Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. In the method, a network device sends first configuration information to a terminal device, the first configuration information being used for requesting to perform application layer measurement on a first-type service, wherein the first-type service is a multicast service or a broadcast service, the first configuration information comprises a configuration scope, and the configuration scope comprises cell information which can be used for performing the application layer measurement on the first-type service; and then the terminal device determines whether a cell where the received first-type service comes from is within the configuration scope to determine an action that needs to be performed in subsequent application layer measurement, so that in a scenario where the terminal device receives an MBS from a non-serving cell, QoE measurement for the service can be executed more accurately by determining whether the cell where the received first-type service comes from is within the configuration scope of the QoE measurement.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on September 27, 2023, with application number 202311261692.0 and application name “Communication Method and Communication 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 more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, some streaming services or voice services have increasingly higher requirements for user experience. For example, these services can be streaming services, multimedia telephony services for IP multimedia subsystem (MTSI), virtual reality (VR) services, augmented reality (AR) services, multicast-broadcast services (MBS) services, etc. Since signal quality alone cannot reflect the user experience when using these services, when a terminal device initiates a data service, the network side can send quality of experience (QoE) measurement configuration information (QoE measurement is also called application layer measurement) to the terminal device to obtain the user experience of the terminal device when using these services, thereby better optimizing the network and improving the user experience.

[0004] In some scenarios, a configuration range (i.e., cell range) is configured for QoE measurement to control the scope of QoE measurements. Currently, whether a terminal device is within this configuration range is determined based on its serving cell. However, for MBS services, a terminal device may receive MBS services in a non-serving cell. In this scenario, determining whether a device is within the QoE measurement configuration range is not yet clear.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, which clarifies that in the scenario where a terminal device receives an MBS service from a non-serving cell, whether the cell of the received MBS service is within the configuration range of QoE measurement is determined by the terminal device, so as to more accurately determine how to perform QoE measurement for the service.

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device, or may be executed by a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or circuit), which is not limited in this application.

[0008] The method includes: receiving first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information is used to request application layer measurement of a first type of service, wherein the first type of service is a multicast service or a broadcast service, the first configuration information includes a configuration range, and the configuration range includes cell information that can perform application layer measurement on the first type of service; receiving a first service from a first cell, the first service being a first type of service; and determining whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0009] In the above technical solution, when the terminal device receives the first service from a non-service cell, it determines whether it is within the configuration range based on the cell of the first type of service received by the terminal device. Compared with the current method of determining whether it is within the configuration range based on the service cell of the terminal device, this method can more accurately determine how to perform subsequent application layer measurements on the first service.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first cell is within the configuration range, and the method also includes: the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the terminal device starts the application layer measurement of the first service, or the application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the terminal device continues the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first cell is not within the configuration range, and the method also includes: the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the terminal device does not start or releases the application layer measurement of the first service, or, the application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the terminal device continues or releases the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code TAC corresponding to the cell.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the cell information of the first cell further includes an identifier of the first service.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first configuration information includes an identifier of at least one service, at least one service is a first type of service, the identifier of at least one service is used to indicate that only application layer measurement is performed on at least one service, and at least one service includes a first service.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the terminal device includes an access layer of the terminal device and an upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device, and determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell, including: the access layer of the terminal device or the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell, including: the access layer of the terminal device sends the cell information of the first cell to the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

[0018] On the second aspect, a perception method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or can also be executed by a component of the network device (such as a chip or circuit), which is not limited in this application.

[0019] The method includes: obtaining first information, the first information includes a configuration range, the configuration range includes cell information that can perform application layer measurement on a first type of service, the first type of service is a multicast service or a broadcast service; receiving cell information of a first cell from a terminal device, the first cell is a cell of a first service received by the terminal device, the first service is a first type of service; and determining whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0020] It should be understood that the main difference between the second aspect and the first aspect is that the network device (or a component of the network device) determines whether the cell receiving the first type of service is within the configuration range contained in the first configuration information. For the beneficial effects of the second aspect, please refer to the description of the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0021] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, it is determined that the first cell is not within the configuration range, and the method also includes: the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, sending second information to the terminal device, the second information instructing the terminal device not to start or release the application layer measurement of the first service, or, the application layer measurement of the first service has been started, sending third information to the terminal device, the third information instructing to suspend or release the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a TAC corresponding to the cell.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the cell information of the first cell further includes an identifier of the first service.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information and the cell information of the first cell further include a first identifier, where the first identifier is used to identify the application layer measurement corresponding to the configuration range.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

[0026] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or can also be executed by a component of the terminal device (such as a chip or circuit), which is not limited in this application.

[0027] The method includes: receiving first configuration information from a first network device, the first configuration information being used to request a terminal device to perform application layer measurement on a first type of service, where the first type of service is a broadcast service or a multicast service; receiving second configuration information from a second network device, the second configuration information being used to request wireless access side measurement, wherein the first configuration information or the second configuration information includes first information, and the first information indicates that alignment of application layer measurement results and wireless access side measurement results needs to be performed; and sending second information to a third network device, the second information including the first wireless access side measurement result, the first wireless access side measurement result including the wireless access side measurement result of at least one first type cell, wherein the first type cell is a cell for the first type of service received by the terminal device.

[0028] In the above technical solution, measurement information of at least one first type cell is recorded in the radio access side measurement result, thereby achieving alignment between the application layer measurement result and the radio access side measurement result.

[0029] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the number M of first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point is less than or equal to N, and the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of M first type cells, wherein the first frequency point is the frequency point measured in the wireless access side measurement, and N is the maximum number of cells in the cell corresponding to the first frequency point that are allowed to record the wireless access side measurement results; or, the number M of first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point is greater than N, and the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of N cells out of the M first type cells.

[0030] In the above technical solution, without changing the existing recording method of the wireless access side measurement results, the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cell are recorded separately. Specifically, the terminal device records the wireless signal measurement results of the neighboring cells under multiple frequency points based on the existing recording method, wherein the multiple frequency points are the frequency points for wireless access side measurements based on the second configuration information. In addition, the terminal device also separately records the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cell corresponding to the multiple frequency points.

[0031] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second information also includes a second wireless access side measurement result, wherein the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of all first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point, and the second wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of the N cells with the best signal quality corresponding to the first frequency point, where N is the maximum number of cells in the cells corresponding to the first frequency point that are allowed to record the wireless access side measurement results.

[0032] In the above technical solution, the terminal device preferentially records the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cells corresponding to the above multiple frequency points, and then records the measurement information of other cells.

[0033] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, at least one first-type cell includes a wireless access side measurement result of a first cell, and the first cell is a cell that receives a first-type service. The wireless access side measurement result of the first cell also includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the first cell is a cell for receiving the first-type service received by the terminal device.

[0034] In the above technical solution, if the first wireless access side measurement results and the second wireless access side measurement results described in the third aspect also include measurement results of first-type cells, the terminal device may also carry corresponding first indication information in the measurement results corresponding to the first-type cells, informing the network device that the cell is a cell for the first-type service received by the terminal device. In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, before recording the wireless access side measurement results of the first cell included in at least one first-type cell, the terminal device has initiated application layer measurement of the first service, where the first service is a broadcast service received by the terminal device from the first cell, and the first service is a first-type service.

[0035] With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second configuration information includes configuration information for log-type minimization of drive tests (MDT) measurement, or includes configuration information for immediate-type MDT measurement.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which is used to execute the method provided in any one of the first to third aspects above. Specifically, the communication device may include a unit and / or module for executing the method provided in the first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect, or include a unit and / or module for executing the method provided in the second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second aspect, or include a unit and / or module for executing the method provided in the third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the third aspect, such as a processing unit and / or a transceiver unit.

[0037] In one implementation, the communication device is a device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device). When the communication device is a device, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface; and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0038] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device (such as a terminal device or a network device). When the communication device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; and at least one processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to execute the method provided by the first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect, or to execute the method provided by the second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second aspect, or to execute the method provided by the third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the third aspect.

[0040] In one implementation, the communication device is a device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0041] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit used in a device (such as a terminal device or a network device).

[0042] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the methods provided in the above aspects.

[0043] For the operations such as sending and acquiring / receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna. This application does not limit this.

[0044] In the seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, wherein the program code includes instructions for executing the method provided by the first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect, or includes instructions for executing the method provided by the second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second aspect, or includes instructions for executing the method provided by the third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the third aspect.

[0045] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method provided by the first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect, or the computer is caused to execute the method provided by the second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second aspect, or the computer is caused to execute the method provided by the third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the third aspect.

[0046] In the ninth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface, executes the method provided by the first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the first aspect, or executes the method provided by the second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the second aspect, or executes the method provided by the third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementations of the third aspect.

[0047] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip also includes a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored on the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided by the above-mentioned first aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the first aspect, or execute the method provided by the above-mentioned second aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the second aspect, or execute the method provided by the above-mentioned third aspect or any one of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the third aspect.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the terminal device and network device described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of the CU and DU architecture.

[0050] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 200 applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0051] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0052] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0053] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0057] Before introducing the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained.

[0058] First, in this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their internal logical relationships.

[0059] It can be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may not depend on other features in certain scenarios, and may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios, without limitation.

[0060] It can be understood that the solutions in the embodiments of this application can be used in combination, and the explanations or descriptions of each term, similar operations or steps appearing in the embodiments can be referenced or explained with each other in each embodiment, and this application does not limit this.

[0061] Second, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means 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 mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively.

[0062] Third, throughout this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical references are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they are used to distinguish between different messages, rather than to describe a specific order or precedence. It should be understood that these references are interchangeable, where appropriate, to allow for the description of scenarios beyond the embodiments of this application.

[0063] Fourth, in this application, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

[0064] Fifth, in this application, "used to indicate" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and does not necessarily mean that the indication information carries A.

[0065] Sixth, in this application, "sending information to XX (device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the device. This can include sending information to the device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from XX (device) or receiving information from XX (device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the device, which can include receiving information from the device directly or indirectly. The information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can still understand the valid information from the source.

[0066] Seventh, the arrows or boxes shown by dotted lines in the schematic diagrams of the accompanying drawings in the specification of this application represent optional steps or optional modules.

[0067] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), NR system and other fifth generation (5G) systems, or future evolved communication systems (for example, 6G mobile communication system). The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various scenarios such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), Internet of Vehicles, machine type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), long term evolution-machine (LTE-M), machine to machine (M2M), etc.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, user equipment (UE), a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. A terminal device is a device that includes wireless communication functionality (providing voice / data connectivity to a user). For example, a handheld device with wireless connection functionality or an in-vehicle device, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a train, an airplane, a mobile Internet device (MID), a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (such as a robot, etc.), a wireless terminal in the Internet of Vehicles (such as a vehicle-mounted device, a whole vehicle equipment, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle, etc.), a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, etc. In addition, the terminal device can also be used in scenarios such as unmanned driving, telemedicine, smart grid, transportation safety, smart city, smart city, smart home, etc.

[0069] In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can be any device with a wireless transceiver function for communicating with a terminal device, and the network device can also be referred to as an access network device or a wireless access network device, such as a network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiment of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to the wireless network. The base station can broadly cover the following various names, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), or base station equipment in a future evolved communication system, or a server, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. It can also be one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station, or it can also be a network node constituting a base station, such as a baseband unit (BBU), a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip for being provided in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device to device (Device-to-Device, D2D), vehicle outreach (vehicle-to-everything, V2X), a device that performs the base station function in machine to machine (machine-to-machine, M2M) communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in a future communication system, and the like. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.

[0070] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0071] In some deployments, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device includes a CU and a DU. The network device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU).

[0072] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the CU and DU architecture. The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that a network device can be a device that includes one or more of a CU node, a DU node, or an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as a network device in an access network (radio access network, RAN), or may be classified as a network device in a core network (core network, CN), which is not limited in this application.

[0073] Furthermore, the CU can be divided into the central unit-control plane (CU-CP) for the control plane and the central unit-user plane (CU-UP) for the user plane. The CU-CP and CU-UP can also be deployed on different physical devices. The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including the RRC layer and the PDCP-C layer. The PDCP-C layer is primarily responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer and the PDCP-U layer. The SDAP layer is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. The PDCP-U layer is primarily responsible for at least one function in the data plane, including encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. Specifically, the CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via a communication interface (e.g., the E1 interface). The CU-CP represents a network device connected to the core network device via a communication interface (e.g., the Ng interface) and connected to the DU via a communication interface (e.g., the F1-C (control plane) interface). The CU-UP is connected to the DU through a communication interface (eg, F1-U (User Plane) interface).

[0074] It is understandable that the above protocol layer divisions of CU and DU, as well as CU-CP and CU-UP are only examples, and there may be other division methods, which are not limited to this. The network device involved in the embodiment of the present application may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (CU-CP node) and a user plane CU node (CU-UP node) and a DU node.

[0075] In different systems, CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP and DU as examples for description.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present application, core network equipment is also involved. Specifically, core network equipment refers to equipment in the core network (CN) that provides service support for terminal equipment. The core network equipment may include one or more core network elements. Taking the 5G core network as an example, the 5G core network includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element responsible for services such as mobility management and access management, a session management function (SMF) network element responsible for session management, a user plane function (UPF) network element responsible for data packet routing and forwarding and quality of service (QoS) control on the user plane, a policy control function (PCF) network element, etc. The above-mentioned core network elements can work independently or be combined to implement certain control functions, such as AMF, SMF and PCF can be combined together as a core network device.

[0077] It should be understood that the above naming is defined only to facilitate the distinction between different functions and should not constitute any limitation to this application. This application does not exclude the possibility of adopting other naming in 5G networks and other future networks. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the above network elements may continue to use the terminology used in 5G, or may adopt other names.

[0078] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 200 applicable to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the wireless communication system 200 may include at least one network device, such as the network device 210 shown in Figure 2, and the wireless communication system 200 may also include at least one terminal device, such as the terminal device 220 shown in Figure 2. Both the network device and the terminal device may be configured with multiple antennas, and the network device and the terminal device may communicate using multi-antenna technology. When the network device and the terminal device communicate, the network device may manage one or more cells, and a cell may contain one or more terminal devices. The terminal device may access the network device in at least one of the one or more cells and communicate with the network device in the cell to which the terminal device is connected. It should be noted that a cell can be understood as an area within the wireless signal coverage range of the network device. Optionally, the network device 210 and the terminal device 220 form a single-cell communication system. Without loss of generality, the cell is referred to as cell #1. The network device 210 may be a network device in cell #1, or in other words, the network device 210 may serve a terminal device (such as terminal device 220) in cell #1.

[0079] It should be understood that FIG2 is merely a simplified schematic diagram for ease of understanding, and the wireless communication system 200 may further include other network devices or other terminal devices, which are not shown in FIG2 .

[0080] For some streaming services or voice services, such as MBS, signal quality alone cannot reflect the user experience of terminal devices when using these services. Operators can use measurement collection (for example, QoE measurement collection or application layer measurement collection) to understand the user experience of terminal devices, thereby better optimizing the network to improve user experience. In some scenarios, to control the scope of QoE measurement, a configuration range is configured for QoE measurement. Currently, whether the terminal device is within the configuration range is determined based on the serving cell. However, for MBS services, the terminal device may receive MBS services in a non-serving cell. In this scenario, how to determine whether it is within the QoE measurement configuration range is not yet clear.

[0081] To address this technical problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can effectively solve the above technical problem.

[0082] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a communication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method flow can be executed by a terminal device and a network device, or by modules and / or devices (e.g., chips or integrated circuits) with corresponding functions installed in the terminal device and the network device, and is not limited in this application. The following description uses the terminal device and the network device as the execution entities, and the method 300 includes the following steps.

[0083] S310: The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device. The first configuration information is used to request application layer measurement of a first type of service, where the first type of service is a multicast service or a broadcast service. The first configuration information includes a configuration range, where the configuration range includes information about cells in which application layer measurement of the first type of service can be performed. In response, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the network device.

[0084] For example, the cell information in the configuration range includes at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network (PLMN) corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code (TAC) corresponding to the cell.

[0085] For example, the cell information in the configuration range may also include other information indicating the cell, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0086] For example, the network device may send the first configuration information to the terminal device via a broadcast message or a dedicated RRC message.

[0087] It should be noted that the first type of service involved in this application can be a new service that is parallel to streaming services or voice services, AR, VR services, such as streaming media services, MTSI, etc., and the new service is a multicast service or a broadcast service. Alternatively, the first type of service can also be just a communication type, and the communication type still carries streaming services or voice services, etc., that is, only multicast services or broadcasts are used to carry these streaming services or voice services, AR, VR services, etc.

[0088] In all embodiments of the present application, application layer measurement may also be referred to as QoE measurement, and QoE measurement includes signaling-based QoE measurement and management-based QoE measurement. Among them, signaling-based QoE measurement means that the QoE measurement is for a specific terminal device. For example, the CN sends the configuration information of the signaling-based QoE measurement to the network device through the terminal device-level signaling between the CN and the network device. Correspondingly, the network device sends the configuration information of the QoE measurement to the corresponding terminal device. For example, the network device will also decide whether to configure the application layer measurement configuration for the terminal device based on whether the terminal device supports QoE measurement. Management-based QoE measurement means that the QoE measurement is not for a specific terminal device. For example, when the EM or OAM sends the configuration information of the management-based QoE measurement to the network device, it does not specify the terminal device for QoE measurement. Correspondingly, the network device selects a suitable terminal device for QoE measurement based on whether the terminal device currently connected to the network device supports the corresponding QoE measurement and other factors. After the network device selects the terminal device, it sends the configuration information of the QoE measurement to the terminal device.

[0089] It can be understood that the first configuration information in this embodiment may be configuration information of QoE measurement based on signaling or configuration information of QoE measurement based on management, which is not limited in this application.

[0090] Exemplarily, when the network device is a base station using a split architecture, the module for sending the first configuration information to the terminal device may be located in the CU or CU-CP. For example, the first configuration information may be generated by the CU-CP, and correspondingly, the CU-CP sends the first configuration information to the terminal device.

[0091] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may be configured to send first configuration information to the terminal device based on the QoE measurement collection configuration information after receiving the QoE measurement collection configuration information issued by other network devices, such as core network devices, operation administration and maintenance (OAM) or element management (EM). The present application does not limit this.

[0092] For example, before executing step S310, the method further includes: the network device receiving QoE measurement collection configuration information from the CN or OAM or EM, and the network device sending first configuration information to the terminal device based on the QoE measurement collection configuration information. The QoE measurement collection configuration information includes a QoE measurement configuration, which may also be referred to as an application layer measurement configuration in this application.

[0093] For example, the QoE measurement collection configuration information includes an application layer measurement configuration container, which contains the application layer measurement configuration. Specifically, the application layer measurement configuration can be sent to the network device in a container format. In this case, the network device may not perceive or parse the contents of the container and transparently transmit the container to the terminal device. Alternatively, the network device may parse the contents of the container and send the application layer measurement configuration contained in the container to the terminal device. Alternatively, the application layer measurement configuration can be sent to the network device in a non-container format, such as a format perceivable by an access network device (e.g., a network device).

[0094] Exemplarily, the QoE measurement collection configuration information further includes at least one of the following:

[0095] (1) QoE reference (QoEreference): used to identify the QoE measurement requested by the network side, or used to identify the QoE measurement collection task (which can be called QoE measurement identifier) ​​in the access network device (such as network equipment) and the measurement collection entity. The QoEreference is a globally unique identifier, including the mobile country code (MCC), mobile network code (MNC), or QoE measurement collection identifier. Among them, the QoE measurement collection identifier is allocated by the management system or operator, such as a 3-byte string. Generally speaking, the QoE reference is allocated by OAM or EM.

[0096] (2) Service type: used to indicate the service type of the QoE measurement requested by the network side, for example, streaming, MTSI, VR service, etc. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the service type is a broadcast service.

[0097] (3) Area Scope of QMC: used to indicate the area of ​​the cell to which the QoE measurement requested by the network side applies.

[0098] (4) IP address of the measurement collection entity (MCE): After receiving the measurement results reported by the UE, the access network device (such as RAN) sends the corresponding measurement results to the MCE according to the IP address.

[0099] (5) Minimization drive test (MDT) alignment information (AlignmentInformation): used to indicate that application layer measurements need to be aligned with MDT measurements, that is, it is necessary to obtain an association between application layer measurement results and MDT measurement results. For example, it carries the trace ID of the MDT measurement. MDT measurements include logged MDT and immediate MDT. Immediate MDT is mainly used for measurements performed on UEs in the RRC connected state, while logged MDT is mainly used for measurements performed on UEs in the idle state or the RRC inactive state. Among them, immediate MDT can be used to measure at least one of the UE's data volume, throughput, packet transmission delay, packet loss rate or processing delay, while logged MDT can be used to measure the strength of the received signal.

[0100] (6) Measurement period: This indicates the measurement period for the UE to perform application layer measurements as configured in the application layer measurement configuration, or in other words, the measurement period for the UE to perform application layer measurements. In one embodiment, when the RAN configures the RAN-visible measurement configuration for the UE, the RAN may configure an appropriate measurement period or reporting period for the UE based on the measurement period.

[0101] (7) Reporting period: used to indicate the reporting period for the UE to perform application layer measurements in the application layer measurement configuration. In one embodiment, when the RAN configures the RAN-visible measurement configuration for the UE, it may configure an appropriate measurement period or reporting period for the UE based on the measurement period.

[0102] (8) Available RAN visible QoE metrics, also known as RAN visible QoE measurements. In the embodiment of the present application, "visible" can be replaced by "perceptible", "knowable", or "detectable", etc. RAN visible information means that the RAN can interpret the received information. RAN visible application layer indicators can be application layer indicators that the UE will obtain when performing application layer measurements according to the application layer measurement configuration, and indicators that the RAN can perceive. Exemplarily, the RAN visible application layer indicators include at least one of the following indicators: average throughput, initial playback delay, buffer level, playback delay, deterioration duration, number of consecutive packet losses, jitter duration, desynchronization duration, round-trip delay, average bit rate: analog quality perspective switching, delay freeze situation.

[0103] It should be understood that in the above step S310, the first configuration information (also referred to as application layer measurement configuration information) sent by the network device to the terminal device may be the same as or different from the QoE measurement collection configuration information received by the network device from the CN, OAM, or EM. For example, the first configuration information includes a portion of the QoE measurement collection configuration information. For example, the first configuration information does not include the IP address of the MCE carried in the QoE measurement collection configuration information. In one possible implementation, the first configuration information may not carry the IP address of the MCE, but may carry the ID of the MCE. The network side can obtain the IP address of the MCE based on the MCE ID.

[0104] For example, the first configuration information may include the application layer measurement configuration and the service type in the QoE measurement collection configuration information, wherein the service type indicates a first type of service, and the application layer measurement configuration is the application layer measurement configuration corresponding to the first type of service.

[0105] For example, the configuration range in the first configuration information may be included in the application layer measurement configuration. For example, the application layer measurement configuration includes a location filter parameter, and the location filter parameter indicates the configuration range.

[0106] For example, the configuration range in the first configuration information is not included in the application layer measurement configuration. For example, the first configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device explicitly indicates the configuration range, that is, the configuration range is carried outside the application layer measurement configuration. For example, the configuration range in the first configuration information is the QoE measurement collection range in the QoE measurement collection configuration information.

[0107] For example, the network device may also send an application layer measurement identifier to the terminal device. The application layer measurement identifier is generated by the network device for the terminal device and corresponds to application layer measurement configuration information configured by the network device for the terminal device. For example, the application layer measurement identifier corresponds to the QoE reference, and the network device stores the corresponding relationship.

[0108] For example, the network device may also send a QoEreference to the terminal device.

[0109] In one embodiment, the QoE measurement collection configuration information does not specify which first type of service is to be measured at the application layer.

[0110] In another embodiment, the QoE measurement collection configuration information may further include indication information #A, indicating which first-type services are to be measured at the application layer. For example, if the first-type service is a broadcast service, indication information #A indicates that application layer measurements are to be performed on broadcast service #1, broadcast service #3, and broadcast service #5.

[0111] Optionally, different broadcast services indicated by indication information #A may correspond to different configuration ranges. For example, the configuration range corresponding to broadcast service #1 is range #1, and the configuration range corresponding to broadcast service #2 is range #2.

[0112] For example, the network device may also send at least one of the following parameters to the terminal device: indication information #A, application layer indicators visible to the network device, measurement period, or reporting period, etc. For specific explanations, please refer to the above description.

[0113] For example, the indication information #A sent by the above-mentioned network device to the terminal device, the application layer indicators visible to the network device, the measurement period, the reporting period, the application layer measurement identifier and other parameters may be carried in the first configuration information or may not be carried in the first configuration information. This application does not limit this.

[0114] S320, the terminal device receives a first service from a first cell, where the first service is a first type of service.

[0115] For example, the first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

[0116] It should be noted that in this step, the terminal device receives the first service from the first cell in the service cell of the terminal device.

[0117] It should also be noted that when the network device does not specify which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, that is, does not send indication information #A, the terminal device will execute S330 when receiving any first type of service.

[0118] Optionally, when the network device specifies which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, ie, sends indication information #A, the terminal device will execute S330 only when it receives the specified first type of service.

[0119] From S310 to S320, the terminal device may be in the RRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) or the RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE) or the RRC deactivated state (RRC_INACTIVE), or the terminal device enters the RRC idle state or the RRC deactivated state from the RRC connected state.

[0120] S330, the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0121] It should be understood that the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell, which means that the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range corresponding to the first service based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0122] For example, the cell information of the first cell includes at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a TAC corresponding to the cell.

[0123] Optionally, before S330, the terminal device needs to first obtain the cell information of the first cell, for example, the terminal device obtains the cell identifier of the first cell by detecting the pilot signal of the first cell, and / or obtains the PLMN corresponding to the first cell and the TAC corresponding to the first cell through the broadcast message of the first cell.

[0124] For example, the cell information of the first cell may also include other information indicating the first cell, which is not limited in this application.

[0125] For example, the configuration range includes at least one cell identifier, and the terminal device determines whether the configuration range includes the cell identifier of the first cell. If it does, it is considered that the first cell is within the configuration range; otherwise, the first cell is not within the configuration range.

[0126] For example, if the configuration range includes at least one TAC, the terminal device determines whether the configuration range includes the TAC corresponding to the first cell. If it does, it is considered that the first cell is within the configuration range; otherwise, the first cell is not within the configuration range.

[0127] In one embodiment, the terminal device determines that the first cell is within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the terminal device starts the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has already started, the terminal device continues the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0128] In another embodiment, the terminal device determines that the first cell is not within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the terminal device does not start or releases the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has already started, the terminal device continues, releases, or suspends the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0129] For example, the cell information of the first cell further includes an identifier of the first service, and the identifier of the first service indicates which first type of service is sent by the first cell.

[0130] The method 300 is described below using an example in which the network device is a RAN, the terminal device is a UE, and the UE includes an access stratum (AS) of the UE and an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE. The upper layer of the access stratum of the UE may be an application layer, or a layer configured to perform QoE measurement (or application layer measurement), and the access stratum of the UE may be an RRC layer or other layer (such as a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a PHY layer) that performs AS measurement, or a layer configured to perform AS measurement.

[0131] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE may determine whether the first cell is within the configuration range, or the AS layer of the UE may determine whether the first cell is within the configuration range. However, it should be noted that after obtaining the judgment result, the actual initiation or release of the application layer measurement of the first service is performed by the upper layer of the AS layer. The above two implementation methods are described in detail below.

[0132] Implementation method 1: When an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information, the method 300 may specifically include the following steps.

[0133] Step 1: The RAN sends first configuration information to the AS layer of the UE. The first configuration information includes a configuration range. Correspondingly, the AS layer of the UE receives the first configuration information from the RAN. The description of the first configuration information is not repeated here.

[0134] Exemplarily, the RAN may send the first configuration information to the AS layer of the UE via a broadcast message or a dedicated RRC message. For example, the dedicated RRC message may be an RRC release message or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0135] It can be understood that the information sent by the RAN to the UE described in the method 300 can be considered as information sent by the RAN to the AS layer of the UE.

[0136] Step 2: The AS layer of the UE sends first configuration information to an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE. Correspondingly, the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE receives the first configuration information from the AS layer of the UE.

[0137] Optionally, if the RAN sends other information (such as application layer measurement identifier, indication information #A, etc.) except the first configuration information to the AS layer of the UE, the AS layer of the UE may send this information to an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE.

[0138] Step 3: The AS layer of the UE sends the cell information of the first cell to the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE, where the first cell is the cell of the first service received by the UE, and the first service is a first type of service.

[0139] Optionally, when the RAN does not specify which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, that is, does not send indication information #A, the UE's AS layer will send the corresponding first type of service cell information to the upper layer of the UE's AS layer after receiving any first type of service.

[0140] Optionally, when the RAN specifies which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, that is, sends indication information #A, the UE's AS layer will send the cell information of the specified first type of service to the upper layer of the UE's AS layer only after receiving the specified first type of service or being interested in the first type of service.

[0141] For example, the cell information of the first cell further includes an identifier of the first service, and the identifier of the first service indicates which first type of service is sent by the first cell.

[0142] Step 4: The upper layer of the AS layer of the UE determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0143] Specifically, if the configuration range includes the cell information of the first cell, it is considered that the first cell is within the configuration range; otherwise, it is considered that the first cell is within the configuration range.

[0144] Step 5: The upper layer of the AS layer of the UE determines whether to perform application layer measurement on the first service based on the first configuration information according to whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information. For details about step 5, please refer to the description in S330 and will not be repeated here.

[0145] Implementation method 2: When the AS layer of the UE determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information, the method 300 may specifically include the following steps.

[0146] For steps 1 and 2 of this implementation, please refer to the description of steps 1 and 2 in implementation 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0147] Optionally, in this implementation, the AS layer of the UE makes the judgment, and therefore, the AS layer of the UE may not need to send the configuration range in the first configuration information to an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE.

[0148] Step 3: The AS layer of the UE determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0149] It should be noted that if the configuration range sent by the RAN to the UE in step 1 is in the application layer measurement configuration, since the AS layer of the UE does not parse the application layer measurement configuration received from other network devices (such as CN or OAM or EM), before step 3, the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE can send the configuration range to the AS layer of the UE after parsing the application layer measurement configuration.

[0150] Step 4: The AS layer of the UE sends a judgment result to an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE, where the judgment result indicates whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information.

[0151] Step 5: The upper layer of the AS layer of the UE determines whether to perform application layer measurement on the first broadcast service based on the first configuration information according to whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information.

[0152] Optionally, the AS layer of the UE may instruct an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE how to perform application layer measurement on the first service based on the judgment result. In this case, the above steps 4 and 5 may be replaced by the following steps:

[0153] Step 4: The AS layer of the UE sends indication information #1 to an upper layer of the AS layer of the UE, where the indication information #1 indicates whether the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE performs application layer measurement on the first service based on the first configuration information.

[0154] For example, after step 3 and before step 4, the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE determines whether to perform application layer measurement on the first broadcast service based on the first configuration information according to whether the first cell is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information.

[0155] In one embodiment, the AS layer of the UE determines that the first cell is within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the AS layer of the UE sends a message to the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE to start the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has already started, the AS layer of the UE continues the application layer measurement of the first service without performing any special processing (the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE will also continue the application layer measurement of the first service).

[0156] In another embodiment, the AS layer of the UE determines that the first cell is not within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the AS layer of the UE sends a message to the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE not to start or release the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has been started, the AS layer of the UE sends a message to the upper layer of the AS layer of the UE not to start or release the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0157] It can be understood that in method 300, whether the first cell corresponding to the first service is within the configuration range of the QoE measurement is determined to determine the subsequent application layer measurement action. Compared with the current judgment based on the service cell of the terminal device, this method enables the terminal device to more accurately determine how to perform application layer measurement of the first service.

[0158] The present application also provides another communication method, which differs from method 300 in that, in this method, the network device determines whether the cell of the received first type of service is within the configuration range included in the first configuration information. The method is described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 4.

[0159] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method flow can be executed by a terminal device and a network device, or by a module and / or device (for example, a chip or an integrated circuit, etc.) with corresponding functions installed in the terminal device and the network device, and is not limited in this application. The following description is based on the terminal device and the network device as the execution subject. The method 400 includes the following multiple steps. It should be noted that the steps, concepts, or processes that are the same as those in method 400 and method 300 can be found in the description of method 300 and will not be repeated below.

[0160] S410: The network device obtains first information, where the first information includes a configuration range, the configuration range includes information of cells capable of performing application layer measurement on a first type of service, and the first type of service is a multicast service or a broadcast service.

[0161] For the configuration range, please refer to the description in S310 and will not be repeated here.

[0162] Optionally, method 400 also includes S310. The network devices in S310 and method 400 (S410 to S440) may be the same network device or different network devices. For ease of distinction, the network device in S310 is referred to as network device #1, and the network device in method 400 is referred to as network device #2. For example, if the terminal device has been in the RRC connected state, network device #1 and network device #2 may be the same network device, or network device #1 and network device #2 may be different network devices due to UE switching; if the terminal device enters the RRC idle state or the RRC deactivated state from the RRC connected state, and then the terminal device enters the RRC connected state from the RRC idle state or the RRC deactivated state, network device #1 and network device #2 may be the same network device or different network devices.

[0163] Optionally, if network device #1 and network device #2 are the same network device, the first information obtained by network device #2 may be the first QoE measurement collection configuration information received by network device #1 from CN or OAM or EM before S310, or the first information may also be determined by network device #2 based on the first QoE measurement collection configuration information.

[0164] Optionally, if network device #1 and network device #2 are different network devices, network device #2 obtaining the first information includes: the terminal device or the core network device or network device #1 sending the first information to network device #2. The following briefly describes a possible process for the terminal device or the core network device or network device #1 to send the first information to network device #2.

[0165] For example, after a terminal device receives first configuration information from network device #1, the terminal device's serving network device is changed from network device #1 to network device #2. The terminal device may then send the previously received first configuration information to network device #2. Alternatively, the terminal device may determine first information based on the first configuration information and then send the first information to network device #2. For a description of the first configuration information, see the description in FIG3 .

[0166] For example, the core network sends first QoE measurement collection configuration information to network device #1, and network device #1 sends first configuration information to the terminal device based on the first QoE measurement collection configuration information. Correspondingly, after the terminal device receives the first configuration information from network device #1, the service network device of the terminal device is changed from network device #1 to network device #2. The core network device can send the first QoE measurement collection configuration information previously sent to network device #1 to network device #2, or the network device can determine the first information based on the first QoE measurement collection configuration information, and then send the first information to network device #2.

[0167] For example, the core network sends first QoE measurement collection configuration information to network device #1. Network device #1 sends first configuration information to the terminal device based on the first QoE measurement collection configuration information. Network device #1 sends the first information to the core network device. When the terminal device accesses network device #2, the core network device sends the first information to network device #2.

[0168] Optionally, the first information further includes a QoEreference or an application layer measurement identifier, indicating that the first information is the first information corresponding to the QoEreference or the application layer measurement identifier.

[0169] Optionally, the first information further includes a service identifier, indicating that the first information is the first information corresponding to the service. For example, if the service identifier indicates broadcast service #1, the first information is the first information corresponding to broadcast service #1.

[0170] S420, the terminal device receives a first service from a first cell, where the first service is a first type of service.

[0171] It should be noted that in this step, the terminal device receives the first service from the first cell in the service cell of the terminal device.

[0172] For example, the first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

[0173] It should also be noted that when the network device #1 does not specify which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, that is, does not send indication information #A, the terminal device will execute S430 upon receiving any first type of service.

[0174] Optionally, when the network device #1 specifies which first type of service to perform application layer measurement on, ie, sends indication information #A, the terminal device will execute S430 only when it receives the specified first type of service.

[0175] S430: The terminal device sends the cell information of the first cell to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the cell information of the first cell from the terminal device.

[0176] It is understandable that network device #2 may store multiple configuration ranges corresponding to application layer measurements. When the terminal device sends the cell information of the first cell to network device #2, network device #2 needs to know based on which configuration range corresponding to the application layer measurement S440 should be executed subsequently. Then, in one possible implementation, the first information and the cell information of the first cell may include a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify the application layer measurement corresponding to the configuration range in the first information. For example, the first identifier can be a QoE reference or an application layer measurement identifier of the corresponding application layer measurement.

[0177] S440: The network device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

[0178] For the description of the cell information of the first cell, please refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0179] In one embodiment, the network device determines that the first cell is within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the network device instructs the terminal device to start the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has already started, the network device does not need to perform special processing.

[0180] In another embodiment, the network device determines that the first cell is not within the configuration range. If the application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, the network device instructs the terminal device not to start or release the application layer measurement of the first service; if the application layer measurement of the first service has already started, the network device instructs the terminal device to pause, release or suspend the application layer measurement of the first service.

[0181] For example, the first information and the cell information of the first cell may include a first identifier, and the network device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell, which means determining whether the first cell is within the configuration range corresponding to the first identifier.

[0182] For example, the cell information of the first cell also includes an identifier of the first service, where the identifier of the first service indicates which first type of service the first cell is sending. The network device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell, which means determining whether the first cell is within the configuration range corresponding to the first service.

[0183] It can be understood that this method determines whether the first cell corresponding to the first service is within the configuration range of the QoE measurement to determine the subsequent application layer measurement action. Compared with the current judgment based on the service cell of the terminal device, this method enables the network device to more accurately instruct the terminal device how to perform application layer measurement of the first service.

[0184] Another technical problem raised by this application and the corresponding solution are described in detail below.

[0185] In a possible scenario, when the CN or OAM or EM notifies the network device that it wishes to associate the QoE measurement of the first type of service with the wireless side measurement result (such as the MDT measurement result) of the terminal device when performing the QoE measurement, the CN or OAM will send an indication information of the association between MDT and QoE to the network device. For example, the indication information can be the MDT alignment information in the QoE measurement collection configuration information. The network device will configure the MDT measurement for the terminal device (which may be configured before, after, or at the same time as the application layer measurement). The following example illustrates this. For example, when the network device reports the application layer measurement result from the terminal device, it can obtain the corresponding application layer measurement configuration based on the application layer measurement identifier reported by the terminal device, and then determine the corresponding QoE measurement collection configuration information based on the application layer measurement configuration, thereby obtaining the IP address of the MCE corresponding to the application layer measurement result, thereby sending the measurement result from the terminal device to the MCE. At the same time, when it is necessary to perform the association between MDT and QoE, the network device also sends the MDT measurement identifier to the MCE. When the QoE measurement collection configuration information also includes MDT alignment information, the terminal device may also send an MDT measurement result to the network device, wherein the MDT measurement result carries a cell identifier and the terminal device's radio signal measurement result for the cell corresponding to the cell identifier. The network device that receives the MDT measurement result sends the MDT measurement result to an MDT measurement result collection entity, such as a trace collection entity (TCE). In this way, the MCE and TCE can obtain the association between the application layer measurement result and the MDT measurement result based on the cell identifier and the radio signal measurement result of the cell in the MDT measurement result in the associated MDT measurement, thereby obtaining the association between the application layer measurement result and the radio side measurement result.

[0186] Currently, when a terminal device carries neighboring cell measurement results in an MDT measurement result, it only records the wireless signal measurement results of some cells with higher cell signal quality rankings. For example, the terminal device can record the wireless signal measurement results of up to six neighboring cells at the terminal device's service frequency, and can record the wireless signal measurement results of up to three neighboring cells at the terminal device's adjacent frequency. Since this recording method may not necessarily record the wireless signal measurement results of cells receiving the first type of service from the terminal device, it is impossible to obtain the correlation between the application layer measurement results and the wireless side measurement results.

[0187] To address this technical problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method that can effectively solve the above technical problem.

[0188] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. This method flow can be executed by a terminal device and a network device, or by modules and / or devices (e.g., chips or integrated circuits) with corresponding functions installed in the terminal device and the network device, and is not limited in this application. The following description uses the terminal device and the network device as the execution entities, and the method 500 includes the following steps.

[0189] S510: A first network device sends first configuration information to a terminal device, the first configuration information being used to request the terminal device to perform application layer measurement on a first type of service, where the first type of service is a broadcast service or a multicast service. In response, the terminal device receives the first configuration information from the first network device.

[0190] For the description of the first configuration information, please refer to the description in S310 and will not be repeated here.

[0191] S520: The second network device sends second configuration information to the terminal device, where the second configuration information is used to request wireless access side measurement. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second configuration information from the second network device.

[0192] The first configuration information or the second configuration information includes the first information, and the first information indicates that alignment of the application layer measurement result and the radio access side measurement result needs to be performed. For example, the first configuration information includes the first information, and the first information may be MDT alignment information included in the QoE measurement collection configuration information corresponding to the first configuration information, or the first information indicates that when reporting the radio access side measurement result, it is necessary to carry the terminal device to receive the radio access side measurement result corresponding to the cell of the first service type.

[0193] Optionally, the second network device and the first network device may be the same network device or different network devices. Whether the first network device and the second network device are the same network device is similar to the description in S410 and will not be repeated here.

[0194] For example, the second configuration information includes configuration information for log-type MDT measurement, or includes configuration information for immediate-type MDT measurement. Here, the difference between the two is mainly explained. Log-type MDT mainly performs wireless signal measurement on terminal devices in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, while immediate-type MDT mainly performs wireless signal measurement on terminal devices in RRC connected state. For other descriptions about MDT, refer to the description of parameter (5) included in the QoE measurement collection configuration information in S310, which is not repeated here.

[0195] It should be noted that if the second configuration information is configuration information for immediate MDT measurement, the terminal device does not actually know that the configuration is an immediate MDT measurement configuration (for example, the second network device only sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device, and the measurement configuration instructs the terminal device to perform periodic or event-based reporting on the target frequency point). However, the network device knows for which measurement purpose the configuration information is to be configured during configuration. Therefore, even if the terminal device does not know that the configuration information is an immediate MDT measurement configuration, it only needs to perform measurements based on the configuration information and report the corresponding measurement results.

[0196] S530: The terminal device sends second information to the third network device. The second information includes a first radio access side measurement result. The first radio access side measurement result includes a radio access side measurement result of at least one first type of cell, where the first type of cell is a cell receiving a first type of service from the terminal device. In response, the third network device receives the second information from the terminal device. The first radio measurement side measurement result is a measurement result obtained by the terminal device based on the second configuration information.

[0197] Optionally, the third network device and the second network device are the same or different network devices. For example, the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device are all the same network device, or any two of the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device are the same network device, or the first network device, the second network device, and the third network device are all different network devices.

[0198] In one possible implementation, without changing the existing recording method of the wireless access side measurement results, the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cell are recorded separately. Specifically, the terminal device records the wireless signal measurement results of the neighboring cells under multiple frequency points based on the existing recording method, wherein the multiple frequency points are the frequency points for performing wireless access side measurements based on the second configuration information. In addition, the terminal device also separately records the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cell corresponding to the terminal device in the multiple frequency points or the wireless signal measurement results of the terminal device in the first type of cell (the frequency point corresponding to the first type of cell may belong to the multiple frequency points recorded by the existing recording method, or may not belong to the multiple frequency points recorded by the existing recording method).

[0199] For example, the above-mentioned multiple frequency points can be adjacent frequency points and serving frequency points for cell reselection measurement, or the multiple frequency points are frequency points that need to be measured on the wireless access side and are carried in the second configuration information. This application does not limit the method for determining the frequency points for wireless access side measurement. The following uses the example of the multiple frequency points including the first frequency point to specifically illustrate how to record the wireless access side measurement results of the first type of cell.

[0200] It should be understood that the service frequency here refers to the frequency of the service cell of the terminal device (for a connected terminal device, it is the cell to which the terminal device is currently connected; for an idle or non-activated Tai'a terminal device, it is the cell in which the terminal device is currently located), the adjacent frequency is other frequency points except the service frequency, and the neighboring area refers to other cells except the service cell of the terminal device.

[0201] For example, in this implementation method, the second information also includes a second wireless access side measurement result, the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of all first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point (that is, the wireless signal measurement results of the cells for the first type of service are recorded separately), and the second wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of the N cells with the best signal quality corresponding to the first frequency point (that is, the existing recording method), where N is the maximum number of cells in the cell corresponding to the first frequency point that are allowed to record the wireless access side measurement results. For example, if the first frequency point is the service frequency point, N is 6, and if the first frequency point is the adjacent frequency point, N is 3.

[0202] In another possible implementation, the terminal device preferentially records the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cells corresponding to the above-mentioned multiple frequency points, and then records the measurement information of other cells.

[0203] For example, the service frequency point records the measurement information of up to 6 neighboring cells. If the terminal device receives the first type of service in a neighboring cell of the frequency point, and the cell is not a service cell, then when the terminal device records the wireless signal measurement results of the neighboring cell corresponding to the frequency point, if there is 1 first type cell under the frequency point, the terminal device will give priority to recording the measurement information of the first type cell under the frequency point, and then record the measurement information of up to 5 other neighboring cells. If there are 2 first type cells under the frequency point, the terminal device will give priority to recording the measurement information of the first type cell under the frequency point, and then record the measurement information of up to 4 other neighboring cells. If there are 8 first type cells under the frequency point, the terminal device will only record the measurement information of any 6 cells of the 8 first type cells or the 6 cells with the best wireless signal quality. The following takes the first frequency point included in the multiple frequency points as an example to explain in detail how to record the wireless access side measurement results of the first type cell.

[0204] For example, if the number M of first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point is less than or equal to N, the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of M first type cells, wherein the first frequency point is the frequency point measured in the wireless access side measurement, and N is the maximum number of cells in the cells corresponding to the first frequency point that are allowed to record the wireless access side measurement results; or, if the number M of first type cells corresponding to the first frequency point is greater than N, the wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless access side measurement results of N cells in the M first type cells.

[0205] In another possible implementation, the first wireless access side measurement result includes the wireless signal measurement results of the neighboring cells under the multiple frequency points recorded by the terminal device according to the existing wireless access side measurement result recording method. The measurement result includes the measurement result of the first cell, and the first cell is a first type of cell. The terminal device can carry first indication information in the measurement result of the first cell. The first indication information indicates that the first cell is a first type of cell. In this way, the network device knows based on the first indication information that the first cell is a cell for the first type of service received by the terminal device.

[0206] Optionally, in the first implementation method and the second implementation method, if the first wireless access side measurement results and the second wireless access side measurement results also include measurement results of the first type of cell, the terminal device may also carry corresponding first indication information in the measurement results corresponding to the first type of cell to inform the network device that the cell is the cell for the first type of service received by the terminal device.

[0207] In the above technical solution, several specific implementation methods for reporting the wireless signal measurement results of the first type of cell are given, which can avoid the inability to record the measurement information of the first type of cell due to the existing recording mechanism, thereby better aligning the application layer measurement results and the wireless access side measurement results.

[0208] It should be understood that the size of the serial numbers of the above processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0209] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, devices in existing network architectures are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes, and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0210] It can be understood that in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by devices (such as the above-mentioned network devices, terminal devices, etc.) can also be implemented by components of the devices (such as chips or circuits).

[0211] The method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 5 . The method is primarily described from the perspective of interaction between a network device and a terminal device. It is understood that, in order to implement the aforementioned functions, the network device and the terminal device include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the respective functions.

[0212] Those skilled in the art should be aware 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 performed 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.

[0213] Hereinafter, the communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to Figures 6 and 7. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for the content not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents will not be repeated here. In the embodiment of the present application, the network device or terminal device can be divided into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module 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. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function.

[0214] The data transmission method provided by this application has been described in detail above. The following describes the communication device provided by this application. In one possible implementation, the device is used to implement the steps or processes corresponding to the terminal device in the above method embodiment. In another possible implementation, the device is used to implement the steps or processes corresponding to the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0215] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the device 600 may include a communication unit 610 and a processing unit 620. The communication unit 610 can communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 620 is used to process data. The communication unit 610 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver unit.

[0216] In one possible design, the device 600 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the network device in the above method embodiment, wherein the processing unit 620 is used to perform processing-related operations of the network device in the above method embodiment, and the communication unit 610 is used to perform sending-related operations of the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0217] In another possible design, the device 600 can implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment, wherein the communication unit 610 is used to perform reception-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 620 is used to perform processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0218] It should be understood that the device 600 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merging logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 600 may be specifically a network device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or the device 600 may be specifically a terminal device in the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0219] The apparatus 600 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the network device in the above-mentioned method, or the apparatus 600 of each of the above-mentioned solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the terminal device in the above-mentioned method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions; for example, the communication unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the communication unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the communication unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the sending and receiving operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0220] In addition, the above-mentioned communication unit can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it can include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit. In an embodiment of the present application, the device in Figure 6 can be a terminal device or network device in the aforementioned embodiment, or it can be a chip or chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). Among them, the communication unit can be an input and output circuit, a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0221] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 700 includes a processor 710 and a transceiver 720. The processor 710 and the transceiver 720 communicate with each other via an internal connection path. The processor 710 is configured to execute instructions to control the transceiver 720 to send and / or receive signals.

[0222] Optionally, the apparatus 700 may further include a memory 730, which communicates with the processor 710 and the transceiver 720 via an internal connection path. The memory 730 is used to store instructions, and the processor 710 can execute the instructions stored in the memory 730. In one possible implementation, the apparatus 700 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. In another possible implementation, the apparatus 700 is used to implement the various processes and steps corresponding to the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0223] It should be understood that the device 700 can be specifically a network device or terminal device in the above-mentioned embodiment, or a chip or chip system. Correspondingly, the transceiver 720 can be the transceiver circuit of the chip, which is not limited here. Specifically, the device 700 can be used to execute the various steps and / or processes corresponding to the network device or terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 730 can include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor. A portion of the memory can also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory can also store information about the device type. The processor 710 can be used to execute instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 710 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 710 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above-mentioned method embodiment corresponding to the network device or terminal device.

[0224] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0225] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, digital signal processing (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component. The processor in the embodiments of the present application can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-mentioned method.

[0226] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0227] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0228] In addition, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the operations and / or processes performed by the network device or terminal device in each method embodiment of the present application are executed.

[0229] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code or instructions. When the computer program code or instructions are run on a computer, the operations and / or processes performed by the network device or terminal device in the various method embodiments of the present application are executed.

[0230] In addition, the present application further provides a chip, the chip including a processor. A memory for storing a computer program is provided independently of the chip, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the operations and / or processing performed by the network device or the terminal device in any one of the method embodiments are performed.

[0231] Furthermore, the chip may further include a communication interface. The communication interface may be an input / output interface, or an interface circuit, etc. Furthermore, the chip may further include a memory.

[0232] In addition, the present application also provides a communication system, including the network device and terminal device in the embodiments of the present application.

[0233] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0234] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary units and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented using hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for ease of description and brevity, the specific operating 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. 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 illustrative. For example, the division of the units described is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other divisions may be used, such as multiple units or components being combined or integrated into another system, or some features being omitted or not implemented. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interface, or indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units, which may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed 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 the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments 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.

[0235] 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, server, or 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 ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0236] It should be understood that references to "embodiments" throughout this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic associated with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0237] It should also be understood that in this application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the network element will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, which is not a time limit, and does not require the network element to make judgment actions when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0238] It should also be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, "A corresponds to B" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, and B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0239] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, executed by a terminal device or a chip applied to the terminal device, characterized in that: include: receiving first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information being used to request application layer measurement of a first type of service, the first type of service being a multicast service or a broadcast service, the first configuration information comprising a configuration range, the configuration range comprising cell information capable of performing application layer measurement on the first type of service; receiving a first service from a first cell, where the first service is a service of the first type; It is determined according to the cell information of the first cell whether the first cell is within the configuration range.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining that the first cell is within the configuration range, the method further includes: The application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, and the terminal device starts the application layer measurement of the first service, or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the terminal device continues the application layer measurement of the first service.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining that the first cell is not within the configuration range, the method further includes: The application layer measurement of the first service has not been started, and the terminal device does not start or releases the application layer measurement of the first service. or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the terminal device continues or releases the application layer measurement of the first service.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code TAC corresponding to the cell.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The cell information of the first cell also includes an identifier of the first service.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first configuration information includes an identifier of at least one service, the at least one service is the first type of service, the identifier of the at least one service is used to indicate that application layer measurement is only performed on the at least one service, and the at least one service includes the first service.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The terminal device includes an access layer of the terminal device and an upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device, The determining, according to the cell information of the first cell, whether the first cell is within the configuration range includes: The access layer of the terminal device or an upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range based on the cell information of the first cell.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell, including: The access layer of the terminal device sends the cell information of the first cell to the upper layer of the access layer of the terminal device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

10. A communication method, executed by a network device or a chip applied to the network device, characterized in that: include: Acquire first information, where the first information includes a configuration range, where the configuration range includes cell information that can perform application layer measurement on a first type of service, where the first type of service is a multicast service or a broadcast service; Receiving cell information of a first cell from a terminal device, where the first cell is a cell of a first service received by the terminal device, and the first service is a service of the first type; It is determined according to the cell information of the first cell whether the first cell is within the configuration range.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that Determining that the first cell is not within the configuration range, the method further includes: The application layer measurement of the first service has not yet started, sending second information to the terminal device, the second information instructing the terminal device to release the application layer measurement of the first service, or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and third information is sent to the terminal device, where the third information indicates to suspend or release the application layer measurement of the first service.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code TAC corresponding to the cell.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that The cell information of the first cell also includes an identifier of the first service.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that The first information and the cell information of the first cell further include a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify the application layer measurement corresponding to the configuration range.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that The first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a communication unit, configured to receive first configuration information from a network device, wherein the first configuration information is used to request application layer measurement of a first type of service, the first type of service being a multicast service or a broadcast service, the first configuration information comprising a configuration range, and the configuration range comprising cell information capable of performing application layer measurement on the first type of service; The communication unit is further configured to receive a first service from a first cell, where the first service is a service of the first type; A processing unit is used to determine whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell.

17. The communication device according to claim 16, characterized in that: The processing unit determines that the first cell is within the configuration range, The application layer measurement of the first service has not been started, and the processing unit starts the application layer measurement of the first service. or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the processing unit continues the application layer measurement of the first service.

18. The communication device according to claim 16, characterized in that: The processing unit determines that the first cell is not within the configuration range, The application layer measurement of the first service has not been started, and the processing unit does not start or releases the application layer measurement of the first service. or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the processing unit continues or releases the application layer measurement of the first service.

19. The communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code TAC corresponding to the cell.

20. The communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that: The cell information of the first cell also includes an identifier of the first service.

21. The communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that: The first configuration information includes an identifier of at least one service, the at least one service is the first type of service, the identifier of the at least one service is used to indicate that application layer measurement is only performed on the at least one service, and the at least one service includes the first service.

22. The communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that: The processing unit includes an access layer of the processing unit and an upper layer of the access layer of the processing unit, The processing unit determines, according to the cell information of the first cell, whether the first cell is within the configuration range, including: The access layer of the processing unit or an upper layer of the access layer of the processing unit determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell.

23. The communication device according to claim 22, characterized in that: The upper layer of the access layer of the processing unit determines whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell, including: The access layer of the processing unit sends the cell information of the first cell to an upper layer of the access layer of the processing unit.

24. The communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that: The first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal equipment.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a communication unit, configured to acquire first information, wherein the first information includes a configuration range, the configuration range includes information of a cell capable of performing application layer measurement on a first type of service, the first type of service being a multicast service or a broadcast service; The communication unit is further configured to receive cell information of a first cell from a terminal device, where the first cell is a cell of a first service received by the terminal device, and the first service is a service of the first type; A processing unit is used to determine whether the first cell is within the configuration range according to the cell information of the first cell.

26. The communication device according to claim 25, characterized in that The processing unit determines that the first cell is not within the configuration range, The application layer measurement of the first service has not started, the communication unit is further used to send second information to the terminal device, the second information instructing the terminal device to release the application layer measurement of the first service, or, The application layer measurement of the first service has been started, and the communication unit is further used to send third information to the terminal device, where the third information indicates to suspend or release the application layer measurement of the first service.

27. The communication device according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that: The cell information indicated by the configuration range and the cell information of the first cell include at least one of the following parameters: a cell identifier, a public land mobile network PLMN corresponding to the cell, and a tracking area code TAC corresponding to the cell.

28. The communication device according to any one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that: The cell information of the first cell also includes an identifier of the first service.

29. The communication device according to any one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that: The first information and the cell information of the first cell further include a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify the application layer measurement corresponding to the configuration range.

30. The communication device according to any one of claims 25 to 29, characterized in that: The first cell is a non-service cell of the terminal device.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to input and / or output signals, and the at least one processor is used to execute a computer program stored in a memory, so that the communication device implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 15.

33. A processing device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in a memory, so that the device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

34. A processing device, characterized in that include: Memory for storing computer programs; A processor, configured to call and run the computer program from the memory, so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or implements the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

35. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The invention comprises a computer program, which, when being executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15.

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