Among them, even if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the first handover or the second handover is not performed. Optionally, the above-mentioned "the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology" may include: the terminal is currently performing a VoLTE service based on cellular technology through the 4G network, and the LTE signal or cellular signal of the current 4G network is not good, or the terminal moves to an environment with only a WiFi network. For details about this part, please refer to the description before the embodiment of Figure 2A.

[0166] In some other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover. At this time, the terminal can perform the second handover to switch from accessing the 4G network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, thereby enabling the terminal to switch from the VoLTE service based on the cellular technology to the VoWiFi service based on the WiFi technology through the 5G network, so as to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and guarantee the quality of voice communication. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the second handover may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the 4G network (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and then the terminal may first establish a connection with the N3IWF, and then establish a connection with the 5G network through the connection with the N3IWF, such as establishing a connection with a network element in the 5G network (such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element, a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, etc.).

[0167] In some other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal can determine to perform the first handover, or the terminal can determine to perform the second handover. Optionally, the terminal can give priority to performing the first handover, and when the first handover fails, perform the second handover. Alternatively, the terminal can give priority to performing the second handover, and when the second handover fails, perform the first handover. The first handover can enable the terminal to switch from accessing the 4G network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and thereby enable the terminal to switch from the VoLTE service based on cellular technology to the VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology through the 4G network, so as to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and guarantee the quality of voice communication. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the first handover may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the 4G network, and then the terminal may first establish a connection with the ePDG, and then establish a connection with the 4G network through the connection with the ePDG, such as establishing a connection with a network element in the 4G network (such as an authentication, authorization, accounting (AAA) network element, a packet data network gateway (PGW) network element, etc.). For how the terminal performs the second handover, reference may be made to the aforementioned description.

[0168] Optionally, the above-mentioned method of "making the terminal prioritize the first handover, and when the first handover fails, then executing the second handover" can save switching steps and improve efficiency. Specifically, since the terminal currently accesses the 4G network using 3GPP access technology, the above-mentioned first handover is: switching from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology, that is, the first handover only switches the access technology and does not switch the network; and the above-mentioned second handover is: switching from accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology, that is, the second handover not only switches the access technology but also switches the network. It can be seen that the current switching process of the first handover is relatively simple, and the switching process of the second handover is relatively complex. At this time, by prioritizing the first handover with a simpler process, when the first handover is successful, the second handover is no longer executed. When the first handover fails, the second handover with a more complex process is executed, thereby saving switching steps and improving switching efficiency.

[0169] In some further embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover, when the terminal needs to access the network via a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal may determine to perform the first handover. For a method of how the terminal performs the first handover, reference may be made to the aforementioned description.

[0170] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2103. For example, step S2101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2103 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2101+S2102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0171] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0172] FIG2B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0173] Step 2201: When the terminal accesses (e.g., initially accesses) a 5G network using 3GPP access technology, the terminal sends a third message.

[0174] Optionally, the third message may be sent by the terminal to the network device, and the network device may receive the third message.

[0175] Optionally, the third message can be used for the terminal to request access to register with the 5G network. The third message may be, for example, a (Registration request) message, etc., which is not limited in this disclosure. Optionally, the 5G network mentioned in this disclosure may be, for example, an NR network, which may include a 5GCN. Optionally, the above-mentioned terminal accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology may include: the terminal accessing a network element in the 5GCN (such as an AMF network element, etc.) through the N1 interface or the N2 interface, and enabling the terminal to establish an IMS PDN connection with the 5GCN.

[0176] Step 2202: The network device sends a fourth message, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0177] Optionally, the network device may send the fourth message to the terminal, and the terminal may receive the fourth message. Optionally, the fourth message may be a response message to the third message, such as a Registration accept message, etc., which is not limited in this disclosure.

[0178] Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the terminal currently accesses a 5G network using 3GPP access technology. In this case, the first information can be used to indicate whether the terminal supports the first handover. Optionally, the first handover may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information can be used to indicate whether the terminal supports the second handover. The second handover may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using non-3GPP access technology. Optionally, the 4G network may be, for example, an LTE network, which may include a 4G EPC. Optionally, the first information may be named HON3IWF, and the second information may be named HOePDG.

[0179] Optionally, the above-mentioned "terminal accesses the 4G network using non-3GPP access technology" may include, for example: the terminal accesses the EPC using ePDG, and / or, establishes an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the above-mentioned second switching may also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the 5GCN to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG, or as: switching the IMS PDN connection of the terminal from the 5GCN to the ePDG.

[0180] The above-mentioned "terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network" may include, for example: the terminal uses N3IWF to access the 5GCN, and / or, establishes an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF. It should be noted that the difference between the "terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network" here and the aforementioned "terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the 5G network" is that: "terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network" means that the terminal accesses the 5G network through N3IWF, while "terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the 5G network" means that the terminal establishes a link with the 5GCN, but the terminal does not establish a link with the 5GCN through N3IWF. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the above-mentioned first switching can also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the 5GCN to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF, or as: switching the IMS PDN connection of the terminal from 5GCN to N3IWF.

[0181] Optionally, the first information and the second information can both be N bit codes, where N is a positive integer, wherein when the first information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and when the first information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching; when the second information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching, and when the second information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching.

[0182] Step 2203: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0183] Optionally, it can be seen from the content of the aforementioned step 2202 that in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the terminal currently accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, and the first switching may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology; the second switching may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0184] Based on this, in some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, the terminal can determine not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the Non-3GPP access technology, that is, not to perform the first handover and the second handover. In other words, the terminal still uses the 3GPP access technology to reside on the 5G network. Among them, even if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the first handover or the second handover is not performed. Optionally, the above-mentioned "the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology" may include: the terminal is currently performing a VoNR service based on cellular technology through the 5G network, and the NR signal or cellular signal of the current 5G network is not good, or the terminal moves to an environment with only a WiFi network. For details about this part, please see the description before the embodiment of Figure 2A.

[0185] In other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover. At this time, the terminal can perform the second handover to switch from accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, thereby enabling the terminal to switch from the VoNR service based on cellular technology to the VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology through the 4G network to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and ensure the quality of voice communication. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the second handover may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the 5G network (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and then the terminal may first establish a connection with the ePDG, and then establish a connection with the 4G network through the connection with the ePDG, such as establishing a connection with a network element in the 4G network (such as an AAA network element, etc.).

[0186] In some other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal can determine to perform the first handover, or the terminal can determine to perform the second handover. Optionally, the terminal can give priority to performing the first handover, and when the first handover fails, perform the second handover; or, the terminal can give priority to performing the second handover, and when the second handover fails, perform the first handover. The first handover can enable the terminal to switch from accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and thereby enable the terminal to switch from the VoLTE service based on cellular technology to the VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology through the 5G network, so as to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and guarantee the quality of voice communication. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the first switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the 5G network, and then the terminal may first establish a connection with the N3IWF, and then establish a connection with the 5G network through the connection with the N3IWF, such as establishing a connection with a network element in the 5G network (such as an AMF network element, a UPF network element, etc.). For how the terminal performs the second switching, please refer to the description of the aforementioned content.

[0187] Optionally, the above-mentioned method of "making the terminal perform the first switch first, and when the first switch fails, perform the second switch" can save switching steps and improve efficiency. Specifically, since the terminal currently accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, the above-mentioned first switch is: switching from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology, that is, the first switch only switches the access technology and does not switch the network; and the above-mentioned second switch is: switching from accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology, that is, the second switch not only switches the access technology but also switches the network. It can be seen that the current switching process of the first switch is relatively simple, and the switching process of the second switch is relatively complex. At this time, by giving priority to executing the first switch with a simpler process, when the first switch is successful, the second switch is no longer executed. When the first switch fails, the second switch with a more complex process is executed, thereby saving switching steps and improving switching efficiency.

[0188] In some further embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover, when the terminal needs to access the network via a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal may determine to perform the first handover. For a method of how the terminal performs the first handover, reference may be made to the aforementioned description.

[0189] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2204. For example, step S2201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2201+S2202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0190] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0191] FIG2C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0192] Step 2301: When a terminal accesses a first network using a 3GPP access technology, a network device sends first information and / or second information.

[0193] Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may send the first information and / or the second information to the terminal, and the terminal may receive the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device.

[0194] Optionally, the first information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, the first switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, the second switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0195] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network may be a 4G network (e.g., an LTE network), the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using the enhanced packet data gateway ePDG; the second network may be a 5G network, the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using the non-third generation partnership project interworking function N3IWF. Optionally, when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the terminal may send a first message to the network device, the first message being used to request access to the first network using the 3GPP access technology; thereafter, the terminal may receive a second message sent by the network device, the second message including the first information and / or the second information. Optionally, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0196] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the first network may be a 5G network (e.g., an NR network), the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF; the second network may be a 4G network, the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG. Optionally, when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the terminal may send a third message to the network device, the third message being used to request access to the first network using the 3GPP access technology; thereafter, the terminal may receive a fourth message sent by the network device, the fourth message including the first information and / or the second information. Optionally, the third message includes a registration request message, and the fourth message includes a registration accept message.

[0197] Optionally, the first network may be: a network to which the terminal currently accesses, which may be, for example, a 4G network or a 5G network.

[0198] Optionally, the first information and the second information are: HOePDG, HON3IWF respectively; when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the first information is: HOePDG; the second information is: HON3IWF; when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the first information is: HON3IWF; the second information is: HOePDG.

[0199] Optionally, the above-mentioned first switching can be understood as, for example: when the first network is 4G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 4G network, it establishes a connection with the LTE network element epdg; when the first network is 5G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 5G network, it initiates a request to establish with N3IWF.

[0200] Optionally, the above-mentioned second switching can be understood as, for example: when the first network is 4G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 4G network, it initiates a request to establish with N3IWF; when the first network is 5G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 5G network, it establishes a connection with the LTE network element epdg.

[0201] It should be noted that only “the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network” or “the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network” is used as an example for introduction. It should be understood that the first network can also be other networks (such as other existing networks or other networks in the future), and the second network can also be other networks (such as other existing networks or other networks in the future). For example, the first network can also be a 6G network and the second network can also be a 7G network, or the first network can also be a 6G network and the second network can be a 5G network, etc. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0202] Step 2302: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0203] Optionally, the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover, and the terminal determines not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the Non-3GPP access technology, that is, not to perform the first handover and the second handover;

[0204] Optionally, the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching. When the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second switching; optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the second switching may include: the terminal can release the 3GPP connection with the first network and access the second network through the Non-3GPP access technology.

[0205] Optionally, the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover, or the terminal determines to perform the second handover. Optionally, the terminal may prioritize the first handover, and when the first handover fails, perform the second handover. Alternatively, the terminal may prioritize the second handover, and when the second handover fails, perform the first handover. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the first handover may include: the terminal may release the 3GPP connection with the first network and access the first network through a non-3GPP access technology.

[0206] Optionally, the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover.

[0207] Optionally, the above content may be the terminal processing logic when the terminal is registered on a 4G network and the terminal processing logic when the terminal is registered on a 5G network.

[0208] Optionally, the above “the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover” can be understood as: HOepdg=0, HON3IWF=0.

[0209] Optionally, the above “the terminal determines not to perform handover from 3GPP access technology to Non-3GPP access technology” may be understood as: not initiating handover, for example.

[0210] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching" can be understood as: when the first network is 4G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 4G network, HOepdg=0, HON3IWF=1; when the first network is 5G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 5G network, HOepdg=1, HON3IWF=0.

[0211] Optionally, the above “the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover” can be understood as: HOepdg=1, HON3IWF=1.

[0212] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching" can be understood as: when the first network is 4G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 4G network, HOepdg=1, HON3IWF=0, when the first network is 5G, corresponding to: when the terminal is registered in the 5G network, HOepdg=0, HON3IWF=1.

[0213] For a detailed description of steps 2301 - 2302 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0214] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2301 and S2302. For example, step S2301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2301+S2302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0215] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0216] FIG3A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0217] Step 3101: When the terminal accesses the 4G network using the 3GPP access technology, the terminal sends a first message.

[0218] Step 3102: The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0219] Step 3103: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0220] For a detailed description of steps 3101 - 3103 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0221] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3103. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3101+S3102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0222] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0223] FIG3B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0224] Step 3201: When the terminal accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, the terminal sends a third message.

[0225] Step 3202: The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0226] Step 3203: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0227] For a detailed description of steps 3201 - 3203 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0228] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 to S3203. For example, step S3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3201+S3202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0229] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0230] FIG3C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0231] Step 3301: When the terminal accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives the first information and / or second information sent by the network device.

[0232] Step 3302: The terminal determines whether to perform the first handover and / or the second handover based on the first information and / or the second information.

[0233] For a detailed description of steps 3301 - 3302 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0234] The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 and S3302. For example, step S3301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3301+S3302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0235] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0236] FIG3D is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3D , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0237] Step 3401: When a terminal accesses a first network using a 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives first information and / or second information sent by a network device.

[0238] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, the first switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, the second switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0239] Optionally, the first network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using an enhanced packet data gateway ePDG;

[0240] The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accesses the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0241] Optionally, the receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0242] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0243] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0244] Optionally, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0245] Optionally, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0246] The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0247] Optionally, the receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0248] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0249] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0250] Optionally, the third message includes a registration request message, and the fourth message includes a registration accept message.

[0251] Optionally, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0252] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, and the terminal determines not to perform the handover from the 3GPP access technology to the non-3GPP access technology;

[0253] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover;

[0254] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover, or the terminal determines to perform the second handover.

[0255] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover.

[0256] For a detailed description of step 3401, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0257] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0258] FIG4A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0259] Step 4101: When a terminal accesses a 4G network using 3GPP access technology, a network device receives a first message sent by the terminal.

[0260] Step 4102: The network device sends a second message to the terminal, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0261] For a detailed description of steps 4101-4102, please refer to the above embodiment.

[0262] The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4101 to S4102. For example, step S4101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0263] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0264] FIG4B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0265] Step 4201: When the terminal accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, the network device receives a third message sent by the terminal.

[0266] Step 4202: The network device sends a fourth message to the terminal, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0267] For a detailed description of steps 4201-4202, please refer to the above embodiment.

[0268] The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 and S4202. For example, step S4201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S4202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0269] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0270] FIG4C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0271] Step 4301: When a terminal accesses a first network using a 3GPP access technology, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal.

[0272] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, the first switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, the second switch including: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0273] Optionally, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using ePDG;

[0274] The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal accesses the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, including: the terminal uses the non-third generation partnership project 3GPP interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

[0275] Optionally, the receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0276] The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0277] The terminal receives a second message sent by the network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0278] Optionally, the first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

[0279] Optionally, the first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF;

[0280] The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

[0281] Optionally, the receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes:

[0282] The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0283] The terminal receives a fourth message sent by the network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

[0284] Optionally, the third message includes a registration request message, and the fourth message includes a registration accept message.

[0285] For a detailed introduction to step 4301, please refer to the content of the above embodiment.

[0286] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0287] Figure 5A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5A, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a communication system including a terminal and a network device, wherein the method includes at least one of the following:

[0288] Step 5101: When a terminal accesses a first network using a 3GPP access technology, a network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal;

[0289] Step 5102: When the terminal accesses the first network using the 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device.

[0290] Optional implementations of steps 5101 and 5102 may refer to the description of the above embodiments.

[0291] In some embodiments, the above method may include the method described in the above embodiments of the communication system side, terminal side, network device side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0292] The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5101 to S5102. For example, step S5101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S5102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0293] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0294] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0295] Optionally, the application scenarios of the technical solution of the present disclosure include:

[0296] Scenario 1:

[0297] There are 4G networks and 5G networks, and both support their respective network elements ePDG and N3IWF.

[0298] The UE (i.e., the aforementioned terminal) resides on LTE. When the LTE signal is poor or moves to an environment with only WiFi network, the UE needs to switch from the LTE network to the WiFi network, that is, it needs to handover from the LTE EPC to WiFi.

[0299] Scenario 2:

[0300] There are 4G networks and 5G networks, and both support their respective network elements ePDG and N3IWF.

[0301] The UE resides on 5G. When the 5G signal is poor or moves to an environment with only WiFi network, the UE needs to switch from 5G network to WiFi network, that is, handover from 5GC to WiFi is required.

[0302] Optionally, the technical problem solved by the technical solution of the present disclosure is:

[0303] Taking the 5G network architecture as an example, when the UE registers in the 5G 3GPP core network, the UE accesses the 5GCN AMF through the N1 / N2 interface. However, after the network registration is completed, the UE still does not know whether the network supports handover to non-3GPP networks. The current implementation is entirely based on the decision of the mobile phone chip manufacturer whether to perform handover. For example, in this scenario, the UE may initiate an IPsec request to establish an N3IWF. However, if the network does not support the handover capability between 3GPP 5GC and non-3GPP N3IWF, the handover may fail, resulting in call drops and IMS bearer disconnection.

[0304] This solution provides a flag to indicate the network's support for handover capabilities.

[0305] The same is true for 4G. When a UE registers with the 4G 3GPP core network, it establishes a link with the EPC. However, even after network registration, the UE still does not know whether the network supports handover to non-3GPP networks. Currently, the decision to perform handover is entirely up to the mobile phone chip manufacturer. For example, in this scenario, the UE may initiate an IPsec request to establish an ePDG. However, if the network does not support the handover capability between the 3GPP EPC and the non-3GPP ePDG, the handover may fail, resulting in call drops and IMS bearer disconnection.

[0306] Examples of the content of the solution disclosed in this disclosure are as follows:

[0307] Scenario 1: The UE is registered on the 4G network.

[0308] Assume that the switching process of EPC and N3IWF is known, but when the UE attaches to the LTE network, it does not know whether the network supports the EPC switching ePDG and N3IWF capabilities. Figure 5B is an interaction diagram when the terminal accesses the EPC network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0309] A solution is now provided to enable the UE to understand whether the network supports handover ePDG and N3IWF network elements when registering with the network. Figure 5C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5C, the attach accept message carries the corresponding handover capability flags, HOePDG and HON3IWF, with 0 representing no support and 1 representing support. When the UE initially registers with the LTE network, namely the EPC, the network notifies the UE by carrying the network's support for handover capabilities in the attach accept message. The UE can then use the corresponding flags to decide whether to initiate a handover request.

[0310] FIG5D is a schematic diagram of terminal processing logic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5D , the terminal processing logic is as follows:

[0311] 1. When HOepdg = 0 and HON3IWF = 0, it indicates that the UE has no handover capability;

[0312] Therefore, no handover is initiated when the LTE signal is poor.

[0313] 2. When HOepdg = 0 and HON3IWF = 1, it proves that the UE can only establish a connection with N3IWF;

[0314] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will initiate a request to establish a connection with the N3IWF.

[0315] 3. When HOepdg = 1 and HON3IWF = 1, it proves that the UE supports connection establishment with both epdg and N3IWF;

[0316] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will first establish a connection with the LTE network element epdg, and if that fails, it will establish a connection with the N3IWF.

[0317] 4. When HOepdg = 1 and HON3IWF = 0, it proves that the UE can only establish a connection with epdg;

[0318] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will initiate a request to establish a EPDG connection.

[0319] Scenario 2: UE registers on the 5G network.

[0320] Assume that the handover process from 5GS to ePDG is known, but when the UE registers for the 5G network, it does not know whether the network supports the capabilities of 5GC to cut ePDG and N3IWF. Figure 5E is an interaction diagram when the terminal accesses the 5GC (or 5GCN) network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0321] A solution is now provided to understand whether the network has the ability to switch ePDG network elements and N3IWF network elements when the UE registers on the 5G network. Figure 5F is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5F, the Registration accept message carries the flag bits corresponding to the handover capabilities, HOePDG and HON3IWF, 0 represents not supported, and 1 represents supported. When the UE initially registers on the NR network, i.e., 5GCN, the network notifies the UE by carrying the Handover capability in the Registration accept message. The UE can then decide whether to initiate a handover request based on the corresponding flag bits.

[0322] FIG5G is a schematic diagram of terminal processing logic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5G , the terminal processing logic is as follows:

[0323] 1. When HOepdg = 0 and HON3IWF = 0, it indicates that the UE has no handover capability;

[0324] Therefore, no handover is initiated when the LTE signal is poor.

[0325] 2. When HOepdg = 0 and HON3IWF = 1, it proves that the UE can only establish a connection with N3IWF;

[0326] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will initiate a request to establish a connection with the N3IWF.

[0327] 3. When HOepdg = 1 and HON3IWF = 1, it proves that the UE supports connection establishment with both epdg and N3IWF;

[0328] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will first establish a connection with the LTE network element epdg, and if that fails, it will establish a connection with the N3IWF.

[0329] 4. When HOepdg = 1 and HON3IWF = 0, it proves that the UE can only establish a connection with epdg;

[0330] Therefore, when the LTE signal is poor, the UE will initiate a request to establish a EPDG connection.

[0331] Beneficial effects of the disclosed solution:

[0332] 1. Provide a synchronization mechanism between the terminal and the network to determine whether the same system or different system handover capabilities are supported;

[0333] 2. The terminal can optimize the choice of whether to initiate a handover based on the network's handover capabilities, significantly improving the success rate of switching from 3GPP networks to non-3GPP networks. This also provides more space and logic for terminal implementation.

[0334] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0335] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0336] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0337] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6A , it includes:

[0338] A receiving module is used to receive first information and / or second information sent by a network device when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0339] Optionally, the receiving module is configured to execute the steps related to "receiving" performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. Optionally, the terminal further includes at least one of a sending module and a processing module. The sending module is configured to execute the steps related to "sending" performed by the terminal in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here. The processing module is configured to execute the steps related to processing performed by the terminal in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here.

[0340] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6B , it includes:

[0341] A sending module is used to send first information and / or second information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using 3GPP access technology; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

[0342] Optionally, the sending module is used to execute the steps related to "sending" performed by the network device in any of the above methods. Optionally, the network device further includes at least one of a processing module and a receiving module. The processing module is used to execute the steps related to "processing" performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here. The receiving module is used to execute the steps related to receiving performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here.

[0343] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 7100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 7100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0344] As shown in Figure 7A, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 7101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0345] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7102 may be located outside the communication device 7100.

[0346] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7103. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 7103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 7101.

[0347] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0348] Optionally, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more interface circuits 7104, which are connected to the memory 7102. The interface circuits 7104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 7102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 7102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 7104 may read instructions stored in the memory 7102 and send the instructions to the processor 7101.

[0349] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiment may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 7100 may not be limited by FIG. 7a. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0350] 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 7200 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 7100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 7200 shown in FIG7B , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0351] The chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201 , and the processor 7201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 7200 executes any of the above methods.

[0352] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202, which are connected to memory 7203. Interface circuit 7202 can be used to receive signals from memory 7203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 7202 can read instructions stored in memory 7203 and send the instructions to processor 7201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver are interchangeable.

[0353] In some embodiments, the chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 7203 may be located outside the chip 7200.

[0354] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on the communication device 7100, the communication device 7100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0355] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 7100, enables the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0356] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0357] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0358] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0359] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0360] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: When a terminal uses the third generation partnership project 3GPP access technology to access a first network, the terminal receives first information and / or second information sent by a network device; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the non-third generation partnership project Non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using an enhanced packet data gateway ePDG; The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the second network, including: the terminal uses a non-third-generation partnership project interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes: The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The terminal receives a second message sent by a network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF; The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes: The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The terminal receives a fourth message sent by a network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The third message includes a Registration request message, and the fourth message includes a Registration accept message.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises at least one of the following: The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover, and the terminal determines not to perform a handover from a 3GPP access technology to a Non-3GPP access technology; The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the second handover; The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover, or the terminal determines to perform the second handover; The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover. When the terminal needs to access the network through a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal determines to perform the first handover.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: When the terminal uses the 3GPP access technology to access the first network, the network device sends the first information and / or the second information to the terminal; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and the first handover includes: the terminal from Accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology switches to accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using ePDG; The second network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the second network, including: the terminal uses a non-third-generation partnership project 3GPP interworking function N3IWF to access the second network.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes: The terminal sends a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The terminal receives a second message sent by a network device, where the second message includes the first information and / or the second information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first message includes an attach request message, and the second message includes an attach accept message.

13. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes 5GCN; the terminal accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the first network using N3IWF; The second network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes EPC; the terminal accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology includes: the terminal accessing the second network using ePDG.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The receiving the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device includes: The terminal sends a third message to the network device, where the third message is used to request access to the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The terminal receives a fourth message sent by a network device, where the fourth message includes the first information and / or the second information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The third message includes a Registration request message, and the fourth message includes a Registration accept message.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: Used in a communication system, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal, and the method includes at least one of the following: When a terminal uses the third generation partnership project 3GPP access technology to access a first network, the network device sends first information and / or second information to the terminal; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network; When the terminal accesses the first network using the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP access technology, the terminal receives the first information and / or the second information sent by the network device.

17. A terminal, comprising: A receiving module, used for receiving first information and / or second information sent by a network device when a terminal uses a 3GPP access technology to access a first network; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

18. A network device comprising: A sending module, used for sending first information and / or second information to a terminal when the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access a first network; wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch, and the first switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using non-3GPP access technology; the second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second switch, and the second switch includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The one or more processors are used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1-8 and 9-15.

20. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and the network device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

21. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1-8 and 9-15.

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