Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which relate to the field of communications, and can make it possible for an access network device and / or a user-plane network element to provide a local service for a terminal device. The method comprises: a session management network element acquiring, on the basis of acquired first indication information, QoS information corresponding to a service provided by an access network device and / or a user-plane network element for a terminal device, and sending the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user-plane network element, so as to make the access network device establish with the terminal device a radio bearer for the service, and / or make the user-plane network element establish with the access network device a tunnel for the service, thereby realizing the requirement of the access network device and / or the user-plane network element providing a local service for the terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on September 27, 2023, with application number 202311273510.1 and application name “Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to communication methods and devices. Background Art

[0003] Sixth-generation (6G) networks need to support the scheduling of artificial intelligence (AI) resources and the processing of extremely large amounts of data to reduce the computational load and energy consumption of terminal devices, thereby meeting the requirements for lighter, more immersive, and more intelligent terminal devices. As a result, the 6G network architecture will shift from a "connection-centric" to a "task-centric" one. Traditional "connection-centric" network architectures aim to provide the necessary connection channels for data communication between terminal devices and between terminal devices and application servers, as well as corresponding lifecycle management mechanisms and communication quality of service (QoS). However, a "task-centric" network architecture requires not only that the network provide connectivity services but also that the network coordinate and allocate the computing power, connections, algorithms, and data resources of network nodes to achieve a specific goal. However, how to enable network element nodes within the network (such as access network equipment) to provide data or computing services to terminal devices has become a pressing issue.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can enable access network equipment and / or user-plane network elements to locally provide services to terminal equipment.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a session management network element, or by a component of the session management network element, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the session management network element. It can also be implemented by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the session management network element. The method includes: obtaining first indication information, where the first indication information indicates a service provided by an access network device and / or a user plane network element for a terminal device; obtaining quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to the service based on the first indication information; and sending the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element.

[0008] Based on this communication method, the session management network element obtains the QoS information corresponding to the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device according to the first indication information, and sends the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element, so that the access network device establishes a wireless bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device, and / or the user plane network element establishes a tunnel for the service between the access network device and the access network device. This can meet the needs of the access network device and / or the user plane network element to provide local services for the terminal device. Compared with the data network providing data services, the signaling interaction process is reduced, the service efficiency can be improved, and the node providing the service is closer to the user, which can reduce the transmission delay, improve reliability and ensure service quality.

[0009] In one possible design, the service may include: the access network device and / or user-plane network element performing the computing task requested by the terminal device and sending the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or the service may include: the access network device and / or user-plane network element obtaining the data or artificial intelligence (AI) model requested by the terminal device and sending the data or AI model to the terminal device. Therefore, compared with the computing service, data service, or AI model service provided by a cloud server located in the data network, this communication method can reduce the transmission delay of the computing service, data service, or AI model service and ensure the quality of service.

[0010] In one possible design, obtaining the first indication information may include receiving the first indication information from the terminal device. Thus, the session management network element may obtain QoS information corresponding to the service based on the first indication information sent by the terminal device, thereby instructing the access network device and / or the user plane network element to establish a data channel that meets the service requirements, thereby providing local services to the terminal device and ensuring service quality.

[0011] In one possible design, receiving the first indication information from the terminal device may include: receiving a session establishment request message from the terminal device, wherein the session establishment request message includes the first indication information. The session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request establishment of a session for a service.

[0012] In one possible design, obtaining the first indication information may include receiving the first indication information from the operation management network element. Thus, the session management network element may obtain QoS information corresponding to the service based on the first indication information sent by the network management, thereby instructing the access network device and / or user plane network element to establish a data channel that meets the service requirements, thereby providing local services to the terminal device and ensuring service quality.

[0013] In one possible design, the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application may further include: receiving second indication information from an access network device. The second indication information is used to indicate that a first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device has been successfully established. Thus, the session management network element may also learn of the radio bearer establishment status by receiving the second indication information.

[0014] In one possible design, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information. In an embodiment of the present application, service-related control information and data information may both be transmitted via the signaling radio bearer or the computing radio bearer, or the control information may be transmitted via the signaling radio bearer or the computing radio bearer, and the data information may be transmitted via the data radio bearer, providing a flexible transmission method.

[0015] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirements and data transmission requirements for executing the service. Thus, access network devices and / or user-plane network elements can guarantee computing power requirements and transmission requirements based on the QoS information.

[0016] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the terminal device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device. The method includes: sending first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the service provided by the access network device and / or user plane network element for the terminal device. Receive a first configuration from the access network device. The first configuration is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first radio bearer for the service with the access network device.

[0017] Based on this communication method, the terminal device can trigger the access network device and / or user plane network element to provide local services by sending a first indication message, and complete the establishment of a wireless bearer for the service between the access network device and the access network device based on the first configuration sent by the access network device, thereby realizing the access network device and / or user plane network element providing local services for the terminal device.

[0018] In one possible design scheme, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element executes the computing task requested by the terminal device, and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

[0019] In one possible design scheme, sending the first indication information may include: sending the first indication information to a session management network element.

[0020] In one possible design, sending the first indication information to the session management network element may include: sending a session establishment request message to the session management network element, wherein the session establishment request message includes the first indication information, and the session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request establishment of a session for the service.

[0021] In one possible design scheme, sending the first indication information may include: sending the first indication information to the access network device.

[0022] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information can be carried in a radio resource control RRC message.

[0023] In one possible design scheme, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may also include: sending QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device.

[0024] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information and QoS information can be carried in the same message to reduce signaling overhead.

[0025] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

[0026] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration can be carried in the drb-ToAddModList information element to reduce signaling overhead.

[0027] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration can be carried in an RRC message, for example, an RRC establishment message or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0028] In one possible design scheme, the terminal device and the access network device may include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to process service-related control information and / or data information.

[0029] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration and / or the first indication information may be carried in a computing resource control message.

[0030] In one possible design scheme, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may also include: receiving service-related data information from the access network device through the first wireless bearer.

[0031] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information and / or the first configuration can be transmitted through a second wireless bearer, and the second wireless bearer is at least one of the following: a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer, wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0032] In one possible design, the second radio bearer may be a common signaling radio bearer, which is used to transmit all service-related control information.

[0033] In one possible design scheme, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0034] Among them, the technical effects of the method described in the second aspect can be found in the description of the technical effects of the method described in the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0035] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by an access network device, or by a component of the access network device, such as a processor, chip, or chip system of the access network device. The method can also be implemented by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the access network device. The method includes: obtaining quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to a service provided by the access network device to a terminal device. A first configuration is sent to the terminal device. The first configuration is determined based on the QoS information, and the first configuration is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first radio bearer for the service with the access network device.

[0036] In one possible design scheme, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element executes the computing task requested by the terminal device, and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

[0037] In one possible design, obtaining QoS information corresponding to a service may include receiving QoS information corresponding to the service from a session management network element.

[0038] In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: sending second indication information to the session management network element, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device is successfully established.

[0039] In one possible design, obtaining QoS information corresponding to a service may include: receiving QoS information corresponding to the service from a terminal device.

[0040] In a possible design solution, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: receiving first indication information from the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a service provided by the access network device to the terminal device.

[0041] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information can be carried in a radio resource control RRC message.

[0042] In a possible design scheme, the first indication information and QoS information can be carried in the same message.

[0043] In one possible design solution, the first configuration may be carried in a drb-ToAddModList information element.

[0044] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration can be carried in an RRC message, for example, an RRC establishment message or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0045] In one possible design scheme, the terminal device and the access network device may include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to process service-related control information and / or data information.

[0046] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration and / or the first indication information may be carried in a computing resource control message.

[0047] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information and / or the first configuration can be transmitted through a second wireless bearer, and the second wireless bearer is at least one of the following: a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer, wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0048] In one possible design, the second radio bearer may be a common signaling radio bearer, which is used to transmit all service-related control information.

[0049] In one possible design scheme, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0050] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

[0051] In one possible design scheme, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may also include: sending service-related data information to the terminal device through the first wireless bearer.

[0052] Among them, the technical effects of the method described in the third aspect can refer to the technical effects of the method described in the first or second aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0053] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the session management network element described in the first aspect, or a device including the session management network element, or a device included in the session management network element, such as a chip. The communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the methods described in the first aspect. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0054] In some possible designs, the communication device includes: a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module is configured to obtain first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a service provided by an access network device and / or a user plane network element for a terminal device. The processing module is further configured to obtain quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to the service based on the first indication information. The transceiver module is configured to send the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element.

[0055] In one possible design scheme, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element executes the computing task requested by the terminal device, and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

[0056] In a possible design scheme, the processing module, used to obtain the first indication information, may include: a processing module, used to control the transceiver module to receive the first indication information from the terminal device.

[0057] In one possible design, the processing module, configured to control the transceiver module to receive first indication information from the terminal device, may include: a processing module, configured to control the transceiver module to receive a session establishment request message from the terminal device. The session establishment request message includes the first indication information. The session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request establishment of a session for a service.

[0058] In a possible design scheme, the processing module, used to obtain the first indication information, may include: a processing module, used to control the transceiver module to receive the first indication information from the operation management network element.

[0059] In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the access network device, wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate that a first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device has been successfully established.

[0060] In one possible design scheme, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0061] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the terminal device described in the second aspect, or a device including the terminal device, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip. The communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the method described in the second aspect. The modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by executing corresponding software implementations in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0063] In some possible designs, the communication device includes: a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module is configured to control the transceiver module to send first indication information. The first indication information is configured to indicate a service provided by an access network device and / or a user plane network element for a terminal device. The processing module is further configured to control reception of a first configuration from the access network device. The first configuration is configured to configure the terminal device to establish a first radio bearer for the service with the access network device.

[0064] In one possible design scheme, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element executes the computing task requested by the terminal device, and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

[0065] In one possible design scheme, the processing module, used to control the transceiver module to send the first indication information, may include: a processing module, used to control the transceiver module to send the first indication information to the session management network element.

[0066] In one possible design, the processing module, configured to control the transceiver module to send the first indication information to the session management network element, may include: a processing module, configured to control the transceiver module to send a session establishment request message to the session management network element. The session establishment request message includes the first indication information, and the session establishment request message is used by a terminal device to request establishment of a session for a service.

[0067] In one possible design scheme, the processing module is used to control the transceiver module to send the first indication information, and may include: a processing module is used to control the transceiver module to send the first indication information to the access network device.

[0068] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information can be carried in a radio resource control RRC message.

[0069] In one possible design solution, the processing module is further used to control the transceiver module to send QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device.

[0070] In a possible design scheme, the first indication information and QoS information can be carried in the same message.

[0071] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

[0072] In one possible design solution, the first configuration may be carried in a drb-ToAddModList information element.

[0073] In one possible design, the first configuration may be carried in an RRC message, such as an RRC establishment message or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0074] In one possible design scheme, the terminal device and the access network device may include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to process service-related control information and / or data information.

[0075] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration and / or the first indication information may be carried in a computing resource control message.

[0076] In one possible design scheme, the processing module is used to control the transceiver module to receive service-related data information from the access network device through the first radio bearer.

[0077] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information and / or the first configuration can be transmitted through a second wireless bearer, and the second wireless bearer is at least one of the following: a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer, wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0078] In one possible design, the second radio bearer may be a common signaling radio bearer, which is used to transmit all service-related control information.

[0079] In one possible design scheme, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0080] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the access network device described in the third aspect, or a device including the access network device, or a device included in the access network device, such as a chip. The communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for implementing the method described in the third aspect. The modules, units, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0081] In some possible designs, the communication device includes: a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module is configured to obtain quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to a service provided by an access network device to a terminal device. The transceiver module is configured to send a first configuration to the terminal device. The first configuration is determined based on the QoS information and is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first radio bearer for the service with the access network device.

[0082] In one possible design scheme, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element executes the computing task requested by the terminal device, and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, the service may include: the access network device and / or the user-plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

[0083] In one possible design, the processing module, configured to obtain QoS information corresponding to a service, may include: a processing module, configured to control the transceiver module to receive QoS information corresponding to the service from a session management network element.

[0084] In a possible design solution, the transceiver module is further configured to send second indication information to the session management network element, wherein the second indication information is configured to indicate that a first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device is successfully established.

[0085] In one possible design, the processing module, used to obtain QoS information corresponding to the service, may include: a processing module, used to control the transceiver module to receive QoS information corresponding to the service from the terminal device.

[0086] In a possible design solution, the transceiver module is further configured to receive first indication information from the terminal device, wherein the first indication information is configured to indicate a service provided by the access network device to the terminal device.

[0087] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information can be carried in a radio resource control RRC message.

[0088] In a possible design scheme, the first indication information and QoS information can be carried in the same message.

[0089] In one possible design solution, the first configuration may be carried in a drb-ToAddModList information element.

[0090] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration can be carried in an RRC message, for example, an RRC establishment message or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0091] In one possible design scheme, the terminal device and the access network device may include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to process service-related control information and / or data information.

[0092] In one possible design scheme, the first configuration and / or the first indication information may be carried in a computing resource control message.

[0093] In one possible design scheme, the first indication information and / or the first configuration can be transmitted through a second wireless bearer, and the second wireless bearer is at least one of the following: a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer, wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0094] In one possible design, the second radio bearer may be a common signaling radio bearer, which is used to transmit all service-related control information.

[0095] In one possible design scheme, the first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information.

[0096] In one possible design, QoS information may include computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

[0097] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver module is also used to send service-related data information to the terminal device through the first wireless bearer.

[0098] In conjunction with any one of aspects 3 to 6, in one possible design, the transceiver module may include a receiving module and a sending module. The sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication device described in any one of aspects 3 to 6, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in any one of aspects 3 to 6.

[0099] In conjunction with any one of aspects 3 to 6, in one possible design, the communication device described in any one of aspects 3 to 6 may further include a storage module storing a program or instruction. When the processing module executes the program or instruction, the communication device described in any one of aspects 3 to 6 may perform any one of the methods described in aspects 1 to 3.

[0100] In a seventh aspect, a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system) is provided. The communication device includes: a processor configured to implement the functions involved in any of the above aspects.

[0101] In one possible design, the communication device may further include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data. A processor is coupled to the memory, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to perform the method described in any possible implementation of aspects 1 to 3.

[0102] In one possible design solution, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the seventh aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0103] In one possible design, the processor can be integrated with the memory.

[0104] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0105] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor being used to implement the method described in any possible implementation method of the first to third aspects through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

[0106] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a session management network element, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the session management network element that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, or may be used in conjunction with a session management network element. Alternatively, the communication device may be a terminal device, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the terminal device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the second aspect, or may be used in conjunction with a terminal device. Alternatively, the communication device may be an access network device, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, or a chip system, or a circuit) in the access network device that corresponds one-to-one to the method / operation / step / action described in the third aspect, or may be used in conjunction with an access network device.

[0107] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the seventh aspect or the ninth aspect is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0108] In the tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0109] In the eleventh aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, including computer program code, which, when the computer program code is run on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0110] In the twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal device for implementing the method described in the second aspect, and an access network device for implementing the method described in the third aspect.

[0111] In the thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a session management network element for implementing the method described in the first aspect, a terminal device for implementing the method described in the second aspect, and an access network device for implementing the method described in the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0112] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an XaaS system;

[0113] Figure 2 is a diagram of a computing power network architecture that can be used to schedule computing tasks;

[0114] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG4 is a diagram of a protocol stack architecture suitable for completing computing services between a terminal device and an access network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an access network device architecture based on CU-DU separation provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device based on the O-RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG9 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0124] In order to better understand the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0125] First, in the embodiments of the present application, "used to indicate" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing a certain "indication information" as being used to indicate A, it can include the indication information directly indicating A or indirectly indicating A, and does not necessarily mean that the indication information carries A.

[0126] The information indicated by the indication information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, it is also possible to use the arrangement order of each piece of information agreed in advance (such as specified in the protocol) to achieve the indication of specific information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, it is also possible to identify the common parts of each piece of information and indicate them uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by indicating the same information separately.

[0127] In addition, the specific indication method can also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can refer to the relevant descriptions in the existing implementation methods, and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, there may be a situation where the indication methods for different information are different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0128] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in this application. Among them, the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to the protocol, or configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device. Among them, the configuration information can, for example, but not limited to, include one or a combination of at least two of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) layer signaling and physical layer signaling. Among them, MAC layer signaling, for example, includes MAC-control element (CE); physical (PHY) layer signaling, for example, includes downlink control information (DCI).

[0129] Second, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical numbers are merely distinctions for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they distinguish different indication information. For another example, the terms "first network area" and "second network area" are merely for distinguishing different areas and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the number or order of execution, and that terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily define differences.

[0130] Third, in the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) to have a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0131] Fourth, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0132] Fifth, in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of multiple items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0133] Introduction to communication systems and applicable network elements, as well as related terminology.

[0134] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, Internet of Vehicles communication systems, world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 4th generation (4G) mobile communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication systems, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems, such as 6G mobile communication systems.

[0135] As industries like healthcare, factories, ports, coal mines, and government and enterprises accelerate their digital transformation, computing and communications are becoming core foundational capabilities that empower these industries' digital transformations. Consequently, operators have proposed the concept of a computing network and are conducting standardization discussions within the 3GPP. The concept of a computing network aims to enable ubiquitous computing and services through network awareness, dispatching computing tasks to appropriate computing nodes for processing. This improves the utilization efficiency of network and computing resources, while providing users with low-latency and highly reliable services to ensure a positive user experience.

[0136] The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group believes that 6G services will be immersive and intelligent, driven by the low latency demands of immersive services like extended reality (XR) and holographic displays, as well as the real-time processing of massive amounts of data required by intelligent services like robotics, intelligent agents, and large AI-generated content (AIGC) models. The IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group believes that 6G services will be immersive and intelligent. 6G networks will need to support the scheduling of AI resources and the processing of extremely large amounts of data to reduce the computational load and energy consumption of terminal devices, thereby meeting the requirements for lighter, more immersive, and more intelligent devices. Therefore, the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group proposes the XaaS architecture, shown in Figure 1. Within this architecture, communication equipment features exposed capabilities, collaborative control, orchestration management, and security, transforming the 6G network architecture from a "connection-centric" to a "task-centric" one.

[0137] Traditional "connection-centric" network architectures are designed to provide the connection channels required for data communication between terminal devices and between terminal devices and application servers, as well as corresponding lifecycle management mechanisms (such as the creation, modification, deletion, and anchor migration of end-to-end communication tunnels) and communication QoS guarantees. For example, the connection establishment method of the 5G network, namely the protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment process, is to provide a transmission channel for data transmission between terminal devices and application servers located in the data network (DN). This includes establishing a data radio bearer (DRB) between the terminal device and the radio access network (RAN) and the NG interface user plane channel (NG-U Tunnel) between the RAN and the user plane function (UPF) of the core network, and providing corresponding QoS guarantees.

[0138] A mission-centric network architecture requires not only connectivity but also coordination and deployment of the computing power, connections, algorithms, and data resources of network nodes to achieve a specific goal. 6G networks provide computing services by introducing computing power, storage resources, and mechanisms for multi-node coordination of computing power, algorithms, and data.

[0139] As shown in Figure 2, a computing power network architecture that can be used to schedule computing tasks is shown. It uses the connectivity of wireless networks and the computing power widely available within the network to provide high-performance computing power, low-latency transmission, and intelligent business assurance services for diverse computing services. In the architecture shown in Figure 2, the computing management function (CMF) is deployed on the RAN side to perform functions such as computing power perception, computing business perception, network status perception, and computing task scheduling. CMF can schedule services initiated by network elements, external networks, or third-party applications to computing nodes such as terminal devices, mobile edge computing (MEC) platforms, cloud servers, and RAN devices for execution.

[0140] However, current 5G networks establish PDU sessions to provide a transmission channel for data transmission between terminal devices and application servers located in the DN. These sessions also guarantee QoS for services provided by the application servers and are not applicable to network elements within the network that provide data or computing services to terminal devices. Therefore, how to enable network elements within the network (such as access network equipment) to provide data or computing services to terminal devices has become a pressing issue.

[0141] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can enable access network equipment and / or user-side network elements to provide data or computing services to terminal devices.

[0142] For example, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system includes: a terminal device, an access network device, a user plane network element, and a session management network element, each of which can communicate with each other.

[0143] 1. Terminal equipment

[0144] The terminal device may be one or more, such as a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a third terminal device, etc. The terminal device may be a terminal device with transceiver functions, or may be a chip or chip system provided in the terminal device. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit (subscriber unit), subscriber station, mobile station (MS), mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a smart home device (for example, a refrigerator, a television, an air conditioner, an electric meter, etc.), an intelligent robot, a robotic arm, a workshop equipment, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a roadside unit with terminal function, a roadside control unit (ROU), ... The terminal device of the present application may also be an onboard module, onboard module, onboard component, onboard chip or onboard unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The terminal device may also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, a terminal device may also be a device that functions as a terminal in D2D communication.

[0145] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices.

[0146] 2. Access network equipment

[0147] In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can provide local services to the terminal device. The services may also be referred to as local services, local computing services, local data services, etc., such as AI inference services, AI training services, AI services, or data services, such as perception data services or positioning data services.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, a local service may refer to a service provided locally to a terminal device by an internal network node (such as an access network device or a user-plane network element) as a service provider. This means that the service is provided starting from an internal network node, such as a service provided by a deployed application (APP). In other words, a service provided by network node 1 to a terminal device via network node 2 is considered a local service provided by network node 1, and not a local service provided by network node 2.

[0149] There may be multiple access network devices, such as a first access network device, a second access network device, a third access network device, etc. The access network device may also be referred to as an access network node, a RAN node, a RAN entity or an access node, etc., which is located on the network side of the above-mentioned communication system to help the terminal device achieve wireless access, and has a device with wireless transceiver function or a chip or chip system that can be set in the device. The access network device includes but is not limited to: a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP or transmission point, TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a Wi-Fi system, etc. The access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, an open radio access network (ORAN) or a wireless controller in a centralized radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The access network device may also be one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in 5G, or it may also be a network node constituting a gNB, TRP or TP or transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), a road side unit (RSU) with base station functions. Optionally, the access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in V2X technology may be an RSU. All or part of the functions of the network device in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The access network device in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0150] Among them, the CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It can be understood that the access network device can be a CU node, a DU node, or a device including a CU node and a DU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the access network RAN, or the CU can be divided into a network device in the CN, which is not limited here.

[0151] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0152] The embodiments of this application do not limit the form of the access network device. The device used to implement the functions of the access network device can be the access network device; it can also be a device that supports the access network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the access network device or used in conjunction with the access network device.

[0153] 3. User plane network element

[0154] In embodiments of the present application, the user plane network element can also locally provide services to terminal devices, such as packet routing and forwarding, and QoS processing of user plane data. The user plane network element can forward user data packets based on the routing rules of the session management network element, such as sending uplink data to the data network or other user plane network elements, and forwarding downlink data to other user plane network elements or access network devices. The user plane network element can be a UPF in 5G communications.

[0155] 4. Session Management Element

[0156] The session management network element (SME) is used to manage sessions on terminal devices. It can trigger user-plane devices to establish data channels for local computing services on the terminal devices, and allocate and release resources for the terminal devices' sessions. These resources include resource pre-configuration parameters such as QoS, session paths, and forwarding rules. The SME can be the session management function (SMF) element in the 5G system.

[0157] The communication system provided in the embodiments of the present application may introduce a computing management function entity to implement some or all operations related to the computing management function. The computing management function entity may also be referred to as a computing management function, a computing management function network element, a computing management function node, a computing management function device, a computing management function module, a computing management function model, or a computing management function unit. For example, the computing management function entity may be built into a network element of the communication system. For example, the computing management function entity may be a computing management function module built into: a terminal device, an access network device, a core network network element, a cloud server, or an operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) (which may be referred to as a network management) to implement functions related to the computing management function. The OAM may be a network management function serving as a core network element and / or a network management function serving as an access network device. Alternatively, the computing management function entity may be an independently configured network element in the communication system. Optionally, a terminal device or a chip built into the terminal device may also include a computing management function entity to implement functions related to the computing management function. Optionally, the computing management function may be referred to as a CMF or other names, which are not limited by this application. The computing management functional entity has one or more of the following functions: computing power awareness, computing business awareness, network status awareness or computing task scheduling, which can realize the orchestration and management of computing power resources.

[0158] It should be understood that the communication system shown in Figure 3 may also include other core network elements, other terminal devices, or other access network devices, such as access and mobility management network elements, data management network elements, policy control network elements, etc., without limitation. Among them, the access and mobility management network element may be the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5G system, the data management network element may be the unified data management (UDM) in the 5G system, and the policy control network element may be the policy control function (PCF) in the 5G system.

[0159] In addition, the embodiment of the present application also provides a protocol stack architecture suitable for completing computing services between terminal devices and access network devices. In the embodiment of the present application, the computing service process mainly involves the following two types of information or signaling or messages:

[0160] (1) Control: information on computing resource perception, management, computing task request, scheduling, and allocation;

[0161] (2) Data type: information on data types such as computing task data (such as rendering data), algorithms or models (such as AI models).

[0162] As shown in Figure 4, terminal devices and access network devices are deployed with APP to provide computing services. For computing services, two types of protocol stack architectures are mainly provided. One is a shared control plane protocol stack architecture, such as the architecture shown in (a) and (b) in Figure 4, that is, both control information and data information are transmitted using the control plane protocol stack. The other is a user plane-control plane separated protocol stack architecture, that is, data information is transmitted through the user plane protocol stack, and control information is transmitted through the control plane protocol stack.

[0163] For the above-mentioned first type of protocol stack architecture, based on the deployment method of CMF, there are two architectures as shown in (a) and (b) in Figure 4. As shown in (a) in Figure 4, CMF is independently deployed on the terminal device and the access network device. It can be understood that the terminal device and the access network device include a CMF module. The control plane protocol stack of the terminal device and the access network device introduces the computing resource control (CRC) layer on the basis of the existing control plane protocol stack architecture. For the sending end, the CMF-related control information and the data information provided by the APP can be sent after being encapsulated and processed in sequence through the CRC layer, RRC layer, layer (L) 2, and L1; for the receiving end, the received data is decapsulated and processed in sequence through the L1, L2, RRC layer, and CRC layer to obtain the CMF-related control information and the data provided by the APP. Among them, the data provided by the APP can be carried in the container type information element (IE) contained in the CRC message and sent.

[0164] As shown in (b) of Figure 4, CMF is embedded in the RRC layer, and the RRC layer is enhanced to generate CMF-related control information. A new IE can be introduced into the RRC message to carry CMF-related control information and data provided by the APP.

[0165] Based on the shared control plane protocol stack architecture shown in (a) and (b) of Figure 4 above, CMF-related control information and data provided by apps can be mapped to specific signaling radio bearers (SRBs). This allows for addressing apps on access network devices and terminal devices through control plane protocol messages, i.e., app discovery. This control plane transmission method reuses the same mechanism as current RAN AI (RAN AI refers to the use of AI to optimize RAN's own communication services, such as cell handover, cell traffic prediction, user mobility prediction, etc., and can be considered a RAN local app), using control plane signaling to transmit app data and control signaling.

[0166] The mapping of CMF-related control information and data provided by the APP to specific SRBs can adopt the following rules:

[0167] (1) All CMF-related control information, such as computing task requests, scheduling, computing resource perception and management, is carried out through the common SRB.

[0168] (2) Use specific SRBs (such as SRB1 to N) to carry APP data messages with different QoS requirements, such as input and output data of computing (sub)tasks, algorithm and model data related to App programs, calculation result return data, etc.

[0169] The above-mentioned public SRB and specific SRB may reuse existing SRB resources, or define new computing radio bearers (CRBs) based on existing DRB and SRB resources, which is not limited.

[0170] For the second type of protocol stack architecture mentioned above, similar to the first type of architecture, there are two architectures based on the deployment method of CMF, as shown in (c) and (d) in Figure 4. As shown in (c) in Figure 4, CMF is independently deployed on the terminal device and access network equipment, or CMF is independently deployed on the terminal device and access network equipment as a sinking core network function. The CRC layer is introduced on the basis of the existing control plane protocol stack architecture to carry CMF-related control information. The data provided by the APP is transmitted through the existing user plane protocol stack.

[0171] As shown in (d) of Figure 4, CMF is embedded in the RRC layer to enhance the RRC layer. The RRC message carries CMF-related control information, and the data provided by the APP is transmitted through the existing user plane protocol stack.

[0172] Based on the user-plane-control-plane separation protocol stack architecture shown in (c) and (d) of Figure 4 above, data provided by the app is transmitted via the existing user plane protocol stack, while control information related to the CMF is transmitted via the control plane protocol stack. In this architecture, core network functions such as the local UPF are deployed locally on access network devices. Computing service data is transmitted through the local UPF, reusing existing 5G NR protocol processes and introducing corresponding session management processes for computing services. For the mapping of app-provided data to DRBs, refer to existing implementations. For the mapping of CMF-related control information to SRBs, refer to the mapping rules of the aforementioned protocol stack architecture.

[0173] The protocol layer architecture shown in Figure 4 does not specifically illustrate the protocol layers involved in L1 and L2. It should be understood that, from bottom to top, L1 includes the PHY layer, L2 includes the MAC layer, RLC layer, and PDCP layer, and the RRC layer belongs to L3. Furthermore, the newly added CRC layer can be classified as L3 or higher layers, without limitation.

[0174] It should be noted that the protocol layer architecture shown in Figure 4 is a CRC layer deployed above the RRC layer, which can also be deployed below the RRC layer, without limitation. CRC as a computing resource control entity can be deployed as a protocol layer or as a functional module, without limitation.

[0175] For the above-mentioned communication system, as an example, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access network device based on a CU-DU separation architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5, by dividing the protocol stack, the access network device includes a CU-CP, a CU-UP, and a DU. The CU-CP and the DU can communicate through interface 1, and the CU-UP and the DU can communicate through interface 2. Optionally, the access network device can be a gNB, in which case interface 1 can be an F1-C interface and interface 2 can be an F1-U interface.

[0176] The CU-CP includes the RRC layer and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the CU-UP includes the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer and the PDCP layer, and the DU includes the radio link control (RLC) layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer. Thus, both the CU-CP and the CU-UP include the PDCP layer, and the RRC layer is located above the PDCP layer in the CU-CP. After being processed by the PDCP layer, RRC messages are encapsulated into PDCP data packet data units (PDUs). PDCP data PDUs can be sent by the CU-CP and CU-UP, respectively.

[0177] In the protocol stack architecture of the access network device as shown in (a) or (c) of FIG4 , a CRC layer is added. When CU-DU division is performed, the CRC layer can be located in the CU.

[0178] The PDCP control PDU is generated by the PDCP layer and is used to transmit robust header compression (ROHC) context information, etc. It is usually sent by the PDCP layer of the CU-UP.

[0179] In an embodiment of the present application, the computing management function may be integrated into the CU or DU, or may be integrated into a CU-CP or CU-UP further separated from the CU.

[0180] In the scenario of access network equipment based on CU-DU separation architecture, in one possible implementation method, the generation of control information such as indication information, configuration information, scheduling information, and data processing involved in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the CU, and a CMF can be deployed on the CU. During uplink transmission, after the DU receives the indication information and / or data from the terminal device, the CU needs to send it to the DU for processing; during downlink transmission, the CU sends the generated control information or data to the DU, and the DU then sends it to the terminal device. At this time, the control information / data can be carried in the DCI or MAC CE for transmission.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the generation of control information such as indication information, configuration information, scheduling information, and data processing involved in the embodiments of the present application can be performed by the DU, and a CMF can be deployed on the DU. After determining the control information or data, the DU can submit the control information or data to the CU, and the CU carries the control information or data in an RRC message or PDCP control PDU and sends it to the terminal device.

[0182] As another example, FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access network device based on the O-RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6, the access network device includes an intelligent controller (RAN intelligent controller, RIC). For example, the RIC can be an AI module for implementing AI-related functions. The RIC can include a near real-time RIC (NRT-RIC) and a non-real-time RIC (Non-RT RIC).

[0183] NRT-RIC is used for model training and reasoning. For example, it is used to train an AI model and use the AI ​​model for reasoning. NRT-RIC can obtain information on the network side and / or the terminal device side from the access network device (such as CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and / or RU) and / or the terminal device. This information can be used as training data or reasoning data. Optionally, NRT-RIC can submit the reasoning results to the access network device and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the reasoning results can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, NRT-RIC submits the reasoning results to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0184] Non-RT RIC is used for model training and reasoning. For example, it is used to train an AI model and use the AI ​​model for reasoning. Non-RT RIC can obtain information on the network side and / or the terminal device side from the access network device (such as CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and / or RU) and / or the terminal device. This information can be used as training data or reasoning data, and the reasoning result can be submitted to the access network device and / or the terminal device. Optionally, the reasoning results can be exchanged between the CU and the DU, and / or between the DU and the RU. For example, the Non-RT RIC submits the reasoning result to the DU, and the DU sends it to the RU.

[0185] The NRT-RIC and Non-RT RIC can also be set up as separate network elements. Optionally, the NRT-RIC and Non-RT RIC can also be part of other devices. For example, the NRT-RIC is set up in the access network equipment (for example, the CU or DU), while the Non-RT RIC is set up in the OAM, cloud server, core network element, or other network equipment.

[0186] As shown in Figure 6(a), the access network device includes an NRT-RIC, a CU, and a DU. The NRT-RIC integrates a computing management functional entity and runs third-party applications. The NRT-RIC and the DU communicate via interface 3, the NRT-RIC and the CU communicate via interface 4, and the CU and the DU communicate via interface 5. Optionally, the access network device may be a gNB, interfaces 3 and 4 may be E2 interfaces, and interface 5 may be an F1 interface.

[0187] Under this architecture, the generation of control information such as indication information, configuration information, scheduling information, and data processing involved in the embodiments of the present application are performed by NRT-RIC. During downlink transmission, NRT-RIC can send control information or data to DU through interface 2, and then DU sends it to the terminal device. At this time, the control information or data can be carried in DCI or MAC CE. Alternatively, NRT-RIC can send control information or data to CU through interface 4, and then CU sends it to DU through interface 5, and then DU sends it to the terminal device. At this time, the control information or data can be carried in RRC message or PDCP control PDU. Similarly, during uplink transmission, after DU receives indication information or data from the terminal device, it can be sent to NRT-RIC through CU or directly to NRT-RIC.

[0188] As shown in Figure 6(b), the access network device includes a computing management function entity (also referred to as a computing management function module), a CU, and a DU. The computing management function entity integrates the NRT-RIC and runs third-party applications. The computing management function entity and the DU communicate via interface 6, the computing management function entity and the CU communicate via interface 7, and the CU and the DU communicate via interface 8. Optionally, the access network device may be a gNB, interfaces 6 and 7 may be E2 interfaces, and interface 8 may be an F1 interface.

[0189] Under this architecture, the generation of control information such as indication information, configuration information, scheduling information, and data processing involved in the embodiments of the present application are performed by the computing management function. During downlink transmission, the computing management function can send the control information or data to the DU through interface 2, and then the DU sends it to the terminal device. At this time, the control information or data can be carried in the DCI or MAC CE. Alternatively, the computing management function can send the control information or data to the CU through interface 4, and then the CU sends it to the DU through interface 5, and then the DU sends it to the terminal device. At this time, the control information or data can be carried in the RRC message or PDCP control PDU. Similarly, during uplink transmission, after the DU receives the indication information or data from the terminal device, it can be sent to the computing management function through the CU or directly to the computing management function.

[0190] One possible implementation method is that the NRT-RIC in Figure 6 can also be replaced by a non-NRT RIC. The non-NRT RIC can integrate a computing management functional entity and a third-party application, or the computing management functional entity can integrate non-NRT RIC functions and third-party applications. There is no limitation on this.

[0191] The embodiments of the present application combine local service provision with the existing O-RAN architecture, with minimal changes to the O-RAN architecture and interfaces. In addition, third-party applications run in an open RIC module, which does not cause security concerns and facilitates local service provision by access network devices.

[0192] It should be understood that the names of nodes, modules, devices or network elements in different scenarios or architectures or systems, as well as the names of communication interfaces between nodes, modules, devices or network elements are given as examples in the embodiments of the present application, and the possibility of name changes in future communication systems, scenarios or architectures is not excluded.

[0193] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 7-10. This communication method can be applied to the communication between the terminal device, access network device, user plane device, and session management network element shown in Figure 3. The subject that performs the session management network element actions in this method may also be a device / module in the session management network element, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit in the session management network element, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. The subject that performs the access network device actions in this method may also be a device / module in the access network device, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit in the access network device, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. The subject that performs the user plane network element actions in this method may also be a device / module in the user plane network element, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit in the user plane network element, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. The subject that performs the terminal device actions in this method may also be a device / module in the terminal device, such as a chip, processor, or processing unit in the terminal device, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0194] For example, FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the communication method includes the following steps:

[0195] S701. A session management network element obtains first indication information.

[0196] The first indication information is used to indicate the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device. The first indication information may include information such as the provider of the service, the type of service (type), or the identity (ID) of the service. The session management network element may be the SMF in the 5G system, the access network device may be the gNB in ​​the 5G system, and the user plane network element may be the UPF in the 5G system. In the embodiment of the present application, the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device may also be referred to as a local service, that is, the provider or source of the service is the access network device and / or the user plane network element, and the access network device and / or the user plane network element may also be referred to as the user plane device of the terminal device.

[0197] It should be understood that the access network equipment can provide services to the terminal equipment independently, the user plane network element can also provide services to the terminal equipment independently, and the access network equipment and the user plane network element can provide services to the terminal equipment at the same time. The services provided can be the same or different, and there is no limitation on this.

[0198] The services in the embodiments of the present application may include two major types. One type is computing services, which may include: the access network device and / or the user-side network element performs the computing tasks requested by the terminal device and sends the results of the computing tasks to the terminal device, where the computing tasks may be, for example, AI reasoning tasks, AI training tasks, AR rendering tasks, etc. The other type is data services, which may include: the access network device and / or the user-side network element obtains the data or AI model requested by the terminal device and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device, where the data may be, for example, perception data, positioning data, measurement data, etc. It should be understood that in addition to the above two types of services, the embodiments of the present application may also include other types of services, which are not limited to this.

[0199] In one possible design, a terminal device sends first indication information to a session management network element. Accordingly, the session management network element receives the first indication information from the terminal device. Under this design, in one possible implementation, the terminal device sends a session establishment request message to the session management network element. Accordingly, the session management network element receives the session establishment request message from the terminal device. The session establishment request message carries the first indication information. The session establishment request message includes the first indication information. The session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request establishment of a session for a service. In other words, the terminal device can request an access network device and / or user plane network element to provide a service via the session establishment request message.

[0200] At this time, the first indication information can be implicitly represented by a special assignment or a combination of multiple assignments of any one of the information elements such as the PDU Session ID, the terminal device identifier (UE ID), the internet protocol (IP) or MAC address (UE IP / MAC address) of the terminal device, the data network name (DNN) (UE Requested DNN) identifier requested by the terminal device, the single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) identifier and the request type (Request Type) in the session establishment request message. For example, a new value is set for the S-NSSAI identifier, the UE Requested DNN identifier, the PDU Session ID, or the Request type to indicate the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device. For another example, a new service type field, such as a "local PDU session" or "computing PDU session" field, can be added to the reserved field (Reserve Field) of the Request Type to indicate the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device. For example, a new value is set for the Requested PDU Session Type carried in the N1 SM container in the session establishment request message, or a new field is added to indicate the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device.

[0201] It should be understood that the first indication information or session establishment request message can be sent by the terminal device to the session management network element through the access network device and the mobility and accessibility management network element. The mobility and accessibility management network element can be the AMF in the 5G system. In addition, the terminal device can also carry the first indication information in other defined or newly defined messages, such as a computing service request message or a data service request message, and this is not limited.

[0202] In another possible design, the operation management network element sends the first indication information to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first indication information from the operation management network element. The operation management network element may be an OAM in a 5G system, serving as a network management trigger for the execution of the service.

[0203] S702: The session management network element obtains QoS information corresponding to the service according to the first indication information.

[0204] In an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the first indication information, the session management network element may negotiate with the data management network element to obtain the user's contracted session information, and initiate a request to the policy control network element to obtain the session policy information of the terminal device, so as to obtain the session policy information of the terminal device, and the session policy information includes the QoS information corresponding to the service. Among them, the data management network element may be the UDM in the 5G system, and the policy control network element may be the PCF in the 5G system. The QoS information corresponding to the service may include the computing power requirement information for executing the service and / or the data transmission requirement information for executing the service. The QoS information may be QoS for a service, or may refer to QoS for a class of services, and there is no limitation on this.

[0205] Among them, the computing power requirement information for executing the service (also known as computing power QoS information) may include at least one of the following: the type of computing task, input data rate, output data rate, computing delay requirement, computing load requirement, computing accuracy requirement, or computing energy consumption requirement, etc.

[0206] The type of computing task may refer to the computing power type of the physical hardware required to execute the computing task corresponding to the service, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural network processing unit (NPU), or a tensor processing unit (TPU); or, the type of computing task may refer to the business type corresponding to the computing task, such as image / video recognition, compression, graphics rendering, AI training, AI reasoning, perception processing, high-performance computing, or big data offline analysis.

[0207] The input / output data rate requirement (or demand) can indicate (or reflect, or represent) the input / output data volume requirement to characterize the communication QoS requirement of the computing task. The computing task requirement includes the communication QoS requirement of the computing task, and the communication QoS requirement of the computing task can also include the communication QoS parameters defined by 5G NR, such as the uplink / downlink packet delay budget (UL / DL PDB), guaranteed bit rate (GBR), maximum data burst volume (MDBV) and other 5G QoS parameters, which can be represented by the 5G QoS identifier (5QI).

[0208] The computational load requirement may indicate (or reflect, or represent) the computational power requirement for executing a computational task, and may be expressed as a requirement for the processor's computing power. The processor's computing power may include the number of operations per second (OPS) or floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) that the processor can perform per second (s), the processor model, memory capacity, I / O speed, or main frequency, etc. For example, the computational load requirement may include the required main frequency in hertz (Hz) or gigahertz (GHz), the required number of input / output operations per second (IOPS), and the required memory capacity in bytes.

[0209] The computational latency requirement may indicate (or reflect, or express) the time requirement for completing a computational task, such as how long it takes to complete the computational task.

[0210] The demand for computing energy consumption may also indicate (or reflect, or represent) computing power consumption demand, which may refer to the demand for the power or energy consumed by the device that performs the computing task. For example, the computing task may be performed by a terminal device, and the demand for computing power consumption may include the computing power consumption requirement for the terminal device, and the computing power consumption requirement for the terminal device may be the requirement for the average computing power consumption of the terminal device to perform the task within a period of time, and the duration for calculating the average computing power consumption may be predefined or preconfigured. Alternatively, the computing power consumption requirement may also be the requirement for the computing power consumption of the terminal device after completing a processing or in a short period of time (such as processing a video frame or a task). Among them, the computing power consumption may also be converted into a corresponding computing energy consumption indicator, and the unit may be a convertible unit such as watts and joules.

[0211] Computational accuracy requirements can indicate (or reflect, or express) the required error between the calculated result and the actual result, such as a maximum error of 5%. Alternatively, computational accuracy requirements can refer to the accuracy requirements for inference / training results obtained through inference or training using AI models / algorithms.

[0212] The data transmission requirement information for executing the service (also referred to as data transmission QoS information) may include at least one of the following: data transmission delay requirement, data transmission reliability requirement, or priority information, etc. Among them, the data transmission delay requirement may refer to the delay requirement required for the access network device and the terminal device to complete the data transmission related to the service, or it may be the delay requirement required for the terminal device to receive data related to the service provided by the access network device and / or the user-plane network element. The data transmission reliability requirement may refer to the reliability requirement for data related to the transmission service, for example, requirements for the bit error rate, jitter, packet loss rate, etc. of the transmission. The priority information is used to indicate the execution priority of the service, and when there are multiple services, it is used for the access network device and / or the user-plane network element to determine the order in which multiple services are executed.

[0213] In one possible design solution, the session management network element may also deliver a configuration that satisfies the QoS requirements contained in the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element based on the QoS information. It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, when the user plane network element provides a service to the terminal device, the QoS information corresponding to the service includes the QoS information between the access network device and the terminal device and the QoS information between the access network device and the user plane network element. The QoS information between the user plane network element and the access network device may also include configuration information related to the NG-tunnel, such as routing priority and congestion avoidance.

[0214] Therefore, after the session management network element obtains the QoS information corresponding to the service, it sends the QoS information corresponding to the service to the service provider, that is, the access network device and / or the user plane network element, so that the access network device and / or the user plane network element establishes service-related data channels according to the QoS information corresponding to the service.

[0215] In one possible scenario, only the access network device provides services to the terminal device. In this case, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following S703a:

[0216] S703a: The session management network element sends QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoS information corresponding to the service from the session management network element.

[0217] In this scenario, the session management network element may carry the QoS information corresponding to the service in the session resource establishment request and send it to the access network device.

[0218] In another possible scenario, only the user plane network element provides services to the terminal device. In this case, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following S703b:

[0219] S703b: The session management network element sends the QoS information corresponding to the service to the user plane network element. Correspondingly, the user plane network element receives the QoS information corresponding to the service from the session management network element.

[0220] In this scenario, the session management network element can carry the QoS information corresponding to the service in the tunnel establishment request and send it to the user plane network element. In this scenario, since the data related to the service provided by the user plane network element needs to be forwarded by the access network device to the terminal device, the session management network element can also send the QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device, or only send the QoS information used between the access network device and the terminal device, or the user plane network element can send the corresponding QoS information to the access network device, without limitation.

[0221] In another possible scenario, the access network device and the user plane network element provide services to the terminal device at the same time. In this case, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application also includes the above-mentioned S703a and S703b.

[0222] In this scenario, the services provided by the access network device and the services provided by the user plane NE can be the same or different. That is, the session management NE obtains the QoS information corresponding to the services provided by the access network device and the QoS information corresponding to the services provided by the user plane NE, and sends them to the access network device and the user plane NE, respectively.

[0223] S704: The access network device sends the first configuration to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration from the access network device.

[0224] Among them, the first configuration is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first wireless bearer for service between the terminal device and the access network device. The first wireless bearer for service may include a wireless bearer for services provided by the user plane network element and / or a wireless bearer for services provided by the access network device.

[0225] In a scenario where only the access network device provides services to the terminal device, such as S703a above, the first radio bearer is used to transmit data related to the service provided by the access network device. In one possible implementation, after receiving the QoS information, the access network device can perceive the local computing power status based on the computing management function, and determine whether the local computing power status meets the computing power QoS requirements in the QoS information. If the computing power QoS requirements are met, it is determined that the requested service can be executed, and the relevant configuration of the first radio bearer used to carry the service-related data is determined according to the data transmission requirements in the QoS information, that is, the first configuration, such as completing the mapping between the data transmission QoS requirements and the resource configuration of the radio bearer, and different radio bearers are used to transmit data with different data transmission QoS requirements. Among them, the access network device locally configures the mapping relationship between the data transmission QoS requirement information and the radio bearer configuration parameters.

[0226] In another possible implementation, after receiving the QoS information, the access network device can perceive the local computing power status based on the computing management function, and determine whether the local computing power status meets the computing power QoS requirements in the QoS information. If the computing power QoS requirements are met, it is determined that the requested service can be executed, and further determines the relevant configuration of the first wireless bearer used to carry service-related data based on the computing power QoS requirements, that is, the first configuration, such as completing the mapping between the computing power QoS requirements and the configuration of the wireless bearer, and different wireless bearers are used to transmit data with different computing power QoS requirements. Among them, the access network device locally configures the mapping relationship between the computing power QoS requirement information and the wireless bearer configuration parameters, for example, the mapping relationship between computing delay, computing load or computing accuracy and the wireless bearer configuration parameters.

[0227] In another possible implementation, after receiving QoS information, the access network device can perceive the local computing power status based on the computing management function, determine whether the local computing power status meets the computing power QoS requirements in the QoS information, and determine whether the requested service can be executed if the computing power QoS requirements are met. The device also determines the relevant configuration of the first radio bearer used to carry service-related data based on the computing power QoS requirements and the data transmission QoS requirements in the QoS information, i.e., the first configuration. For example, the mapping between the QoS information and the radio bearer configuration is completed, and different radio bearers are used to transmit data with different QoS requirements. The access network device locally configures the mapping relationship between the QoS information and the radio bearer configuration parameters.

[0228] The first radio bearer may include at least one of the following: a data radio bearer (DRB), a signaling radio bearer (SRB), or a computing radio bearer (CRB). DRB is used to transmit service-related data information, and SRB is used to transmit service-related control information. Under the protocol stack architecture shown in (a) and (b) in Figure 4 above, SRB and CRB can both be used to transmit service-related control information and / or data information. That is, the access network device can establish a DRB to transmit service-related data, and establish an SRB and / or CRB to transmit service-related control information, or the access network device may not establish a DRB to transmit service-related data information, and both data information and control information are transmitted by establishing an SRB and / or CRB. It should be understood that the first radio bearer is mainly used to transmit service-related data information, but does not exclude the transmission of other control information during the data transmission process.

[0229] For example, the QoS information corresponding to the service includes the computational accuracy requirements and data transmission delay requirements for the access network device. The access network device determines whether its computational accuracy meets the requirements. If so, it further establishes a radio bearer based on the data transmission delay requirements and allocates resources for the bearer transmission. If the data transmission delay requirement is shorter, more resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission; if the data transmission delay requirement is longer, fewer resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission.

[0230] As another example, the QoS information corresponding to the service includes the requirement for the calculation accuracy of the access network device. The access network device determines whether its calculation accuracy meets the requirement. If so, it further establishes a radio bearer based on the calculation accuracy requirement and allocates resources for the bearer transmission. If the calculation accuracy requirement is high (implicitly indicating high importance of the data, or long calculation latency), more resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission; if the calculation accuracy requirement is low (implicitly indicating low importance of the data, or short calculation latency), fewer resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission. In this example, the calculation accuracy requirement can also be replaced with a calculation load requirement.

[0231] As another example, the QoS information corresponding to the service includes a calculation delay requirement for the access network device. The access network device determines whether its calculation delay meets the requirement. If so, it further establishes a radio bearer based on the calculation delay requirement and allocates resources for bearer transmission. If the calculation delay requirement is shorter (implicitly indicating that the data transmission delay requirement is longer), fewer resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission; if the calculation delay requirement is longer (implicitly indicating that the data transmission delay requirement is shorter), more resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission.

[0232] As another example, the QoS information corresponding to the service includes the computational load requirements and data transmission delay requirements for the access network device. The access network device determines whether its computational load capacity meets the requirements. If so, it further establishes a radio bearer based on the computational load and data transmission delay requirements and allocates resources for bearer transmission. If the computational load requirement is large and the data transmission delay requirement is short, more resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission; if the computational load requirement is small and the data transmission delay requirement is long, fewer resources are allocated to the established radio bearer for data transmission.

[0233] In a scenario where only the user plane network element provides services to the terminal device, as described in S703b above, the first radio bearer is used to transmit data related to the service provided by the user plane network element. In this case, the access network device can establish a radio bearer based on the QoS of the service provided by the user plane network element to the terminal device. Unlike the scenario shown in S703a above, the QoS information used by the access network device to determine the radio bearer configuration is to ensure the service provided by the user plane network element.

[0234] In a scenario where both the user plane network element and the access network device provide services to the terminal device, such as in S703a and S703b above, the first radio bearer includes a radio bearer for the service provided by the user plane network element and a radio bearer for the service provided by the access network device. At this time, the access network device will obtain QoS information to ensure the services it provides and QoS information to ensure the services provided by the user plane network element. The access network device can establish different radio bearers based on the QoS information of different services to respectively transmit relevant data of the service provided locally by the user plane network element to the terminal device and transmit relevant data of the service provided locally by the access network device to the terminal device.

[0235] In one possible design, the first configuration may be carried in an RRC message, such as an RRC setup message or an RRC reconfiguration message. In a scenario where the first radio bearer is a DRB, the first configuration may be carried in a DRB new modification list (drb-ToAddModList) information element in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0236] In one possible design, the access network device may send second indication information to the session management network element, and the session management network element accordingly receives the second indication information from the access network device. The second indication information is used to indicate that a first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device has been successfully established. The second indication information may be carried in a PDU session resource establishment response message. Under this scheme, in one possible scenario, the second indication information may also be used to indicate that the first radio bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device has failed to be established, such as due to limited or insufficient resources.

[0237] It should be understood that before the first radio bearer is established, a radio bearer for communication is also established between the terminal device and the access network device. Exemplarily, the first configuration is transmitted via a second radio bearer. The second radio bearer is different from the first radio bearer and can enable the transmission of control information such as indication information and configuration information between the terminal device and the access network device before the first radio bearer is established. The second radio bearer can be at least one of the following: a signaling radio bearer or a computing radio bearer.

[0238] In one possible design scheme, the second radio bearer may be a common (commom) signaling radio bearer or a common computing radio bearer, which is used to transmit all service-related control information, such as the first indication information sent by the terminal device, the first configuration sent by the access network device, etc. For example, the first configuration is carried in the RRC setup (Setup) message (Msg4) and sent, and the common signaling radio bearer may be SRB0 in NR. For another example, the first configuration is carried in the RRC reconfiguration (Reconfiguration) message and sent, and the common signaling radio bearer may be SRB1 in NR.

[0239] In one possible scenario, when the computing power status of the access network device does not meet the computing power QoS requirements, the access network device can perceive the computing power status of other access network devices or user-plane network elements, and assign services to access network devices or user-plane network elements that meet the computing power QoS requirements, or negotiate with access network devices or user-plane network elements that meet the QoS requirements to allow them to provide services to terminal devices.

[0240] For example, if access network device #1 determines that its computing power status does not meet the computing power QoS requirements and perceives that the computing power status of access network device #2 does meet the computing power QoS requirements, it can send QoS information corresponding to the service and indication information #1 to access network device #2. Indication information #1 is used to indicate that access network device #2 provides the service to the terminal device. Optionally, indication information #1 may include the reason why access network device #1 cannot perform the service. Indication information #1 and indication information #2 can be carried in the Xn-C message.

[0241] Furthermore, access network device #1 may send indication information #2 to the terminal device to inform the terminal device that access network device #2 is providing the service. And / or, access network device #1 may send indication information #3 to the session management network element to inform the terminal device that access network device #2 is providing the service. Indication information #2 and / or indication information #3 may also include the reason why access network device #1 cannot perform the service.

[0242] It should be understood that no matter whether the user plane network element provides services for the terminal device or the access network device provides services for the terminal device, the access network device needs to determine the first configuration based on the QoS information and send the first configuration to the terminal device.

[0243] S705: The user plane network element sends a second configuration to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second configuration from the session management network element.

[0244] In a scenario where both the user plane network element and the access network device provide services for the terminal device, or in a scenario where only the user plane network element provides services for the terminal device, that is, when the user plane network element provides services for the terminal device, the user plane network element needs to establish a tunnel for the service with the access network device, such as a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane part protocol (GTP-U tunneling protocol), so the user plane network element can determine a second configuration based on the QoS information corresponding to the service, and send the second configuration to the access network device, where the second configuration is used to configure the access network device to establish a tunnel for the service with the user plane network element. The second configuration may include relevant configuration information such as routing priority, congestion avoidance, packet filtering, uplink or downlink rate control, etc.

[0245] It should be understood that S705 can be considered as an optional step. If the user plane network element does not provide services for the terminal device, S705 is not executed.

[0246] S706: The access network device sends service-related data information to the terminal device via the first radio bearer. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives service-related data information from the access network device via the first radio bearer.

[0247] When the user plane network element locally provides services to the terminal device, the access network device can forward the relevant data information of the service provided by the user plane network element to the terminal device through the first radio bearer, and the user plane network element can carry the relevant data information of the service in a GTP-U message and send it to the access network device. For example, if the user plane network element provides the rendering result of AR rendering to the terminal device, the user plane network element can send the rendering result to the access network device through the GTP-U message, and the access network device can parse the GTP-U message to obtain the rendering result of AR rendering, and send the rendering result to the terminal device through the first radio bearer.

[0248] In the case where the access network device locally provides services to the terminal device, the access network device directly sends service-related data to the terminal device through the first radio bearer.

[0249] In the case where both the local access network device and the local user plane network element provide services to the terminal device, data related to the two services may also be sent to the terminal device via the first radio bearer.

[0250] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also send relevant data for the user plane network element or access network device to complete the service. For example, if the service is that the access network device sends an AI training model to the terminal device, the terminal device may send sample data for AI model training to the access network device.

[0251] It should also be understood that, when both S703a and S703b exist, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order of S703a and S703b, and the execution order of S704 and S705.

[0252] Based on the communication method shown in Figure 7, the session management network element obtains the QoS information corresponding to the service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element to the terminal device according to the first indication information, and sends the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element, so that the access network device establishes a wireless bearer for the service between it and the terminal device, and / or the user plane network element establishes a tunnel for the service between it and the access network device. This can meet the needs of the access network device and / or the user plane network element to provide local services for the terminal device. Compared with the data network providing data services, the signaling interaction process is reduced, the service efficiency can be improved, and the node providing the service is closer to the user, which can reduce the transmission delay, improve reliability and ensure service quality.

[0253] The communication method shown in Figure 7 is described in detail below, with reference to a 5G system. The terminal device is a UE, the access network device is a gNB, the user plane network element is a UPF, and the session management network element is an SMF. This description uses the example of both the UPF and the gNB providing services locally to the UE.

[0254] For example, FIG8 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8, the method includes the following steps:

[0255] S801: UE sends a PDU Session Establishment Request message to SMF. Correspondingly, SMF receives the PDU Session Establishment Request message from UE.

[0256] The PDU session establishment request message carries first indication information to instruct the gNB and UPF to provide services to the terminal device. For example, the gNB provides an AI inference model to the UE, and the UPF provides AR rendering results to the UE. For a description of the first indication information, refer to the description in S701 above and will not be repeated here.

[0257] After receiving the first indication information, the SMF negotiates with the UDM to obtain the user subscription data information of the UE according to the service indicated by the first indication information, and obtains the QoS information corresponding to the service from the PCF, such as the QoS information corresponding to the AI ​​inference model provided by the gNB to the UE, including the requirements for the computing capability of the gNB to obtain the AI ​​inference model and the latency requirements for transmitting the AI ​​inference model, and the QoS information corresponding to the AR rendering result provided by the UPF to the UE, including the requirements for the computing accuracy of the UPF to perform AR rendering and the latency requirements for transmitting the AR rendering result.

[0258] Among them, the requirement for the computing capability of the gNB to obtain the AI ​​inference model may be the computing power requirement for the gNB to calculate the AI ​​inference model, the delay requirement required to transmit the AI ​​inference model may be the delay requirement from the gNB sending the AI ​​inference model to the UE receiving the AI ​​inference model, the requirement for the computational accuracy of the UPF performing AR rendering may refer to the accuracy requirement or precision requirement for the AR rendering result, and the delay requirement for transmitting the AR rendering result may refer to the delay requirement from the UPF sending the AR rendering result to the UE receiving the AR rendering result, that is, including the transmission delay requirement between the UPF and the gNB and the transmission delay requirement between the gNB and the UE.

[0259] Thus, after the SMF obtains the QoS information corresponding to the AI ​​reasoning model provided by the gNB to the UE, and the QoS information corresponding to the AR rendering result provided by the UPF to the UE, it sends them to the gNB and UPF respectively, such as executing the following S802 and S803.

[0260] S802: The SMF sends an N3 Tunnel Setup Request message to the UPF. Correspondingly, the UPF receives the N3 Tunnel Setup Request message from the SMF.

[0261] The N3 tunnel establishment request message carries the QoS information corresponding to the AR rendering result provided by the UPF to the UE. Based on the accuracy requirements in the QoS information, the UPF can determine whether the calculation accuracy meets the requirements. If the accuracy meets the requirements, the UPF determines the routing rules, congestion avoidance, and other configuration information based on the latency requirements in the QoS information.

[0262] S803: The SMF sends a PDU Session Resource Setup Request message to the gNB. In response, the gNB receives the PDU Session Resource Setup Request message from the SMF.

[0263] The PDU Session Resource Establishment Request message includes the QoS information for the AI ​​inference model provided by the gNB to the UE. Because the UPF needs to provide services to the UE, the message also carries QoS information for the AR rendering results provided by the UPF to the UE. The gNB can then establish different radio bearers based on the QoS information for different services to transmit data.

[0264] S804. UPF and gNB establish an N3 tunnel.

[0265] For example, the UPF may send relevant configuration information for tunnel establishment determined based on the QoS information to the gNB to complete the establishment of the N3 tunnel for AR rendering result transmission between the gNB and the UPF.

[0266] S805. The gNB sends an RRC Reconfiguration message to the UE. In response, the UE receives the RRC Reconfiguration message from the gNB.

[0267] The RRC reconfiguration message includes the radio bearer configuration for transmitting AR rendering results and the radio bearer configuration for transmitting the AI ​​inference model. After receiving the radio bearer configuration, the UE can complete the establishment of the radio bearer for transmitting AR rendering results and the radio bearer for transmitting the AI ​​inference model with the gNB based on the radio bearer configuration.

[0268] S806. The UE sends an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message to the gNB. In response, the gNB receives the RRC Reconfiguration Complete message from the UE.

[0269] Among them, the RRC reconfiguration completion message includes indication information #1 and indication information #2. Indication information #1 is used to instruct the UE to complete the establishment of a wireless bearer for transmitting the results of AR rendering, and indication information #2 is used to instruct the UE to complete the establishment of a wireless bearer for transmitting the AI ​​reasoning model.

[0270] S807. The gNB sends a PDU Session Resource Setup Response message to the SMF. In response, the SMF receives the PDU Session Resource Setup Response message from the gNB.

[0271] The PDU Session Resource Establishment Response message carries indication information #3 and indication information #4. Indication information #3 is used to indicate that the radio bearer for transmitting AR rendering results between the gNB and the UE has been successfully established. Indication information #4 is used to indicate that the radio bearer for transmitting AI inference models between the gNB and the UE has been successfully established.

[0272] That is, after the gNB completes the establishment of the radio bearer for the transmission of AR rendering results and AI inference model transmission, it can inform the SMF that it has completed the establishment of the radio bearer for the service.

[0273] Therefore, after the gNB and UPF complete the establishment of radio bearers and tunnels, they can send the AR rendering results and AI inference models to the UE.

[0274] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the order in which the above-mentioned S802 and S803 are executed, and the order in which the above-mentioned S804 and S805 are executed.

[0275] Figure 8 illustrates the interaction process whereby the UE triggers the SMF to obtain QoS information based on a PDU session request, thereby instructing the gNB and UPF to provide local services. Alternatively, the UE can directly trigger the gNB and / or UPF to provide local services.

[0276] For example, FIG9 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the method includes the following steps:

[0277] S901. The terminal device sends first indication information.

[0278] In one possible design, the terminal device sends first indication information to the session management network element. In response, the session management network element receives the first indication information from the terminal device. In this design, the detailed description of the first indication information and the process by which the access network device and / or user-plane network element provides local services can be found in the relevant descriptions of S701 to S706 above and are not further detailed here.

[0279] In another possible design, the terminal device sends a first indication to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first indication from the terminal device. In this design, the terminal device directly triggers the access network device to provide local services. The communication process illustrated in Figure 9 primarily addresses the process of a terminal device directly triggering an access network device to provide services.

[0280] Under this design, the first indication information may be carried in an RRC message. For example, during the initial random access process of the terminal device, the terminal device carries the first indication information in an RRC Setup Request message (Initial Access Msg3). For another example, after the terminal device completes random access, the first indication information may be carried in an RRC Setup Complete message (Msg5).

[0281] Under this design, the terminal device can also send QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the QoS information corresponding to the service from the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device can configure the QoS information for the required service to instruct the access network device to establish a radio bearer for the service. A detailed description of the QoS information corresponding to the service can be found in the relevant description of S702 above and will not be repeated here.

[0282] In a possible implementation, the first indication information and the QoS information may be carried in the same message, such as being carried in an RRC establishment request and sent to reduce signaling overhead.

[0283] In one possible implementation, the access network device and the terminal device may include a computing resource control entity, such as the CRC layer in the protocol stack architecture shown in (a) or (c) of Figure 4, which is configured to process service-related control information and / or data information. In this case, the first indication information may be carried in a CRC message and sent.

[0284] Similarly, the terminal device may also send first indication information to the user plane network element to instruct the user plane network element to provide local services for it. It should be understood that when the terminal device sends the first indication information to the user plane network element, the first indication information may be forwarded to the user plane network element via the access network device.

[0285] S902: The access network device sends a first configuration to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first configuration from the access network device.

[0286] The access network device determines the first configuration according to the QoS information corresponding to the service. For a detailed description of S902 , please refer to the relevant description in the above S704 , which will not be repeated here.

[0287] When the terminal device sends the first indication information to the session management network element, the access network device receives QoS information corresponding to the service from the session management network element and determines the first configuration based on the QoS information. The specific implementation process of the access network device obtaining the QoS information from the session management network element can be found in the relevant descriptions of S702 and S703 above and will not be repeated here.

[0288] When the terminal device sends the first indication information to the access network device, the access network device receives QoS information corresponding to the service from the terminal device and determines the first configuration based on the QoS information.

[0289] S903: The access network device sends service-related data information to the terminal device via the first radio bearer. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives service-related data information from the access network device via the first radio bearer.

[0290] The specific description of S903 can be found in the related description of S706 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0291] Based on the communication method shown in Figure 9, the terminal device can directly or indirectly trigger the access network device and / or user-side network element to provide local services by sending a first indication message. The node providing the service is closer to the user, which can reduce transmission delay, improve reliability and ensure service quality.

[0292] The communication method shown in Figure 9 is described in detail below, in conjunction with a 5G system. The terminal device is a UE, and the access network device is a gNB. The example of the gNB providing a local service for the UE is AI rendering.

[0293] For example, FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the method includes the following steps:

[0294] S1001. A UE sends a computing service request to a gNB. In response, the gNB receives the computing service request from the UE.

[0295] The computing service request includes first indication information and QoS information corresponding to the service. The first indication information is used to indicate the service provided by the gNB to the UE, such as the AI ​​rendering result provided by the gNB to the UE. The QoS information corresponding to the service includes the computational accuracy requirement for AR rendering performed by the UPF and the latency requirement for transmitting the AR rendering result. For example, the computing service request can be an RRC Setup Request (Msg3) message transmitted via SRB0, or an RRC Setup Complete (Msg5) message transmitted via SRB1.

[0296] S1002. The gNB sends a computing service response to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the computing service response from the gNB.

[0297] The computing service response includes a first configuration, where the first configuration is used to establish a first radio bearer, such as an SRB, DRB, or CRB, between the UE and the gNB for transmitting AR rendering results. For example, the computing service response may be an RRC Setup message transmitted via SRB0, or an RRC Reconfiguration message transmitted via SRB1.

[0298] For a detailed description of the first configuration in S1002 , please refer to the relevant description in S704 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0299] S1003, gNB and UE transmit service-related data information through the first radio bearer.

[0300] Exemplarily, after the first radio bearer is established between the gNB and the UE, the gNB may send the AR rendering result to the UE through the first radio bearer.

[0301] Based on the communication method shown in Figure 10, the UE sends first indication information to the gNB to trigger the gNB to provide local services for the terminal device.

[0302] It can be understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the session management network element can also be implemented by components that can be used for the session management network element (such as a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software); the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the terminal device (such as a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software); the methods and / or steps implemented by the access network device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the access network device (such as a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software).

[0303] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by this application. Accordingly, this application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods in the above method embodiments. The communication device can be the session management network element in the above method embodiments, or a device including a session management network element, or a component that can be used for a session management network element, such as a chip or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication device can be the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a device including a terminal device, or a component that can be used for a terminal device, such as a chip or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication device can be the access network device in the above method embodiments, or a device including an access network device, or a component that can be used for an access network device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0304] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0305] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0306] Taking the communication device as a session management network element, terminal device, or access network device in the above-described method embodiment as an example, Figure 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 11, communication device 1100 includes a processing module 1101 and a transceiver module 1102. Processing module 1101 is configured to perform the processing functions of the session management network element, terminal device, or access network device in the above-described method embodiment. Transceiver module 1102 is configured to perform the transceiver functions of the session management network element, terminal device, or access network device in the above-described method embodiment.

[0307] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0308] Since the communication device 1100 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0309] In one possible design solution, in an embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 1102 may include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG11 ). The transceiver module is used to implement the sending and receiving functions of the communication device 1100 .

[0310] In one possible design, the communication device 1100 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 11 ) storing a program or instruction. When the processing module 1101 executes the program or instruction, the communication device 1100 may perform the functions of the session management network element, terminal device, or access network device in the method shown in any one of FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 .

[0311] It should be understood that the processing module 1101 involved in the communication device 1100 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, which can be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module 1102 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, which can be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

[0312] For example, FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a session management network element, a terminal device, or an access network device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be set in a session management network element, a terminal device, or an access network device. As shown in FIG12 , the communication device 1200 may include a processor 1201. In one possible design scheme, the communication device 1200 may further include a memory 1202 and / or a transceiver 1203. The processor 1201 is coupled to the memory 1202 and the transceiver 1203, such as by a communication bus.

[0313] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 1200 in conjunction with FIG12 :

[0314] The processor 1201 is the control center of the communication device 1200 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1201 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0315] In one possible design, the processor 1201 may execute various functions of the communication device 1200 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1202 and calling data stored in the memory 1202 .

[0316] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1201 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG12 .

[0317] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1200 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 1201 and the processor 1204 shown in FIG12 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0318] Among them, the memory 1202 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of this application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1201. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0319] In one possible design, the memory 1202 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1202 may be integrated with the processor 1201 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1201 via an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 12 ) of the communication device 1200. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0320] Transceiver 1203 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 1200 is a terminal device, transceiver 1203 can be used to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 1200 is a network device, transceiver 1203 can be used to communicate with a terminal device or another network device.

[0321] In one possible design, transceiver 1203 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not separately shown in FIG12 ), wherein the receiver is configured to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0322] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver 1203 can be integrated with the processor 1201, or it can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1201 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1200 (not shown in Figure 12). This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0323] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 1200 shown in FIG12 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. An actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0324] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1200 can refer to the technical effects of the methods described in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0325] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the functions of the above-mentioned method embodiment are realized.

[0326] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which implements the functions of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

[0327] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, 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 instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions 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 instructions 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 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 DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0328] 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. Professional and technical personnel 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 application.

[0329] 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.

[0330] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0331] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0332] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0333] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0334] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0335] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service provided by an access network device and / or a user plane network element for a terminal device; Acquire quality of service QoS information corresponding to the service according to the first indication information; Send the QoS information to the access network device and / or the user plane network element.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The obtaining of the first indication information includes: Receive first indication information from the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The receiving first indication information from the terminal device includes: A session establishment request message is received from the terminal device, where the session establishment request message includes the first indication information, and the session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request to establish a session for the service.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second indication information from the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that a first wireless bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device is successfully established.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a service provided by the access network device and / or the user plane network element for the terminal device; A first configuration is received from the access network device, where the first configuration is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first wireless bearer for the service with the access network device.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The sending of the first indication information includes: Send the first indication information to the session management network element.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The sending the first indication information to the session management network element includes: A session establishment request message is sent to the session management network element, where the session establishment request message includes the first indication information, and the session establishment request message is used by the terminal device to request to establish a session for the service.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The sending of the first indication information includes: Send the first indication information to the access network device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending QoS information corresponding to the service to the access network device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that: The terminal device and the access network device include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to encapsulate control information and / or data information related to the service.

11. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The terminal device receives the service-related data information from the access network device through the first wireless bearer.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Obtaining quality of service (QoS) information corresponding to a service provided by an access network device to a terminal device; A first configuration is sent to the terminal device, where the first configuration is determined according to the QoS information, and the first configuration is used to configure the terminal device to establish a first wireless bearer for the service with the access network device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The obtaining QoS information corresponding to the service includes: Receive QoS information corresponding to the service from the session management network element.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second indication information to the session management network element, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that a first wireless bearer for the service between the access network device and the terminal device is successfully established.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The obtaining of QoS information corresponding to the service includes: Receive QoS information corresponding to the service from the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive first indication information from the terminal device, the first indication information is used to indicate that the access network device is Describe the services provided by the terminal equipment.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: The terminal device and the access network device include a computing resource control entity, and the computing resource control entity is used to process control information and / or data information related to the service.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The service-related data information is sent to the terminal device via the first wireless bearer.

19. The method according to any one of claims 8, 9, 16-18, characterized in that: The first indication information and / or the first configuration is transmitted via a second wireless bearer, and the second wireless bearer is at least one of the following: a signaling wireless bearer, or a computing wireless bearer, wherein the computing wireless bearer is used to transmit control information and / or data information related to the service.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The second radio bearer is a common signaling radio bearer, and the common signaling radio bearer is used to transmit all control information related to the service.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, 9, 12-20, characterized in that: The QoS information includes computing power requirement information for executing the service and data transmission requirement information for executing the service.

22. The method according to any one of claims 4, 5-11, 12-20, characterized in that: The first radio bearer includes at least one of the following: a data radio bearer, a signaling radio bearer, or a computing radio bearer; wherein the computing radio bearer is used to transmit control information and / or data information related to the service.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 22, characterized in that The service includes: the access network device and / or the user plane network element performs the computing task requested by the terminal device and sends the result of the computing task to the terminal device; or, The service includes: the access network device and / or the user plane network element obtains the data or artificial intelligence AI model requested by the terminal device, and sends the data or AI model to the terminal device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-23 through a logic circuit or executing code instructions.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor; The processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

27. A communication chip, characterized in that: Instructions are stored therein, and when the chip runs on a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction, and when the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that The device comprises a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed on a communication device, the communication device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

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