Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method relates to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: a second network device sends a first request to a first network device, the first request being used for requesting the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be switched off; the second network device receives first information from the first network device, the first information indicating that at least one first cell can be switched off, and the first cell belonging to the at least one cell; and the second network device determines, on the basis of the first information, whether to switch off the first cell. The use of the method is beneficial for reducing energy consumption.

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 November 29, 2023, with application number 202311626727.6 and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] In an architecture where a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) are separated, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above (for example, the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer). The DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (for example, the radio link control protocol (RLC) layer, the media access control protocol (MAC) layer, and the physical layer). A CU can include multiple DUs, and multiple cells can exist on the logical entity of a DU. The DU can realize the shutdown of the cell.

[0004] To meet the ever-increasing demand for data traffic, wireless networks are being rapidly developed. As networks grow in size, energy consumption continues to rise. Controlling cell shutdowns to conserve energy is a pressing technical challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device, which are conducive to saving energy consumption.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a second network device sends a first request to a first network device, the first request being used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the second network device receives first information from the first network device, the first information indicating that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to at least one cell; the second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0007] Based on the method described in the first aspect, the second network device requests the first network device to predict whether the cell can be shut down. After the prediction, the first network device informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information, assisting the second network device to shut down the cell, thereby saving energy consumption.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first request also includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. The resource status information and energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether the cell can be shut down, which helps to make the prediction more accurate.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending second information to the first network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. The resource status information and energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether the cell can be shut down, thereby making the prediction more accurate.

[0011] In a possible implementation, before the second network device sends the second information to the first network device, the method further includes: the second network device receiving a third request from the first network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of the cell.

[0012] In a possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending a second request to the first network device, where the second request is used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device in the first cell to another cell.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information indicating a time and strength for enhancing coverage of the second cell, and / or the first indication information indicating a time for reserving handover resources in the second cell, whereby a terminal device in the first cell is handed over to the second cell, where the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell. Based on this implementation, it is advantageous to ensure signal quality of the terminal device after handover from the first cell to the second cell, thereby preventing the terminal device's services from being affected.

[0014] In a possible implementation, after shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0016] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a first network device receives a first request from a second network device, the first request being used to request a prediction or determination of whether at least one cell can be shut down; the first network device performs a status prediction on at least one cell to obtain first information, the first information indicating that at least one first cell can be shut down; the first network device sends the first information to the second network device.

[0017] The beneficial effects corresponding to the second aspect can be found in the description of the first aspect, and the embodiments of the present application will not be repeated here.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0019] In one possible implementation method, the first network device predicts at least one cell and obtains first information. The specific implementation method is: the first network device predicts the at least one cell based on the second information and obtains the first information, and the second information includes one or more of the following: cell resource status information, cell energy consumption information, channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, resource status information of the neighboring cell, or mobility information of the terminal device.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device receiving second information sent from the second network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0022] In a possible implementation, before the first network device receives the second information sent from the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a third request to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of the cell.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device receiving a second request sent from the second network device, where the second request is used to request switching of the terminal device in the first cell.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device sending first indication information to the second network device, the first indication information indicating the time and strength of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the indication information indicating the time for reserving switching resources for the second cell.

[0025] In a possible implementation, after the first network device sends the first information to the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device receiving second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0027] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a second network device receives a first indication message sent from a first network device, the first indication message indicating the switchability of a terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell; the second network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication message; and the second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0028] Based on the method described in the third aspect, the second network device shuts down the first cell based on the first indication information, which not only saves energy consumption, but also avoids a large impact on the terminal device after the second network device shuts down the cell.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the second network device determines the first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information, specifically for: the second network device determines that all terminal devices in the first cell can switch cells based on the first indication information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the coverage area corresponding to each of the at least one cell, and the total coverage area corresponding to all cells in the at least one cell except the first cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. Based on this implementation, the second network device can save energy by shutting down cells while also avoiding incomplete cell coverage.

[0031] In one possible implementation, before the second network device receives the first indication information sent from the first network device, the method also includes: the second network device sends a first request to the first network device, and the first request is used to request to obtain the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the first cell satisfies a first condition, which includes one or more of the following: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within a cell shutdown time range. Based on this implementation, shutting down the first cell with a low load and / or low energy consumption during the shutdown time range (e.g., early in the morning when there are fewer users) helps save energy and avoids affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the second network device receiving second indication information from the first network device, where the second indication information indicates the first condition.

[0034] In a possible implementation, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends a second request to the first network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal device under the first cell.

[0035] In a possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sending third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a first network device sends a first indication message to a second network device, wherein the first indication message indicates a switchable status of a terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0038] The beneficial effects of the fourth aspect can be referred to the beneficial effects of the third aspect mentioned above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information further includes a coverage area corresponding to each cell in the at least one cell.

[0040] In one possible implementation, before the first network device sends the first indication information to the second network device, the method also includes: the first network device receives a first request from the second network device, and the first request is used to request to obtain the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the first network device sends second indication information to the second network device, the second indication information indicates a first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the cell load is less than a first threshold; the cell energy consumption is less than a second threshold; the current time is within the cell shutdown time range.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first network device receiving a second request from the second network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal device under the first cell.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first network device receiving third indication information from the second network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a second network device sends first information to a first network device, the first information including energy consumption information of at least one cell; the second network device receives first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell; and shuts down the first cell.

[0046] Based on the method described in the fifth aspect, the first network device determines whether to shut down the cell according to the energy consumption information, and assists the second network device in shutting down the cell by sending the first indication information, which is conducive to saving energy consumption.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer DRB energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0048] In one possible implementation, before the second network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes: the second network device receiving a first request from the first network device, where the first request is for energy consumption information of at least one cell. Based on this implementation, the first network device can proactively trigger a decision on whether the second network device should shut down the cell.

[0049] In a possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sending second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a first network device receives first information from a second network device, the first information including energy consumption information of at least one cell; the first network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first information; the first network device sends first indication information to the second network device, the first indication information instructing the second network device to shut down the first cell.

[0052] The sixth aspect and its beneficial effects can be found in the description of the fifth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer DRB energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0054] In a possible implementation, before the first network device receives the first information from the second network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a first request to the second network device, where the first request is used to request energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0055] In a possible implementation, after the first network device sends the first indication information to the second network device, the method further includes: receiving second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending energy consumption information of at least one cell to a core network device.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may also be a chip system. The communication device can perform the method described in the first aspect. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules can be software and / or hardware. The operations performed by the communication device and the beneficial effects can refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the first, third, or fifth aspects above, and repetitive parts will not be repeated.

[0059] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may also be a chip system. The communication device may execute the method described in the second aspect. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. The operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device may refer to the methods and beneficial effects described in the second, fourth, or sixth aspects above, and any repetitions will not be repeated.

[0060] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects and its possible implementation methods are executed.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory, and the memory and the processor are coupled to each other. Optionally, the memory and the processor are integrated together.

[0062] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, which is used to transmit and receive data and / or signaling.

[0063] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects and its possible implementation methods through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0064] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, it implements any one of the methods in the first aspect or the second aspect and its possible implementation methods.

[0065] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program or computer program product, including code or instructions. When the code or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects and its possible implementation methods.

[0066] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned communication device for executing the method described in the seventh aspect and the communication device for executing the method described in the eighth aspect.

[0067] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to enable the chip to execute the method of the above-mentioned first aspect, third aspect or fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the processor is configured to enable the chip to execute the method of the above-mentioned second aspect, fourth aspect or sixth aspect or any possible implementation thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0068] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a CU and a DU provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a cell coverage area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] The specific embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0078] The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0079] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0080] In this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more, "more than one" refers to two or more, "at least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three, and "and / or" is used to describe the corresponding relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0081] The following describes the system architecture of the embodiment of the present application:

[0082] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is briefly described below. It is understood that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0083] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems and traditional mobile communication systems. The satellite communication system can be integrated with a traditional mobile communication system (i.e., a terrestrial communication system). Communication systems include, for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), and other future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) systems, and communication systems that support the integration of multiple wireless technologies. For example, it can also be applied to systems where non-terrestrial networks (NTN) such as drones, satellite communication systems, and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) communications integrate terrestrial mobile communication networks.

[0084] FIG1 is an example of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes at least one network device and at least one terminal device. FIG1 uses a network device and multiple terminal devices as an example. These multiple terminal devices can be cellular phones, smart phones, laptops, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radio devices, global positioning systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and / or any other suitable devices for communicating on a wireless communication system, and can all be connected to the network device. These multiple terminal devices can all communicate with the network device, and in addition, terminal devices can also communicate with each other. Of course, the number of terminal devices and network devices in FIG1 is only an example, and can also be less or more.

[0085] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application, which may also be referred to as a terminal, is an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals. The terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. The terminal device can also be other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be called a wireless terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, or a UE, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device, which exchanges voice and / or data with a radio access network. For example, the terminal device may also be a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. Common terminal devices include, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and wearable devices such as smart watches, smart bracelets, and pedometers, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0086] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components.

[0087] A network device is an entity on the network side that transmits or receives signals, or both. It can be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication capabilities for terminals. It can communicate with core network equipment and provide communication services to terminals.

[0088] In one possible scenario, a network device may be a device with base station functionality, such as an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting and receiving point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, or a non-terrestrial network device, i.e., a device that can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. A network device may be a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station, or various forms of control nodes, such as a network controller or wireless controller. Specifically, network devices can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells) in heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenarios, relay stations, access points (APs), radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved node Bs, or home node Bs, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs) and remote radio units (RRUs) in distributed base station scenarios, transmission points (TRPs), transmitting points (TPs), mobile switching centers, and the like. They can also be base station antenna panels. A control node can connect to multiple base stations and configure resources for multiple terminals covered by multiple base stations. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with base station functionality may vary. For example, it can be a gNB in ​​5G, or a network-side device in a network after 5G, or a network device in a future evolved public land mobile (communication) network (public land mobile network, PLMN) network, or a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and vehicle network communication, etc. This application does not limit the specific name of the network device.The network equipment may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a baseband pool (BBU pool) and RRU under a cloud radio access network (CRAN), etc.

[0089] The network equipment in the wireless access network may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). As shown in Figure 2, multiple DUs can be centrally controlled by one CU. The CU and DU can be set up separately, that is, the CU and DU adopt a separate architecture. In the CU-DU separation architecture, the CU has some functions of the core network, and the CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above protocol layers, for example, to implement the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. The DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer, for example, to implement the functions of the radio link control protocol (RLC) layer, the media access control protocol (MAC) layer, and the physical layer.

[0090] The CU may also include a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). The CU-CP is used to implement the CU's control plane functions, and the CU-UP is used to implement the CU's user plane functions. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, RRC layer, and SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the RRC layer functions and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the SDAP layer functions and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer.

[0091] In different systems, CU or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU and DU as examples for description. Any unit in the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP) and DU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0092] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device.

[0093] Based on the above description of the CU-DU separation architecture, a CU can include multiple DUs, and a logical entity of a DU can host multiple cells. The DU can also shut down cells. To meet the ever-increasing demand for data traffic, wireless networks are rapidly being developed. As network scale grows, network energy consumption continues to increase. How to control cell shutdown to save energy is a pressing technical issue.

[0094] In order to save energy consumption, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, as shown in Figure 3, which includes steps 301 to 304. The execution subjects corresponding to the method shown in Figure 3 are the second network device and the first network device, or the execution subjects of the method shown in Figure 3 can be chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 3 is illustrated using the second network device and the first network device as an example. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution subject of the communication method. The second network device and the first network device can be network devices corresponding to the description of the communication system shown in Figure 1. Among them:

[0095] 301. A second network device sends a first request to a first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first request from the second network device. The first request is used to request prediction or determination of whether at least one cell can be shut down.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, one or more second network devices may be centrally managed by a first network device. Optionally, the first network device may be a CU, and the second network device may be a DU. The CU and DU may adopt a separate architecture. Cell shutdown may indicate that the cell enters a dormant state, and the dormant cell no longer provides services to the terminal device or the dormant cell is in a non-active state. The dormant state may also be referred to as a sleep mode. At least one cell requested for prediction in the first request is a partial cell or all cells of the second network device. Optionally, the second network device may periodically send the first request to the first network device, or send the first request to the first network device at a predetermined time, or the second network device may also send the first request to the first network device when certain conditions are met. For example, the condition may be that the energy consumption of the cell under the second network device is less than an energy consumption threshold, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the timing when the second network device sends the first request to the first network device.

[0097] In one possible implementation, the first request also includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. Alternatively, in another possible implementation, the second network device sends second information to the first network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell. Optionally, the second information is carried in a resource status information message. The resource status information and energy consumption information can be used by the first network device to predict whether the cell can be shut down.

[0098] Optionally, before the second network device sends the cell's energy consumption information via the first request or the second message, the method further includes: the first network device sending a third request to the second network device, and the second network device correspondingly receiving the third request from the first network device, the third request being used to request the second network device to report the cell's energy consumption information. Further optionally, the third request includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: a cell identifier, an indication of a request for energy consumption information, and a reason value for requesting reporting energy consumption information. The reason value may specifically include network energy saving, energy efficiency as a service, or other reason values ​​related to energy consumption or energy efficiency.

[0099] Optionally, the resource status information includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: the number of active users at the per cell level; the number of RRC connections; the physical resource block usage, capacity and user performance at the per slice level (including the throughput, packet delay, packet loss, etc. of each and / or all users); the number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions, the number of active users, and the number of RRC connections for each slice; the maximum bit rate of the terminal device slice for each slice (specifically, it can be the maximum bit rate of each terminal device and / or all terminal devices or the number of users at each maximum bit rate); the capacity of each session, the usage of physical resource blocks; the maximum bit rate of the slice of the terminal device and the performance of the terminal device.

[0100] Optionally, the energy consumption information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: energy consumption of the second network device (DU) (node-level energy consumption), cell identification, cell-level energy consumption, terminal device identification, terminal device-level energy consumption, data radio bearer (DRB) identification, DRB-level energy consumption, slice identification, or slice-level energy consumption, or other levels of energy consumption information, such as PDU session-level energy consumption, quality of service (QoS) flow-level energy consumption, which are not limited here. The relationship between the PDU session and the QoS flow is that a slice can include multiple PDU sessions, a PDU session can include multiple QoS flows, and the QoS flow is mapped to the DRB. It can be understood that after determining the energy consumption value of one of the levels of energy consumption at the PDU session level and the QoS flow-level energy consumption, the energy consumption value of the other level can be obtained according to the above relationship.

[0101] The energy consumption described above may be energy efficiency, a relative value, or an absolute energy consumption value.

[0102] The energy efficiency can be calculated by referring to the following formula (1), with the unit being bit / joule.

[0103] Relative values ​​are determined based on the criteria for sending certain signals. For example, they can range from 0 to 100, with larger values ​​indicating greater energy consumption and smaller values ​​indicating lower energy consumption. A value of 100 represents the maximum energy consumption. Absolute values ​​are the actual energy consumed in sending data, expressed in joules.

[0104] The following explains the cell-level energy consumption, terminal device-level energy consumption, DRB-level energy consumption, and slice-level energy consumption described above:

[0105] Cell-level energy consumption refers to the energy consumption of data transmission within a cell, or the sum of the energy consumption of data transmission within a cell and the energy consumption of the cell's public signals. It's understandable that when a cell provides services to terminal devices, in addition to the energy consumption of data transmission services, there is also energy consumption for public signals, etc.

[0106] Energy consumption at the terminal device level: The energy consumption of a single terminal device can refer to the data transmission energy consumption of each terminal device, or it can also refer to the data transmission energy consumption of each terminal device plus the average public signal energy consumption. The energy consumption of data transmission is equal to the ratio of the physical resource block (PRB) usage to the total PRB usage × the energy consumption of the total PRB usage. It can be understood that when a cell provides services to terminal devices, in addition to the energy consumption of data transmission services, there is also energy consumption for public signals, etc. The average public signal energy consumption refers to the energy consumption of the public signals of network devices averaged to each terminal device. The specific calculation method can be found in formula (2).

[0107] DRB-level energy consumption refers to the energy consumption of a DRB transmission. A DRB is a data carrier, and the transmitted QoS flows are mapped to the DRB. One or more QoS flows can be mapped to a DRB. The energy consumption of a terminal device can be derived from the correspondence between DRB energy consumption and the QoS flows of different terminal devices.

[0108] Slice-level energy consumption refers to the energy consumption of a slice and is related to the slice's PRB usage. Multiple terminal devices may be transmitting data simultaneously on a slice. The energy consumption of a terminal device can be determined based on a pairing principle (e.g., equal distribution or the proportion of the terminal device's service or rate to the slice's overall capacity). The energy consumption of a terminal device can be derived from the correspondence between slice energy consumption and the terminal device it serves.

[0109] 302. The first network device performs status prediction on at least one cell.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present application, state prediction can also be understood as inference. Optionally, the first network device predicting the state of a cell refers to the first network device determining whether the cell can be shut down within a time period based on the cell's existing parameter information. Further, optionally, predicting whether a cell can be shut down within a time period can also be understood as predicting whether the cell is in a certain state within a time period, where the state includes but is not limited to characteristics such as low energy consumption and a small number of connected terminal devices, so that shutting down will not cause a significant impact.

[0111] Optionally, when the energy consumption information is carried in the above-mentioned first request, the specific implementation method of step 302 can also be that the first network device predicts the energy consumption value of the second network device or each cell or terminal device of the second network device, that is, the energy consumption value of the second network device or each cell or each terminal device of the second network device within a time period is predicted based on the energy consumption information. After obtaining the prediction result, the prediction result is sent to the second network device, and the second network device can make a decision to shut down the cell based on the prediction result. Optionally, the prediction result may include but is not limited to: the energy consumption value of the second network device, the energy consumption value of each cell of the second network device, or the energy consumption value of each terminal device within a time period predicted by the first network device.

[0112] Optionally, the specific implementation method of state prediction can be to perform prediction through an artificial intelligence (AI) model, input the existing parameter information of at least one cell into the AI ​​model, and obtain the result of whether each cell in the at least one cell can be shut down. The AI ​​model may be included in the first network device, and the first network device performs state prediction through the AI ​​model. Alternatively, the AI ​​model may not be located in the first network device, and the state prediction may be performed by the network management, a higher-level AI processing module, or other modules. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. In this case, the first network device can exchange information with the prediction module through an interface.

[0113] In one possible implementation, the first network device can perform a status prediction on at least one cell based on the second information. The second information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: resource status information of the cell, energy consumption information of the cell, channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, resource status information of the neighboring cell, mobility information of the terminal device, or other information related to the cell status and the terminal device. Among them, the first network device obtains the resource status information and energy consumption information of the cell, which can be found in the description of step 301 above and will not be repeated here. Optionally, after obtaining the energy consumption information of the cell, the first network device can also send the energy consumption information of the cell to the core network device and / or the network management, and the energy consumption information can be used for data analysis of the core network and / or data analysis of the network management.

[0114] The channel quality information of a terminal device in a cell is a measurement result of the signal quality of the cell by the terminal device, including the signal quality of the current serving cell and may also include signal measurement results of adjacent cells.

[0115] The resource status information of the neighboring cell is the resource status information of the neighboring cell, and is of the same type as the resource status information of the current cell.

[0116] The mobility information of a terminal device is a record of the mobility information of the terminal device by the cell, including historical mobility information and predicted future mobility information.

[0117] The channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, the resource status information of the neighboring cell, and the mobility information of the terminal device are known information of the first network device, which is information reported by the terminal device to the first network device, or told to the first network device by the neighboring cell through interaction, or predicted by the first network device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit how the first network device obtains the channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, the resource status information of the neighboring cell, and the mobility information of the terminal device. The implementation method of using the AI ​​model for status prediction is: inputting the second information of each cell of the at least one cell into the AI ​​model to obtain the first information output by the AI ​​model.

[0118] It should also be noted that the second information described herein corresponds one-to-one to the cells. Specifically, the first network device predicts the state of at least one cell based on the second information of each of the at least one cell. For example, assuming that the at least one cell includes cell 1 and cell 2, the first network device predicts the state of the at least one cell as follows: the first network device predicts the state of cell 1 based on the second information of cell 1; and the first network device predicts the state of cell 2 based on the second information of cell 2.

[0119] 303. The first network device sends first information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first information from the first network device. The first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to at least one cell.

[0120] 304. The second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0121] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information. For example, the first information may include a list of cells that can be shut down, and the list of cells that can be shut down includes the identifier of each cell in at least one first cell. The second network device can determine whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information. For example, the second network device can determine to shut down some or all of the at least one first cell indicated in the first information, or the second network device can also determine not to shut down the first cell. Optionally, the second network device can determine that the first cell needs to be shut down based on the first information, or the second network device can further determine whether to shut down the first cell based on other cell parameter information, such as the coverage area of ​​the first cell, based on the first information. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Based on the method described in the embodiment of the present application, the first network device predicts whether the cell can be shut down, and informs the second network device of the prediction result through the first information, assisting the second network device in shutting down the cell, thereby saving energy consumption.

[0122] Optionally, in conjunction with the above description, the first network device may also predict the energy consumption value of the second network device or each cell or terminal device of the second network device to obtain a prediction result. Corresponding to step 303, the prediction result may be included in the first information. The second network device determines whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information. This can be understood as the second network device making the cell shutdown decision based on the prediction result.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell. After the second network device determines that the first cell needs to be shut down, the second network device shuts down the first cell within the shutdown time range corresponding to the first cell. Correspondingly, when the shutdown time range ends, the second network device may turn on the first cell.

[0124] It should also be noted that the first information does not need to indicate the shutdown time range. For example, the first information indicates that the at least one cell can be shut down now. For another example, when the second network device sends the first request, the first request also carries the shutdown time range corresponding to each of the at least one cell. That is, the second network device requests the first network device to predict whether each of the at least one cell can be shut down within the corresponding shutdown time range. After the second network device receives the first information, the first information indicates that the at least first cell can be shut down within the corresponding shutdown time range.

[0125] In one possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the second network device sends a second indication message to the first network device, where the second indication message indicates that the first cell is shut down, that is, the second indication message indicates that the first cell is in a dormant state and no longer provides services to the terminal device. Based on this implementation, the first network device can be made aware of the cell shutdown status. Optionally, after receiving the second indication message, the first network device can send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices, where the coverage adjustment assistance information includes the affected cell or synchronization signal block (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block, SSB) information and other coverage-related information to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage. The content of the second indication message may include at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to the user, or an indication that the first cell is in a different level of dormant mode such as a power-off state, and a reason value for the first cell shutdown: the reason value may be network energy saving or other reason values ​​related to energy saving.

[0126] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all cells under the second network device connected to a gNB-CU-UP are shut down, that is, all cells under the second network device connected to the gNB-CU-UP enter a dormant state and are not scheduled by the user plane of the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device can shut down its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0127] In one possible implementation, before the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends a second request to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, the second request being used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device in the first cell to another cell. After the first network device receives the second request, the first network device initiates a cell handover of the terminal device. Optionally, after all terminal devices in the first cell complete the cell handover, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all terminal devices in the first cell, the first network device will send a response message to the second network device for the second request, the response message instructing the second network device that all terminal devices in the first cell have completed the cell handover and can shut down the first cell. Optionally, the second request includes but is not limited to one or more of the following information: an identifier of the first cell, a handover request indication, or a handover request reason value. If there is no terminal device in the first cell, the second network device may not need to send the second request.

[0128] The cell to which the terminal device switches is referred to as the second cell. The second cell may belong to the same second network device as the first cell, or the second cell may belong to a second network device different from the first cell. For ease of distinction, the second network device to which the first cell belongs described in the embodiments of this application is referred to as the third network device. The fourth network device is a second network device different from the third network device. The third network device and the fourth network device are both managed by the same first network device.

[0129] Optionally, the first network device sends a first indication message to the third network device or the fourth network device, and accordingly, the third network device or the fourth network device receives the first indication message from the first network device, where the first indication message indicates the time and strength for enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the indication message indicates the time for the second cell to reserve switching resources, and the terminal device under the first cell will switch to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0130] It is understandable that when the second cell belongs to a third network device, the first network device sends the first indication information to the third network device. Furthermore, optionally, in this case, the first indication information can be carried in the same message as the first information described above. When the second cell belongs to a fourth network device, the first network device sends the first indication information to the fourth network device. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial to ensure the signal quality of the terminal device after switching from the first cell to the second cell, avoiding affecting the terminal device's services.

[0131] Among them, when the second network device is a DU and the first network device is a CU, the third network device described above can be called a first DU, which is the DU to which the first cell belongs. The fourth network device described above can be called a second DU, which is a DU different from the first DU. The second DU and the first DU are managed by the same CU.

[0132] In order to save energy consumption, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, as shown in Figure 4, which includes steps 401 to 403. The execution subjects corresponding to the method shown in Figure 4 are the second network device and the first network device, or the execution subjects of the method shown in Figure 4 can be chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 4 is illustrated using the second network device and the first network device as an example. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution subject of the communication method. The second network device and the first network device can be network devices corresponding to the description of the communication system shown in Figure 1. Wherein:

[0133] 401. The first network device sends first indication information to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the first indication information from the first network device. The first indication information indicates the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0134] In an embodiment of the present application, one or more second network devices can be centrally managed by a first network device. Optionally, the first network device can be a CU and the second network device can be a DU. The CU and DU can adopt a separate architecture. At least one cell is a partial cell or all cells of the second network device. The switchability of the terminal device specifically refers to whether the terminal device can switch cells. The reasons why the terminal device cannot switch cells may include but are not limited to the situation that the terminal device switching cells will have a greater impact on the communication quality, or the terminal device is performing important business that cannot be interrupted. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the situation where the terminal device cannot switch cells. The switchability of the terminal device in the cell can be used by the second network device to estimate and determine the impact of shutting down the cell on the terminal device. Optionally, the first indication information also includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell. The coverage area of ​​the cell can also be used by the second network device to determine the impact of shutting down the cell on the terminal device. For example, after shutting down the cell, whether there may be no cell coverage in a certain area, whether the terminal device cannot access the cell after moving to the area, etc.

[0135] The first indication information may include but is not limited to one or more of the following information: information on the switchable situation, a value of the reason for non-switching, and auxiliary information of the coverage information.

[0136] The information on switchable situations may include: all terminal devices can be switched, or some terminal devices can be switched, or no terminal devices can be switched, etc. Different specific switching states or switching ratio values, such as 0%, 10%, and so on to 100%; it can also be true / false situations; it can also be information on other switchable situations, which is not limited.

[0137] The reason value for non-switching may include terminal service failure, poor terminal device communication quality, insufficient neighboring cell resources, busyness, etc., which are related to terminal device performance or neighboring cell performance, and there is no limitation on this.

[0138] The auxiliary information of the coverage information can be a relative value of the coverage information, an absolute value of the area, a value related to the power intensity, or a state of the coverage range, such as small range, medium range, large range, etc. It can also be coverage information or information related to the coverage information, which is not limited.

[0139] Among them, when each terminal device in the cell can be switched, the first indication information may not include the non-switching reason value corresponding to the cell.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the first network device may send a first indication message to the second network device after receiving the first request. Specifically, the second network device sends a first request to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the first request sent by the second network device. The first request is used to request to obtain the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell. Optionally, the first request includes the cell identifier of each cell in the at least one cell and all terminal device identifiers or interface identifiers of all terminal devices in each cell. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial for the second network device to trigger the judgment of whether the cell needs to be shut down as soon as possible.

[0141] Among them, the timing when the first network device sends the first indication information may also be unrelated to the first request. For example, the first network device may periodically send the first indication information to the second network device, or the first network device may send the first indication information to the second network device at a preset time point. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the timing when the first network device sends the first indication information to the second network device.

[0142] Optionally, the timing when the second network device sends the first request to the first network device may be when the at least one cell meets the first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than the first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than the second threshold; or the current time is within the cell shutdown time range.

[0143] Among them, the first conditions of all cells under the second network device can be the same conditions, that is, the first conditions of each cell are the same, or the first conditions corresponding to different cells under the second network device may not necessarily be the same, that is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the first condition and the cell, each cell corresponds to its own first condition, and the first conditions between the two cells may be the same or different.

[0144] Further optionally, the first condition may be configured by a network management or a first network device. Specifically, the second network device receives a second indication message from the network management or the first network device, and the corresponding second network device receives a second indication message from the network management or the first network device. The second indication message indicates the first condition, and the second indication message includes but is not limited to one or more of a cell identifier, a first threshold value, a second threshold value, and a start time and an end time in a turn-off time range. Among them, the first threshold value may be a relative load value or an absolute load value, and the second threshold value is an energy consumption value. The energy consumption value may be a relative energy consumption value or an absolute energy consumption value or energy efficiency. For energy consumption, please refer to the description in the embodiment corresponding to FIG3 above, which will not be repeated here. In addition, the first condition may also be implemented internally by the second network device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0145] 402. The second network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information.

[0146] 403. The second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0147] In an embodiment of the present application, the number of first cells may be one or more. The second network device determines the first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information, and the specific implementation method is to determine that all terminal devices under the first cell can switch cells based on the first indication information. It can be understood that after determining that all terminal devices under the first cell can switch, the second network device shutting down the cell will not have a significant impact on the terminal devices under the first cell. Based on the method of the embodiment of the present application, the second network device saves energy by shutting down the first cell, and can also avoid a significant impact on the terminal devices after the second network device shuts down the cell.

[0148] In one possible implementation, the first indication information also includes the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell, and the total coverage area corresponding to all cells except the first cell in at least one cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. Specifically, the coverage area of ​​the first cell determined by the second network device from at least one cell is located within the total coverage area of ​​other cells. Other cells refer to other cells related to the first cell, such as its neighboring cells, which can be under the same second network device or different second network devices. In this case, shutting down the first cell will not affect the coverage area corresponding to the first cell. If the coverage area of ​​the cell is not located within the total coverage area of ​​other cells, then when the cell is shut down, there may be areas in the coverage area of ​​the cell that are not covered by other cells. If the terminal device enters this area, it may not be able to access the cell. Based on this implementation, it is beneficial for the second network device to save energy by shutting down the cell while avoiding the problem of incomplete cell coverage.

[0149] For example, as shown in FIG5 , the second network device includes three cells, namely cell 1, cell 2 and cell 3, wherein the coverage area of ​​cell 1 includes area A and area B, the coverage area of ​​cell 2 includes area C and area B, and the coverage area of ​​cell 3 belongs to area B. The coverage area of ​​cell 3 is within the total coverage area of ​​cell 1 and cell 2 (area A + area B + area C), so after shutting down cell 3, the coverage area of ​​cell 3 is still covered by cell 1 and cell 2, and there will be no problem of incomplete coverage. The coverage area of ​​cell 1 is not within the total coverage area of ​​cell 2 and cell 3 (area B + area C). Therefore, after shutting down cell 1, area A will have no cell coverage, so there will be a problem of incomplete coverage.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the second network device also needs to determine the first cell from at least one cell in combination with the first condition, that is, the first cell is required to meet the first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than the first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than the second threshold; or the current time is within the cell shutdown time range, wherein, for the description of the first condition, please refer to the description in the above step 401, and the embodiment of the present application will not be repeated here. Based on this implementation, shutting down the first cell with a smaller load and / or smaller energy consumption within the shutdown time range (for example, in the early morning when the number of users is small) is beneficial to saving energy consumption, and can also avoid affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0151] In one possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the second network device sends a second request to the first network device. In response, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, requesting a handover of a terminal device in the first cell. After receiving the second request, the first network device initiates a cell handover for the terminal device. Optionally, after all terminal devices in the first cell complete the cell handover, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all terminal devices in the first cell, the first network device sends a response to the second request to the second network device, indicating that all terminal devices in the first cell have completed the cell handover and can shut down the first cell. Optionally, the second request includes, but is not limited to, the following information: an identifier of the first cell, a handover request indication, or a handover request cause value. If there are no terminal devices in the first cell, the second network device does not need to send the second request. The handover request cause value may be a cause value related to network energy saving, cell shutdown, or other energy-saving techniques, such as cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception.

[0152] In one possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends third indication information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the third indication information from the second network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down. The third indication information may indicate that the first cell is in a dormant state and no longer provides services to the terminal device. Optionally, after receiving the third indication information, the first network device may send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices, where the coverage adjustment assistance information includes information about the affected cell or synchronization signal block (SSB) to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage.

[0153] Among them, the content of the third indication information may include at least one of the following: the cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to the user, or an indication that the first cell is in different levels of sleep modes such as a power-off state, and the reason value for shutting down the first cell, which may be network energy saving or other reason values ​​related to energy saving.

[0154] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all cells under the second network device connected to a gNB-CU-UP are shut down, that is, all cells under the second network device connected to the gNB-CU-UP enter a dormant state and are not scheduled by the user plane of the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device can shut down its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0155] In order to save energy consumption, an embodiment of the present application proposes a communication method, as shown in Figure 6, the communication method includes steps 601 to 604, wherein step 604 is an optional step. The execution subjects corresponding to the method shown in Figure 6 are the second network device and the first network device, or the execution subjects of the method shown in Figure 6 can be chips in the second network device and the first network device. Figure 6 is illustrated using the second network device and the first network device as an example. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution subject of the communication method. The second network device and the first network device can be the network devices corresponding to the description of the communication system shown in Figure 1. Wherein:

[0156] 601. A second network device sends first information to a first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the first information from the second network device, where the first information includes energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0157] In an embodiment of the present application, one or more second network devices may be centrally managed by a first network device. Optionally, the first network device may be a CU and the second network device may be a DU. The CU and DU may adopt a separate architecture. The at least one cell in the first information is part of the cells or all of the cells of the second network device. Optionally, the energy consumption information may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: energy consumption of the second network device (DU) (node-level energy consumption), cell identifier, cell-level energy consumption, terminal device identifier, terminal device-level energy consumption, DRB identifier, DRB-level energy consumption, slice identifier, slice-level energy consumption, or other levels of energy consumption information, such as PDU session-level energy consumption and QoS flow-level energy consumption, which are not limited here. The description of the energy consumption information can refer to the description of the embodiment corresponding to Figure 3 above. The description of the embodiment of the present application is the same and will not be repeated here. Optionally, after receiving the first information, the first network device may also send the energy consumption information of the at least one cell to the core network device and / or network management. The energy consumption information can be used for data analysis of the core network and / or data analysis of the network management.

[0158] In one possible implementation, before the second network device sends the first information to the first network device, the method further includes: the first network device sends a first request to the second network device, and the corresponding second network device receives the first request from the second network device, where the first request is used to request energy consumption information of at least one cell. Optionally, the first request includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: an identifier of the cell, a request indication for energy consumption information, and a reason value for requesting to report energy consumption information. The reason value can specifically be network energy saving, energy efficiency as a service, or other reason values ​​related to energy consumption or energy efficiency. Based on this implementation, the first network device can actively trigger a decision on whether the second network device needs to shut down the cell.

[0159] The timing at which the second network device sends the first information may also be unrelated to the first request. For example, the second network device may periodically send the first information to the first network device, or send the first information to the first network device at a predetermined time. Alternatively, the second network device may send the first information to the first network device when certain conditions are met. For example, the condition may be that the energy consumption of the cell under the second network device is less than an energy consumption threshold. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the timing at which the second network device sends the first information to the first network device.

[0160] 602. The first network device determines a first cell from at least one cell based on the first information.

[0161] In an embodiment of the present application, the number of first cells may be one or more. The first network device determines a first cell with lower energy consumption from at least one cell based on the first information or in combination with other information, such as resource status information. Optionally, the energy consumption of the first cell is less than a preset threshold value, and the preset threshold value may be a relative energy consumption value or an absolute energy consumption value or energy efficiency. The lower energy consumption of the first cell indicates that the number of terminal devices in the current first cell is small or there are no terminal devices. Shutting down the first cell with lower energy consumption is beneficial to saving energy consumption, and can also avoid affecting a large number of terminal devices.

[0162] 603. The first network device sends first instruction information to the second network device. The second network device receives the first instruction information from the first network device. The first instruction information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell.

[0163] In an embodiment of the present application, the first indication information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down. Optionally, the second network device can shut down all the first cells indicated by the first indication information directly based on the first indication information without making a decision. Alternatively, in addition to the first indication information, the second network device can also refer to its own situation or other parameter information of the first cell, such as the coverage area of ​​the first cell, to decide whether to shut down at least one first cell indicated by the first indication information. The second network device can determine to shut down some or all of the at least one first cell indicated in the first indication information, or the second network device can also determine not to shut down the first cell.

[0164] 604. The second network device shuts down the first cell.

[0165] In one possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the second network device sends a second request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal device in the first cell. After the first network device receives the second request, the first network device initiates a cell switch for the terminal device. Optionally, after all the terminal devices in the first cell complete the cell switch, for example, after the first network device releases the context information of all the terminal devices in the first cell, the first network device will send a response message to the second network device for the second request, where the response message indicates to the second network device that all the terminal devices in the first cell have completed the cell switch and can shut down the first cell. Optionally, the second request includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following information: an identifier of the first cell, a switching request indication, or a switching request reason value. If there is no terminal device in the first cell, the second network device may not need to send the second request.

[0166] In one possible implementation, after the second network device shuts down the first cell, the method further includes: the second network device sends second indication information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the second indication information from the second network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down. The second indication information may indicate that the first cell is in a dormant state and no longer provides services to the terminal device. Optionally, after receiving the second indication information, the first network device may send coverage adjustment assistance information to other second network devices, where the coverage adjustment assistance information includes affected cell or SSB information to help other second network devices adjust their cell coverage.

[0167] The second indication information may include at least one of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, or an indication that the first cell is in a different level of sleep mode, such as a power-off state, and a reason value for shutting down the first cell. The reason value may be a network energy saving or other reason value related to energy saving.

[0168] Optionally, when the first network device determines that all cells under the second network device connected to a gNB-CU-UP are shut down, that is, all cells under the second network device connected to the gNB-CU-UP enter a dormant state and are not scheduled by the user plane of the gNB-CU-UP, the first network device can shut down its corresponding gNB-CU-UP.

[0169] To implement the various functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first network device and the second network device may each include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the aforementioned functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules. Whether a particular one of the aforementioned functions is implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0170] Please refer to Figure 7, which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a first network device or a second network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first network device or the second network device. In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a module or unit that corresponds to the method / operation / step / action performed by the second network device or the first network device in the method embodiment shown in Figures 3, 4, or 6 above. The unit may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software.

[0171] The communication device shown in Figure 7 may include a processing unit 701 and a communication unit 702. The processing unit 701 is configured to process data. The communication unit 702 integrates a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit 702 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 702 may be split into a receiving unit and a transmitting unit.

[0172] The communication device shown in FIG7 may be a second network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the second network device.

[0173] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 3 above, the communication unit 702 is used to send a first request to the first network device, and the first request is used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; the communication unit 702 is also used to receive first information from the first network device, and the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is used to determine whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

[0174] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0175] In a possible implementation manner, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0176] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second information to the first network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0177] In a possible implementation, before the communication unit 702 sends the second information to the first network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a third request from the first network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of the cell.

[0178] In a possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a second request to the first network device, where the second request is configured to request the first network device to switch the terminal device in the first cell to another cell.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is also used to receive a first indication message from the first network device, the first indication message indicating the time and strength of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the first indication message indicating the time for the second cell to reserve switching resources, and the terminal device under the first cell will switch to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0180] In a possible implementation, after shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0182] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 4 above, the communication unit 702 receives first indication information sent from the first network device, and the first indication information indicates the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is used to determine the first cell from the at least one cell based on the first indication information; the processing unit 701 is also used to shut down the first cell.

[0183] In a possible implementation, when the processing unit 701 determines the first cell from at least one cell based on the first indication information, it is specifically used to: determine, based on the first indication information, that all terminal devices under the first cell can switch cells.

[0184] In a possible implementation, the first indication information further includes a coverage area corresponding to each cell in the at least one cell, and a total coverage area corresponding to all cells except the first cell in the at least one cell includes the coverage area corresponding to the first cell.

[0185] In one possible implementation, before receiving the first indication information sent from the first network device, the communication unit 702 is also used to send a first request to the first network device, and the first request is used to request to obtain the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from the first network device, where the second indication information indicates the first condition.

[0187] In a possible implementation, before shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a second request to the first network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal device in the first cell.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the first cell satisfies a first condition, which includes one or more of the following conditions: the load is less than a first threshold; or the energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or the current time is within a cell shutdown time range.

[0189] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send third indication information to the first network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0191] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the second network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 6 above, the communication unit 702 is used to send first information to the first network device, where the first information includes energy consumption information of at least one cell; the communication unit 702 is also used to receive first indication information from the first network device, where the first indication information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell; and the processing unit 701 is used to shut down the first cell.

[0192] In one possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer DRB energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0193] In a possible implementation, before sending the first information to the first network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a first request from the first network device, where the first request is used to request energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0194] In a possible implementation, after shutting down the first cell, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0196] The communication device shown in Figure 7 may be a first network device, or a device that can be used in conjunction with the first network device.

[0197] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 3 above, the communication unit 702 is used to receive a first request from the second network device, where the first request is used to request a prediction or determination of whether at least one cell can be shut down; the processing unit 701 is used to perform a status prediction on at least one cell to obtain first information, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down; and the communication unit 702 is further used to send the first information to the second network device.

[0198] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to at least one first cell.

[0199] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 701 predicts at least one cell and, when obtaining the first information, is specifically used to: predict the at least one cell based on the second information to obtain the first information, where the second information includes one or more of the following: cell resource status information, cell energy consumption information, channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, resource status information of the neighboring cell, or mobility information of the terminal device.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner, the first request further includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0201] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second information sent from a second network device, where the second information includes resource status information of at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0202] In a possible implementation, before the communication unit 702 receives the second information sent from the second network device, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a third request to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of the cell.

[0203] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a second request sent from a second network device, where the second request is used to request switching of the terminal device in the first cell.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and strength of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the indication information indicates the time for reserving switching resources for the second cell.

[0205] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from a second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0206] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0207] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 4 above, the communication unit 702 is used to send a first indication message to the second network device, and the first indication message indicates the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0208] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information further includes a coverage area corresponding to each cell in the at least one cell.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is also used to receive a first request from a second network device, where the first request is used to request to obtain the switching status of the terminal device corresponding to each cell in at least one cell and / or the coverage area corresponding to each cell in at least one cell.

[0210] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is also used to send second indication information to the second network device, where the second indication information indicates a first condition, and the first condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the cell load is less than a first threshold; or, the cell energy consumption is less than a second threshold; or, the current time is within the cell shutdown time range.

[0211] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive a second request from a second network device, where the second request is used to indicate a request to switch the terminal device in the first cell.

[0212] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive third indication information from the second network device, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is shut down.

[0213] In a possible implementation, the third indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0214] When the communication device is used to execute part or all of the functions of the first network device in the method embodiment described in Figure 6 above, the communication unit 702 is used to receive first information from the second network device, where the first information includes energy consumption information of at least one cell; the processing unit 701 is used to determine the first cell from the at least one cell based on the first information; and the communication unit 702 is further used to send first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information instructs the second network device to shut down the first cell.

[0215] In one possible implementation, the energy consumption information includes one or more of the following: node energy consumption, cell energy consumption, terminal energy consumption, data radio bearer DRB energy consumption, or slice energy consumption.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send a first request to the second network device, where the first request is used to request energy consumption information of at least one cell.

[0217] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to receive second indication information from a second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

[0218] In a possible implementation, the second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide service to the user, a level of the first cell in sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

[0219] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 702 is further configured to send energy consumption information of at least one cell to a core network device.

[0220] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device. The communication device 800 can be the second network device in the above method embodiment, or can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the second network device to implement the above method. This communication device can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiment.

[0221] Alternatively, the communication device 800 may be the first network device in the above method embodiment, or may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first network device to implement the above method. The communication device may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and details may be found in the description of the above method embodiment.

[0222] The communication device 800 may include one or more processors 801. The processor 801 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit may be used to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a second network device, or a first network device), execute software programs, and process data in the software programs.

[0223] Optionally, the communication device 800 may include one or more memories 802, on which instructions 804 may be stored. The instructions may be executed on the processor 801, causing the communication device 800 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory 802 may also store data. The processor 801 and memory 802 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0224] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a transceiver 805 and an antenna 806. The transceiver 805 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to implement transceiver functions. The transceiver 805 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., and is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0225] The communication device 800 is a second network device: the processor 801 is used to perform the data processing operation of the second network device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 805 is used to perform the data receiving and sending operation of the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0226] Alternatively, the communication device 800 is a first network device: the processor 801 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the first network device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver 805 is configured to execute the data transceiver operation of the first network device in the above method embodiment.

[0227] In another possible design, processor 801 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code / data, or the transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

[0228] In another possible design, processor 801 may optionally store instructions 803. Instructions 803, when executed on processor 801, may cause communication device 800 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Instructions 803 may be fixed in processor 801. In this case, processor 801 may be implemented by hardware.

[0229] In another possible design, the communication device 800 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending, receiving, or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc.

[0230] The communication device described in the above embodiment may be a second network device or a first network device, but the scope of the communication device described in the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited to FIG8. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

[0231] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0232] (2) A set of one or more ICs, optionally including a storage component for storing data and instructions;

[0233] (3) ASIC, such as modem (mobile station modem, MSM);

[0234] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

[0235] (5) Receivers, terminals, smart terminals, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

[0236] (6)Others, etc.

[0237] In the case where the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the chip structure diagram shown in Figure 9. The chip shown in Figure 9 includes a processor 901 and an interface 902. Optionally, it may also include a memory 903. The number of processors 901 can be one or more, and the number of interfaces 902 can be multiple.

[0238] In one design, for a case where the chip is used to implement the function of the second network device in the embodiments of the present application:

[0239] The interface 902 is used to input or output signals;

[0240] The processor 901 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the second network device in the above method embodiment.

[0241] In another design, for the case where the chip is used to implement the function of the first network device in the embodiment of the present application:

[0242] The interface 902 is used to input or output signals;

[0243] The processor 901 is configured to execute the data processing operation of the first network device in the above method embodiment.

[0244] It is understandable that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may, in certain scenarios, be implemented independently of other features, such as the solution on which they are currently based, to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects. They may also be combined with other features in certain scenarios as needed. Accordingly, the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application may also implement these features or functions accordingly, which will not be described in detail here.

[0245] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiment of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

[0246] 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.

[0247] The present application also provides a computer-readable medium for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0248] The present application also provides a computer program product for storing computer software instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0249] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0250] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a first request to a first network device, where the first request is used to request the first network device to predict or determine whether at least one cell can be shut down; receiving first information from the first network device, wherein the first information indicates that the at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell; Determine whether to shut down the first cell based on the first information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first information also indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to each of the at least one first cell.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first request also includes resource status information of the at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending second information to the first network device, where the second information includes resource status information of the at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Before sending the second information to the first network device, the method further includes: A third request is received from the first network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of a cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Before shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: A second request is sent to the first network device, where the second request is used to request the first network device to switch the terminal device under the first cell to other cells.

7. The method according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive first indication information from the first network device, the first indication information indicates the time and strength of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the first indication information indicates the time for reserving switching resources in the second cell, and the terminal device under the first cell will switch to the second cell, and the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: After shutting down the first cell, the method further includes: Sending second indication information to the first network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, a level of the first cell being in a sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a first request from a second network device, wherein the first request is used to request prediction or determination of whether at least one cell can be shut down; Performing state prediction on the at least one cell; The first information is sent to the second network device, where the first information indicates that at least one first cell can be shut down, and the first cell belongs to the at least one cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first information also indicates a shutdown time range corresponding to the at least one first cell.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The predicting the at least one cell to obtain the first information includes: The first information is obtained by predicting the at least one cell based on the second information, wherein the second information includes one or more of the following: resource status information of the cell, energy consumption information of the cell, channel quality information of the terminal device in the cell, resource status information of the neighboring cell, or mobility information of the terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first request also includes resource status information of the at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second information sent from the second network device is received, where the second information includes resource status information of the at least one cell and / or energy consumption information of the at least one cell.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that Before receiving the second information sent from the second network device, the method further includes: A third request is sent to the second network device, where the third request is used to request reporting of energy consumption information of the cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive a second request sent from the second network device, where the second request is used to request switching of the terminal device under the first cell.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first indication information to the second network device, where the first indication information indicates the time and strength of enhancing the coverage of the second cell, and / or the indication information indicates the time for reserving switching resources for the second cell.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that: After sending the first information to the second network device, the method further includes: Second indication information is received from the second network device, where the second indication information indicates that the first cell is shut down.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The second indication information further includes one or more of the following: a cell identifier of the first cell, an indication that the first cell does not provide services to users, a level of the first cell being in a sleep mode, or a reason value for shutting down the first cell.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the communication device includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The device further includes the memory and / or a transceiver, wherein the transceiver is used for transmitting and receiving data and / or signaling.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive a signal from other communication devices other than the communication device and transmit it to the processor or send the signal from the processor to other communication devices other than the communication device, and the processor executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 through a logic circuit or an execution instruction, or the processor executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 19 through a logic circuit or an execution instruction.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 19 is executed.

Images