Non-terrestrial network communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application provide a non-terrestrial network communication method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: a first network device acquires first configuration information of a first cell, the first cell being a cell in the first network device; the first network device sends the first configuration information to a second network device, the first configuration information comprising a first identifier and / or related information of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) of the first cell, and the first identifier being used for identifying a system message of the first cell. In regenerative satellite working scenarios, implementing L3 signaling-free handover saves signaling overhead and avoids signaling storm caused by handover, thereby improving the communication efficiency.

Description

A non-terrestrial network communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on December 11, 2023, with application number 202311708953.9 and application name “A non-terrestrial network communication method and related 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 non-terrestrial network communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a communication network implemented with the help of non-terrestrial network equipment. NTN systems can include satellite systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication systems, and other aerial network equipment. NTN has the advantages of wide coverage, long communication distance, high reliability, great flexibility, and high throughput. It is not affected by geographical environment, climate conditions, or natural disasters, and has been widely used in various fields. Introducing NTN communications into mobile network communications, such as fifth-generation (5G) communications, can improve user experience. Taking satellite networks as an example, satellites can be divided into low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites according to their orbital altitude. Among them, satellites operating in geostationary orbit are stationary relative to the ground, while satellites operating in low and medium orbits move at high speed relative to the ground. Therefore, low and medium orbits are also called non-geostationary orbits (NGSO).

[0004] For satellites operating in NGSO scenarios, the high speed of the satellites relative to the ground means that the satellite beam's coverage of a given area on the ground is short-lived. Therefore, terminal devices need to frequently switch serving cells. Frequent handoffs between different satellites incur significant signaling overhead. Therefore, the significant signaling overhead caused by frequent handoffs in NGSO scenarios is a key factor impacting the communication efficiency of NTN systems.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a non-terrestrial network communication method, which is applied to a first network device, and the method includes: the first network device obtains first configuration information of a first cell, where the first cell is a cell in the first network device; the first network device sends the first configuration information to a second network device, and the first configuration information includes: a first identifier, and / or relevant information of the physical broadcast channel PBCH of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell.

[0007] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network device may also be referred to as a source network device. The first cell of the first network device is the cell currently providing communication services to the terminal device, and the first cell may also be referred to as the source cell. The terminal device needs to switch from the first cell to a second cell, and the second cell is a cell in the second network device, and the second cell may also be referred to as a target cell. The second network device may also be referred to as a target network device.

[0008] In one possible implementation, after a first network device establishes an Xn interface with a second network device, the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device. The Xn interface is an interface between network devices. For example, the first network device includes the first configuration information in an Xn interface establishment request sent to the second network device. The Xn interface establishment request is used to request establishment of the Xn interface between the first and second network devices. In another example, the second network device sends an Xn interface establishment request to the first network device, and the first network device sends an Xn interface establishment request response to the second network device, which includes the first configuration information. Exemplarily, the Xn interface establishment request may be an "XN SETUP REQUEST" message, and the Xn interface establishment request response may be an "XN SETUP RESPONSE" message.

[0009] In another possible implementation, when the first network device sends a handover request message to the second network device, the handover request message carries the first configuration information. The first network device determines the handover request message based on a measurement report reported by the terminal device. The handover request message is used to indicate that a terminal device needs to be handed over from the first network device to the second network device. Exemplarily, the handover request message may be a "HANDOVER REQUEST" message.

[0010] In this embodiment of the present application, by sending first configuration information related to the first cell to the second network device, the configuration information of the second cell matches the configuration information of the first cell. This ensures that the terminal device can switch from the first cell to the second cell through a handover process without L3 signaling. This enables handover without L3 signaling in the regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handovers, and improving communication efficiency.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following: the lower 4 bits of the system frame number; the absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell; the upper 1 bit of the offset of the synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier, the offset of the SSB subcarrier is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block CRB to SSB subcarrier 0; the number of SSBs of the first cell; or, half-frame indication information, the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half frame or the second half frame. In the embodiment of the present application, the relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes multiple information, which improves the implementation flexibility of the solution.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first network device includes a system message block SIB.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method also includes: the first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, the second configuration information includes configuration information related to the terminal device, the terminal device is served by the first network device, and the second cell corresponding to the second network device is the cell to be switched for the terminal device.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device may further send configuration information related to the terminal device to the second network device, so that the second network device can apply the second configuration information to provide communication services to the terminal device in the second cell. The second network device does not need to synchronize the terminal device's configuration information with the terminal device again, ensuring that the terminal device can switch from the first cell to the second cell through a handover process without L3 signaling. Handover without L3 signaling is achieved in the regenerated star working scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device sending third configuration information to the second network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell. After the second network device obtains the third configuration information, the third configuration information is effective, that is, the relevant configuration of the RACH is effective. The second network device may effectuate the third configuration information before the UE initiates access, for example, at a time indicated by the first time information. The terminal device accesses the second cell according to the original relevant configuration of the RACH.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the second configuration information includes any one or more of the following: a key KgNB, the key KgNB is used to determine the key of the access layer; a cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI; a mapping relationship between the quality of service QoS flow and the data radio bearer DRB related to the terminal device; capability information of the terminal device; measurement configuration information of the radio resource management RRM; relevant information of the protocol data unit PDU session related to the terminal device; or other information in the synchronous reconfiguration reconfigurationWithSync message except the system message block SIB1 and the master information block MIB. In an embodiment of the present application, the second configuration information includes a variety of information, which improves the implementation flexibility of the solution.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first configuration information includes any one or more of the following: identification information of the first cell; configuration information of the access layer of the first cell; system information block SIB1 of the first cell; or master information block MIB of the first cell. In the embodiment of the present application, the second configuration information includes multiple types of information, thereby improving the implementation flexibility of the solution.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information: a random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or a synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, wherein the rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending a preamble, or a mapping relationship between a preamble and a synchronization signal block; the ssb-PositionsInBurst information element includes: time information for sending a synchronization signal block. In the embodiment of the present application, the third configuration information includes multiple types of information, which improves the implementation flexibility of the solution.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method also includes: the first network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, the first indication message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first cell to the second cell using a switching mode without L3 signaling, the second cell corresponding to the second network device is the cell to be switched of the terminal device, and the identification information of the current service cell of the terminal device in the switching mode without L3 signaling is the same as the identification information of the cell to be switched of the terminal device; the first network device sends a second indication message to the second network device, the second indication message is used to instruct the second network device to adopt the switching mode without L3 signaling.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first network device sends first time information to the terminal device, and the first time information indicates the effective time of the switching mode without L3 signaling.

[0021] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a non-terrestrial network communication method, which is applied to a second network device, and the method includes: the second network device receives first configuration information sent by the first network device, and the first configuration information includes: a first identifier, and / or, related information of the physical broadcast channel PBCH of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify the system message of the first cell, and the first cell is a cell in the first network device; the second network device applies the first configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell, and the terminal device is provided with services by the first network device, and the second cell is the cell to be switched for the terminal device.

[0022] In one possible implementation, after a first network device establishes an Xn interface with a second network device, the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device. The Xn interface is an interface between network devices. For example, the first network device includes the first configuration information in an Xn interface establishment request sent to the second network device. The Xn interface establishment request is used to request establishment of the Xn interface between the first and second network devices. In another example, the second network device sends an Xn interface establishment request to the first network device, and the first network device sends an Xn interface establishment request response to the second network device, which includes the first configuration information. Exemplarily, the Xn interface establishment request may be an "XN SETUP REQUEST" message, and the Xn interface establishment request response may be an "XN SETUP RESPONSE" message.

[0023] In another possible implementation, when the first network device sends a handover request message to the second network device, the handover request message carries the first configuration information. The first network device determines the handover request message based on a measurement report reported by the terminal device. The handover request message is used to indicate that a terminal device needs to be handed over from the first network device to the second network device. Exemplarily, the handover request message may be a "HANDOVER REQUEST" message.

[0024] In this embodiment of the present application, by sending first configuration information related to the first cell to the second network device, the configuration information of the second cell matches the configuration information of the first cell. This ensures that the terminal device can switch from the first cell to the second cell through a handover process without L3 signaling. This enables handover without L3 signaling in the regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handovers, and improving communication efficiency.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the second network device applies the first configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell, including: the second network device generates a system message of the second cell based on the first configuration information; the second network device sends the system message of the second cell to the terminal device.

[0026] In the embodiment of the present application, the second network device generates a system message of the second cell according to the first configuration information, and then sends the system message of the second cell to the terminal device, so that the terminal device initiates access to the second cell according to the system message of the second cell.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method also includes: the second network device receives a first identifier sent by the first network device, and the first identifier is used to identify the system message of the first network device; the second network device determines a second identifier based on the first identifier, wherein the second identifier is used to identify the system message of the second network device, and the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier; the second network device sends the second identifier to the terminal device.

[0028] In this embodiment of the present application, the second network device transmits a second identifier, informing the terminal device that it needs to read and validate the system message of the second cell. During a handover from the first cell to the second cell, the terminal device only needs to reread the system message of the second cell, without having to update the terminal device-level configuration information. This allows the terminal device configuration to match the second cell configuration. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the second network device sends the second identifier to the terminal device, including: the second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device, and the system message of the second cell includes the second identifier.

[0030] Optionally, the second network device may further send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to notify the terminal device that a change has occurred in the system information of the cell. For example, the third indication information is carried in a short message. The second network device sets a bit corresponding to the short message to indicate to the terminal device that a change has occurred in the system information of the cell.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first cell includes a system message block SIB; the second identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the second cell includes a system message block SIB.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method also includes: the second network device receives second configuration information sent by the first network device, the second configuration information includes configuration information related to the terminal device; the second network device applies the second configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network device may further send configuration information related to the terminal device to the second network device, so that the second network device can apply the second configuration information to provide communication services to the terminal device in the second cell. The second network device does not need to synchronize the terminal device's configuration information with the terminal device again, ensuring that the terminal device can switch from the first cell to the second cell through a handover process without L3 signaling. Handover without L3 signaling is achieved in the regenerated star working scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second network device receives third configuration information sent by the first network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell; and the second network device applies the third configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell. After the second network device obtains the third configuration information, the third configuration information takes effect, that is, the relevant configuration of the RACH takes effect. The second network device can take effect on the third configuration information before the UE initiates access, for example, the third configuration information takes effect at the time indicated by the first time information. The terminal device accesses the second cell according to the original relevant configuration of the RACH.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application proposes a non-terrestrial network communication method, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes: receiving a first indication message sent by a first network device, the first indication message being used to indicate that a first cell in the first network device supports the terminal device to switch from the first cell of the first network device to the second cell of the second network device using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is the cell to be switched by the terminal device; the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0036] In this embodiment of the present application, after the second network device sends the second cell's system message to the terminal device, the terminal device reads and takes effect on the second cell's system message, ensuring that the terminal device and the second cell's configurations match. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0037] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation of the third aspect, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device, including: receiving a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify the system message of the second cell; detecting whether the second identifier is consistent with a first identifier locally stored in the terminal device, and the first identifier is used to identify the system message of the first cell; if the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0038] In this embodiment of the present application, the second network device transmits a second identifier, informing the terminal device that it needs to read and validate the system message of the second cell. During a handover from the first cell to the second cell, the terminal device only needs to reread the system message of the second cell, without having to update the terminal device-level configuration information. This allows the terminal device configuration to match the second cell configuration. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0039] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation of the third aspect, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device, including: receiving a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify the system message of the second cell; ignoring the second identifier, and the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device. In an embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device receives the second identifier sent by the second network device, the terminal device directly reads the system message of the second cell without identifying the second identifier, so that the terminal device obtains configuration information related to the second cell, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0040] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method further includes: in response to the first indication information, the terminal device accesses the second cell at the time indicated by the first time information, and the first indication information includes the first time information.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation of the third aspect, the first time information indicates any one of the following times: the time when the first cell stops service, the first cell is the cell that provides communication services for the first network device, and the terminal device is provided with communication services by the first cell; the time when the target base station takes effect of the switching mode of the switching process without L3 signaling; or, the time when the second cell starts service.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a first network device, and includes: a transceiver module and a processing module;

[0043] The transceiver module is configured to obtain first configuration information of a first cell, where the first cell is a cell in the first network device;

[0044] The transceiver module is also used to send the first configuration information to the second network device, where the first configuration information includes: a first identifier, and / or relevant information of the physical broadcast channel PBCH of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify the system message of the first cell.

[0045] In a possible example, the relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following:

[0046] The lower 4 bits of the system frame number;

[0047] The absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell;

[0048] The high bit of the synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier offset, where the SSB subcarrier offset is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block CRB to SSB subcarrier 0;

[0049] the number of SSBs of the first cell;

[0050] Alternatively, half-frame indication information, wherein the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half-frame or the second half-frame.

[0051] In a possible example, the first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first network device includes a system message block SIB.

[0052] In a possible example, the communication device further includes:

[0053] The transceiver module is also used to send second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information includes configuration information related to the terminal device. The terminal device is served by the first network device, and the second cell corresponding to the second network device is the cell to be switched for the terminal device.

[0054] In a possible example, the communication device further includes:

[0055] The transceiver module is further configured to send third configuration information to the second network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell.

[0056] In a possible example, the second configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0057] A key KgNB, where the key KgNB is used to determine a key for the access layer;

[0058] Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier C-RNTI;

[0059] A mapping relationship between a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) associated with the terminal device;

[0060] capability information of the terminal device;

[0061] Measurement configuration information for radio resource management (RRM);

[0062] Relevant information about the protocol data unit (PDU) session related to the terminal device;

[0063] Alternatively, other information except the system information block SIB1 and the master information block MIB in the reconfigurationWithSync message is synchronized.

[0064] In a possible example, the first configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0065] identification information of the first cell;

[0066] Configuration information of the access layer of the first cell;

[0067] The system information block SIB1 of the first cell;

[0068] Or, the master information block MIB of the first cell.

[0069] In a possible example, the third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information:

[0070] Random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, where

[0071] The rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending preambles, or a mapping relationship between preambles and synchronization signal blocks;

[0072] The ssb-PositionsInBurst element includes: time information for sending the synchronization signal block.

[0073] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a second network device, and includes: a transceiver module and a processing module;

[0074] The transceiver module is further configured to receive first configuration information sent by a first network device, the first configuration information including: a first identifier and / or related information of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) of a first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell, and the first cell is a cell in the first network device;

[0075] The processing module is used to apply the first configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in a second cell, the terminal device is provided with services by the first network device, and the second cell is a cell to be switched by the terminal device.

[0076] In one possible example,

[0077] The processing module is further configured to generate a system message of the second cell according to the first configuration information;

[0078] The transceiver module is further used to send the system message of the second cell to the terminal device.

[0079] In one possible example,

[0080] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a first identifier sent by the first network device, where the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first network device;

[0081] The processing module is further configured to determine a second identifier based on the first identifier, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second network device, and the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier;

[0082] The second network device sends the second identifier to the terminal device.

[0083] In one possible example,

[0084] The transceiver module is further used to send a system message of the second cell to the terminal device, where the system message of the second cell includes the second identifier.

[0085] In a possible example, the first identifier is a value tag, and the system information of the first cell includes a system information block SIB;

[0086] The second identifier is a value tag, and the system information of the second cell includes a system information block SIB.

[0087] In one possible example,

[0088] The transceiver module is further configured to receive second configuration information sent by the first network device, where the second configuration information includes configuration information related to the terminal device;

[0089] The processing module is further used to apply the second configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

[0090] In one possible example,

[0091] The transceiver module is further configured to receive third configuration information sent by the first network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell;

[0092] The processing module is further configured to apply the third configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

[0093] In a possible example, the first configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0094] identification information of the first cell;

[0095] Configuration information of the access layer of the first cell;

[0096] The system information block SIB1 of the first cell;

[0097] Or, the master information block MIB of the first cell.

[0098] In a possible example, the second configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0099] A key KgNB, where the key KgNB is used to determine a key for the access layer;

[0100] Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier C-RNTI;

[0101] A mapping relationship between a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) associated with the terminal device;

[0102] capability information of the terminal device;

[0103] Relevant information about the protocol data unit (PDU) session related to the terminal device;

[0104] Alternatively, other information except the system information block SIB1 and the master information block MIB in the reconfigurationWithSync message is synchronized.

[0105] In a possible example, the relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following:

[0106] The lower 4 bits of the system frame number;

[0107] The absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell;

[0108] The high bit of the synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier offset, where the SSB subcarrier offset is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block CRB to SSB subcarrier 0;

[0109] the number of SSBs of the first cell;

[0110] Alternatively, half-frame indication information, wherein the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half-frame or the second half-frame.

[0111] In a possible example, the third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information:

[0112] Random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, where

[0113] The rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending preambles, or a mapping relationship between preambles and synchronization signal blocks;

[0114] The ssb-PositionsInBurst element includes: time information for sending the synchronization signal block.

[0115] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a terminal device, and includes: a transceiver module and a processing module;

[0116] The transceiver module is further configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to instruct a first cell in the first network device to support handover of a terminal device from the first cell of the first network device to a second cell of a second network device using a handover mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is a cell to be handed over by the terminal device;

[0117] The transceiver module is further configured to read the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0118] In one possible example,

[0119] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second cell;

[0120] The processing module is further configured to detect whether the second identifier is consistent with a first identifier stored locally in the terminal device, where the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell;

[0121] The processing module is further configured to, if the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier, enable the terminal device to read the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0122] In one possible example,

[0123] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second cell;

[0124] The processing module is further configured to ignore the second identifier and read the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0125] In one possible example,

[0126] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a system message of the second cell sent by the second network device, where the system message of the second cell includes the second identifier.

[0127] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can implement the method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The device includes corresponding units or modules for executing the above-mentioned method. The units or modules included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a first network device, or the device can be a component in the first network device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first network device. Among them, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module. For example, the communication device is a server with a first network device.

[0128] In an eighth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The device includes corresponding units or modules for executing the above method. The units or modules included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a second network device, or the device can be a component in the second network device (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the second network device. Among them, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0129] In a ninth aspect of the present application, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect. The device includes corresponding units or modules for executing the above method. The units or modules included in the device can be implemented by software and / or hardware. For example, the device can be a terminal device network element, or the device can be a component in a terminal device network element (such as a processor, a chip or a chip system, etc.), or the device can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device network element. Among them, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0130] The tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising at least one processor, which is coupled to a memory; the memory is used to store programs or instructions; the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions so that the device can implement any possible implementation method of the first to third aspects mentioned above.

[0131] In the eleventh aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signaling or data; and a processor for executing a computer-executable program so that the device can implement any possible implementation method of the first to third aspects mentioned above.

[0132] The twelfth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface; the input / output interface is used to input or output information; the logic circuit is used to execute the method as any possible implementation method in the first to third aspects mentioned above.

[0133] The thirteenth aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product (or computer program). When the computer program product is executed by the processor, the processor executes the above-mentioned first to third aspects, and any possible implementation method.

[0134] A fourteenth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting a communication device to implement the above-mentioned first to third aspects, and any possible implementation method.

[0135] In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system may be composed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete components. Optionally, the chip system may further include an interface circuit for providing program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0136] A fifteenth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device of the fourth aspect, the communication device of the fifth aspect and / or the communication device of the sixth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0137] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0138] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a transparent satellite architecture scenario;

[0139] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a regenerative satellite architecture;

[0140] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a switching process of a terminal device;

[0141] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a quasi-stationary cell scenario;

[0142] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a ground mobile cell scenario;

[0143] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0144] FIG8 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0145] FIG9 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0146] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0147] FIG11 is another schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0148] FIG12 is another schematic diagram of a communication device provided by the present application;

[0149] FIG13 is another schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0150] First, some of the terms used in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0151] (1) Terminal device: It can be a wireless terminal device that can receive network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user, or a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0152] Terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). Terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (also known as "cellular" phones, mobile phones), computers, and data cards. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the radio access network. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, and computers with wireless transceiver capabilities. A wireless terminal device may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, an access point (AP), a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a subscriber station (SS), a customer premises equipment (CPE), a terminal, a user equipment (UE), a mobile terminal (MT), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), etc. A terminal device may also be a wearable device or a next-generation communication system, for example, a terminal device in a 5G communication system or a terminal device in a future-evolved public land mobile network (PLMN).

[0153] (2) Network equipment: It can be a device in a wireless network, for example, a network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network, which can also be called a base station. Currently, some examples of RAN equipment are: a new generation Node B (gNodeB) in a 5G communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP). In addition, in a network structure, a network device can include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.

[0154] In some implementations, the network equipment may also include satellites, aircraft, drones, and ground station equipment connected to the satellites, aircraft, and drones.

[0155] Among them, the network device can send configuration information to the terminal device (for example, carried in a scheduling message and / or an indication message), and the terminal device further performs network configuration according to the configuration information, so that the network configurations between the network device and the terminal device are aligned; or, through the network configuration preset in the network device and the network configuration preset in the terminal device, the network configurations between the network device and the terminal device are aligned. Specifically, "alignment" means that when there are interactive messages between the network device and the terminal device, the two have a consistent understanding of the carrier frequency for sending and receiving interactive messages, the determination of the interactive message type, the meaning of the field information carried in the interactive message, or other configurations of the interactive message.

[0156] In addition, in other possible cases, the network device may be another device that provides wireless communication functions for the terminal device. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network device. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0157] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device may be the network device, or may be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing the function, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the network device as an example.

[0158] (3) Configuration and pre-configuration: In this application, configuration and pre-configuration are used simultaneously. Configuration refers to the network device sending some parameter configuration information or parameter values ​​to the terminal device through messages or signaling, so that the terminal device can determine the communication parameters or resources during transmission based on these values ​​or information. Pre-configuration is similar to configuration, and can be parameter information or parameter values ​​negotiated in advance between the network device and the terminal device, or parameter information or parameter values ​​used by the network device or terminal device as specified by the standard protocol, or parameter information or parameter values ​​pre-stored in the network device or terminal device. This application does not limit this.

[0159] Furthermore, these values ​​and parameters can be changed or updated.

[0160] (4) The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0161] The present application can be applied to a long term evolution (LTE) system, a new radio (NR) system, or other communication systems, wherein the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device, the network device serves as a configuration information sending entity, and the terminal device serves as a configuration information receiving entity. Specifically, in the communication system, there is an entity that sends configuration information to another entity, and sends data to another entity, or receives data sent by another entity; another entity receives the configuration information, and sends data to the configuration information sending entity according to the configuration information, or receives data sent by the configuration information sending entity. Among them, the present application can be applied to a terminal device in a connected state or an active state (ACTIVE), and can also be applied to a terminal device that enters a non-connected state (INACTIVE) or an idle state (IDLE).

[0162] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can refer to each other. In the various embodiments in this application, and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments and the various implementation methods / implementation methods / implementation methods in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation methods, implementation methods, or implementation methods according to their inherent logical relationships. The implementation methods of this application described below do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0163] To facilitate understanding of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the system architecture of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described below. It is understandable that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0164] The technical solution of the present application can be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as satellite communication systems and high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications. Satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems.

[0165] Refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes network equipment and terminal equipment. In the specific implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the terminal equipment can be a computer, a smart phone, a telephone, a cable TV set-top box, a digital subscriber line router and other devices. The network equipment can be one of a ground base station, a high-altitude base station, a low-orbit satellite, a medium-orbit satellite, and a high-orbit satellite. It should be noted that in actual applications, the number of network equipment and terminal equipment can be one or more. For example, the network equipment shown in Figure 1 includes two satellites and one ground base station. In addition, the number of network equipment and terminal equipment in the communication system shown in Figure 1 is only an adaptive example, and this application does not limit it.

[0166] The above-mentioned communication system can be used to support fourth generation (4G) access technology, such as long term evolution (LTE) access technology; alternatively, the communication system can also support fifth generation (5G) access technology, such as new radio (NR) access technology; the communication system can also be applied to narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems and future-oriented communication technologies.

[0167] Network equipment can be used to support terminal device access. For example, it can be ground equipment such as the evolved nodeB (eNB) in the 4G access technology communication system, the next generation nodeB (gNB) in the 5G access technology communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), a relay node (relay node), an access point (AP), etc. It can also be non-ground equipment: high-altitude base stations, such as hot air balloons and other devices that can provide wireless access functions for terminal devices, low-orbit satellites, medium-orbit satellites or high-orbit satellites, etc. It can also be a mobile switching center and equipment that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

[0168] The terminal device in FIG1 can be a device that provides voice or data connectivity to a user, and is also referred to as user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or terminal equipment (TE). The terminal device can be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, or the like. With the development of wireless communication technology, any device that can access a communication system, communicate with the network side of a communication system, or communicate with other objects through a communication system can be a terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, for example, terminal devices and automobiles in intelligent transportation, household appliances in intelligent homes, power meter reading instruments, voltage monitoring instruments, environmental monitoring instruments in intelligent grids, video surveillance instruments in intelligent security networks, cash registers, and the like. In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device can communicate with a base station, such as the various network devices in the figure. Multiple terminal devices can also communicate with each other. The terminal device can be static or mobile.

[0169] The following describes the method portion of the embodiments of the present application. For ease of explanation, the embodiments of the present application use a satellite as an example. It is understood that the non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other types of network devices, such as high-altitude base stations such as aircraft or balloons, without limitation.

[0170] First, some concepts involved in the embodiments of this application are introduced:

[0171] 1. Transparent satellite architecture, or transparent forwarding satellite architecture.

[0172] Please refer to Figure 2, which illustrates a transparent satellite architecture scenario. Satellites relay cell information from ground network equipment (such as base stations). The satellite's function is to filter, convert, and amplify radio frequencies. In other words, the satellite primarily acts as a Layer 1 relay (L1 relay), or RF amplifier, and does not possess any higher protocol layers.

[0173] 2. Regenerative satellite architecture.

[0174] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a regenerative satellite architecture. The regenerative satellite architecture can be further divided into two modes: Mode 1: The satellite has the processing function of a base station (for example, it has the complete processing function of a base station). In the regenerative working mode, it can be further divided into regenerative satellites without inter-satellite links, that is, there is no inter-satellite link (ISL) between satellites; and regenerative satellites with inter-satellite links, that is, there is an interface between satellites for direct data exchange, for example, the inter-satellite link is an Xn interface; Mode 2: Regenerative satellites with the processing function of a distributed unit. In this scenario, the regenerative satellite acts as a distributed unit, and the centralized unit of the base station can be located in the network equipment on the ground or in other satellites.

[0175] 3. A switching process of a terminal device from a first network device to a second network device.

[0176] Please refer to Figure 4, which illustrates a handover process for a terminal device. Due to the movement of the terminal device, the network signal quality of the first cell currently providing communication service to the terminal device may deteriorate. Therefore, the terminal device needs to switch to a cell with better network signal quality (i.e., the second cell) to obtain communication service. The following describes a handover process for a terminal device.

[0177] S1. A first network device sends a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to a terminal device.

[0178] In step S1, the first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to a terminal device in a connected state, instructing the terminal device to perform measurement. Specifically, the RRC reconfiguration message includes parameters such as a measurement object, a report configuration, and a measurement identifier.

[0179] S2. The terminal device sends a measurement report to the first network device.

[0180] In step S2, the terminal device measures the cell according to the RRC reconfiguration message, generates a measurement report and reports it to the first network device.

[0181] S3. The first network device sends a switching request to the second network device.

[0182] In step S3, after receiving the measurement report reported by the terminal device, the first network device determines (or judges) whether the terminal device needs to switch to the second network device. If the judgment result is that switching is required, the first network device sends a switching request to the second network device.

[0183] S4. Send a switching confirmation message.

[0184] In step S4, the second network device determines whether to allow the terminal device to access. If the judgment result is that access is allowed, the second network device sends a handover confirmation message to the first network device. The handover confirmation message includes the new cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), the security-related algorithm of the second network device, and other parameters.

[0185] S5. The first network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device.

[0186] In step S5, after the first network device receives the switching confirmation message sent by the second network device, it sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device. The content included in the RRC reconfiguration message comes from the switching confirmation message in step S4. The RRC reconfiguration message serves as a switching command to instruct the terminal device to perform the switching. Specifically, the switching command includes relevant information of the second cell and relevant configuration parameters required for the terminal device to access the second cell, for example, the second cell information (such as the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the second cell and the frequency information corresponding to the second cell), the cell wireless network temporary identifier allocated by the second cell to the terminal device, the random access (RACH) resource information required to access the second cell (such as dedicated RACH resources and / or public RACH resources), etc. Generally speaking, the RRC reconfiguration message is generated by the second network device and sent to the first network device. It is then sent to the terminal device by the first network device.

[0187] S6. The terminal device initiates a random access process.

[0188] In step S6, the terminal device initiates random access to the target base station according to the handover command. In the existing handover process, the UE will disconnect from the source base station, and there will be a brief interruption in the UE sending and receiving data before successfully accessing the target base station.

[0189] S7. The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the second network device.

[0190] 4. Handover without L3 signaling (also known as satellite handover resynchronization).

[0191] In the transparent satellite architecture, for geostationary cells, the base station remains unchanged before and after satellite switching, and the satellite only performs the function of signal amplification. Therefore, the PCI of the cell does not need to be changed before and after the satellite switching (the frequency of the cell does not change. For example, the frequency of the synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) corresponding to the cell does not change). There is no need to introduce Layer 3 (L3) signaling to notify the terminal device to switch. The terminal device only needs to re-synchronize the downlink and uplink with the new satellite after the new satellite arrives. For example, uplink synchronization with the new satellite can be completed through random access, or uplink synchronization with the new satellite can be completed through random access (random access channel less, rach less). That is, the configuration of the terminal device in the cell remains unchanged before and after the satellite is changed. Since there is no need to introduce L3 signaling for switching, the above-mentioned signaling overhead problem is solved.

[0192] Currently, satellite handovers include two types: hard switch, where there is no overlap between the new and old satellite coverage periods, and soft switch, where there is overlap between the new and old satellite coverage periods. In hard switch scenarios, the cell's PCI does not need to be changed before and after the satellite switch, eliminating the need for a handover command. In soft switch scenarios, signal interference may occur due to the overlap between the new and old satellite coverage periods. Two solutions have been proposed: one maintains the same approach as the hard switch scenario, with network equipment ensuring signal interference during the overlap period. The other allows the cell's PCI to be changed before and after the satellite switch, while maintaining or slightly modifying the terminal device's configuration (for example, configurations that are strongly related to the PCI, or requiring only a modification of the cell's PCI). The terminal device then searches for the changed cell's PCI and performs downlink or uplink synchronization, eliminating the need for a handover command. For ease of understanding, these handovers in which the PCI changes or remains unchanged but does not require a handover command are collectively referred to as L3 signaling-free handovers.

[0193] For hard handover, before the satellite handover, the old satellite will send an indication message #1 to the terminal device, indicating the time when the old satellite (or the old satellite's cell) stops providing service to the terminal device (or the time when it stops providing service to the area, such as t-service). The terminal device begins downlink synchronization with the target satellite at the t-service time. Afterwards, the terminal device monitors the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) used to schedule uplink or downlink data through the target satellite, or monitors the physical downlink control channel instruction (PDCCH order) used to instruct the terminal device to initiate random access.

[0194] For soft handover, before the satellite is switched, the old satellite will send indication information #1 and indication information #2 to the terminal device. Indication information #2 indicates the time when the new satellite starts to provide services to the terminal device (or the time when it starts to provide services to the area, for example, called t-start. t-start is less than or equal to t-service). The terminal device starts downlink synchronization with the target satellite at t-service or a certain time between [t-start, t-service] (the specific time can be determined by the terminal device itself). After that, the terminal device monitors the physical downlink control channel used to schedule uplink or downlink data through the target satellite or monitors the physical downlink control channel instruction used to instruct the terminal device to initiate random access.

[0195] 5. The switching process of terminal devices in non-terrestrial network scenarios.

[0196] Please refer to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a quasi-geostationary cell scenario. In a quasi-geostationary cell scenario, a satellite can maintain a fixed gaze on the ground for a period of time. When the satellite moves out of the cell where the terminal device is located, the terminal device in that cell must switch to the next satellite, which then provides communication services. In other words, in a quasi-geostationary cell scenario, a satellite can only cover one geographic area during a period of time and another geographic area during another period of time.

[0197] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of an earth moving cell scenario. In an earth moving cell scenario, the cell served by a satellite moves as the satellite moves. During the satellite's movement, the terminal device continuously switches between satellites.

[0198] Due to the high-speed movement of satellites relative to the ground, satellite beam coverage of a given area on the ground is short-lived. Consequently, terminal devices need to frequently switch serving cells. Frequent handoffs between different satellites incur significant signaling overhead. Therefore, the significant signaling overhead associated with frequent handoffs in NGSO scenarios is a key factor impacting the communication efficiency of NTN systems.

[0199] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application proposes a non-terrestrial network communication method in which a first network device sends first configuration information to a second network device. The first configuration information is configuration information related to a first cell. The terminal device is served by the first cell of the first network device, and the second cell corresponding to the second network device is the cell to be switched by the terminal device. The second network device configures the configuration information of the second cell based on the first configuration information. The configuration information between the second network device and the first network device is kept consistent, thus saving signaling overhead and avoiding signaling storms caused by handover.

[0200] Next, the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application. The non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0201] F1. The first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device. The first configuration information includes configuration information related to the first cell.

[0202] In step F1, the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device, where the first configuration information includes configuration information related to the first cell.

[0203] The first configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0204] Identification information of the first cell. Exemplarily, the identification information of the first cell includes but is not limited to: a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell, or a cell global identifier (CGI) of the first cell;

[0205] Configuration information of the access stratum (AS) of the first cell. Exemplarily, the configuration information of the access stratum of the first cell includes antenna information of the first cell and downlink carrier frequency information of the first cell;

[0206] a system information block (SIB) of the first cell, such as SIB1 of the first cell;

[0207] a master information block (MIB) of the first cell;

[0208] Or, relevant information of the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) of the first cell.

[0209] Furthermore, the relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following:

[0210] The lower 4 bits of the system frame number (SFN) of the first cell. The lower 4 bits of the system frame number carry the channel coding information of the PBCH (i.e., when the physical layer generates the PBCH bit stream, it encodes the lower 4 bits of the system frame number as the PBCH bit stream based on the MIB bit stream generated by the RRC layer). For example, the lower 4 bits of the system frame number corresponding to the above MIB;

[0211] The absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell. This refers to the correspondence between the system frame number and the absolute time. For example, this indicates that system frame number #1 corresponds to absolute time #1. Optionally, system frame number #1 may be a system frame number consisting of the high-order bits of the system frame number carried in the MIB of the first cell and the low-order four bits of the system frame number of the first cell.

[0212] The high bit of the synchronization signal block (SSB) subcarrier offset, where the high bit of the SSB subcarrier offset carries the channel coding information of the PBCH, and the SSB subcarrier offset is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block (CRB) to SSB subcarrier 0;

[0213] The number of SSBs in the first cell;

[0214] Alternatively, half-frame indication information, wherein the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half-frame or the second half-frame.

[0215] It should be noted that the first configuration information may also include other configuration information related to the first cell, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0216] In one possible implementation, when or after a first network device establishes a common interface (e.g., an Xn interface) with a second network device, the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device. The common interface is an interface between network devices. For example, the first network device carries the first configuration information in an Xn interface establishment request sent to the second network device. The Xn interface establishment request is used to request establishment of the Xn interface between the first and second network devices. For another example, the second network device sends an Xn interface establishment request to the first network device, and the Xn interface establishment request response fed back by the first network device to the second network device carries the first configuration information. Exemplarily, the Xn interface establishment request may be an "XN SETUP REQUEST" message, and the Xn interface establishment request response may be an "XN SETUP RESPONSE" message.

[0217] In another possible implementation, when the first network device sends a handover request message to the second network device, the handover request message carries the first configuration information. For a description of the handover request message, please refer to step S3 above. The handover request message is used to indicate that a terminal device needs to be handed over from the first network device to the second network device. Exemplarily, the handover request message may be a "HANDOVER REQUEST" message.

[0218] Optionally, the first network device may send second indication information to the second network device, where the second indication information is used to instruct the second network device to adopt the switching mode without L3 signaling.

[0219] Optionally, the first network device may also implicitly instruct the second network device to adopt the switching mode without L3 signaling. For example, when the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device, the first configuration information implicitly instructs the second network device to adopt the switching mode without L3 signaling.

[0220] F2. The first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information is configuration information related to the terminal device.

[0221] In step F2, the first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information is configuration information related to the terminal device.

[0222] The second configuration information includes any one or more of the following:

[0223] A key KgNB, where the key KgNB is used to determine a key for the access layer;

[0224] A cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by the first cell to the terminal device. A second network device configures a second cell based on the C-RNTI, so that the second cell does not need to reconfigure the C-RNTI for the terminal device;

[0225] A mapping relationship between a quality of service (QoS) flow and a data radio bearer (DRB) associated with the terminal device;

[0226] Radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration information; capability information of the terminal device, the capability information of the terminal device corresponding to multiple (radio access technology, RAT) capabilities;

[0227] Information related to the protocol data unit (PDU) session associated with the terminal device;

[0228] Alternatively, other information except the system information block SIB1 and the master information block MIB in the reconfigurationWithSync message is synchronized.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the second configuration information and the first configuration information may also be carried in the same message and sent to the second network device. For example, the handover request message sent by the second network device to the first network device includes the first configuration information and the second configuration information. For another example, the Xn interface establishment request sent by the second network device to the first network device includes the first configuration information and the second configuration information. For another example, the Xn interface establishment request response sent by the second network device to the first network device includes the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0230] In another possible implementation, the second configuration information and the first configuration information are sent to the second network device independently of each other. For example, if a first cell of a first network device manages multiple terminal devices, and the first network device has already sent the first configuration information to the second network device (for example, the first network device sends the first configuration information to the second network device in a setup request message of an Xn interface), the first network device only needs to send the second configuration information related to the terminal device to the second network device (for example, the first network device sends the second configuration information to the second network device in a handover request message) to reduce signaling overhead.

[0231] The execution order of step F2 and the aforementioned step F1 is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0232] The cell identifiers of the first cell and the second cell may be the same or different, or even the first cell and the second cell may be the same cell.

[0233] F3. The second network device applies the first configuration information and the second configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

[0234] In step F3, after the second network device receives the first configuration information and the second configuration information (optionally, further after t-start or after t-service), it updates the relevant configuration of the second cell according to the first configuration information and the second configuration information. Then, the second network device applies the first configuration information and the second configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell. For example, the second network device applies the first configuration information to generate a system message for the second cell, and further applies the second configuration information to generate dedicated configuration information corresponding to the terminal device for the terminal device.

[0235] In a possible implementation, after the second network device receives the identification information of the first cell, the second network device may configure the second cell according to the identification information of the first cell, so that the identification information of the second cell is consistent with the identification information of the first cell.

[0236] In a possible implementation, after the second network device receives the measurement configuration information of the RRM, the second network device configures the measurement of the terminal device according to the measurement configuration information of the RRM, so as to align the measurement configuration information of the terminal device and the second network device.

[0237] In one possible implementation, after the second network device receives the configuration information of the access stratum (AS) of the first cell, the second network device configures the second cell according to the configuration information of the access stratum of the first cell, so that the configuration information of the access stratum of the second cell is the same as the configuration information of the access stratum of the first cell, for example, the antenna information of the second cell is the same as the antenna information of the first cell, and the downlink carrier frequency information of the second cell is the same as the downlink carrier frequency information of the first cell.

[0238] In a possible implementation manner, the second network device configures the second cell according to the system information block of the first cell, and the system information block of the second cell is the same as the system information block of the first cell.

[0239] In a possible implementation manner, the second network device configures the second cell according to the master information block of the first cell, and the master information block of the second cell is the same as the master information block of the first cell.

[0240] In one possible implementation, the second network device configures the second cell based on the relevant information of the physical broadcast channel PBCH of the first cell. For example, the second network device can obtain the downlink frame number of the first cell based on the lower 4 bits of the system frame number of the first cell and the high bit information of the system frame number carried in the MIB of the first cell (for example, the upper 6 bits of the system frame number). Then, the second network device can determine the downlink frame number of the second cell based on the downlink frame number of the first cell, so that when the terminal device accesses the second cell from the first cell, it can know the downlink frame number corresponding to the second cell without reading the MIB sent by the second cell, and even without the need for downlink synchronization. For another example, the second network device can set the downlink timing of the second cell (i.e., set the system frame number) based on the absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell.

[0241] Optionally, after the second network device receives the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, the second network device may immediately validate the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information. The second network device may validate the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information at the time indicated by the first time information. For example, the second network device may validate the configuration information of the first cell regarding the terminal device when the second cell is about to change satellites.

[0242] F4. The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell in the first network device supports the terminal device to switch from the first cell of the first network device to the second cell of the second network device using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is the cell to be switched by the terminal device.

[0243] The first indication information may also be referred to as indicating that the first cell of the first network device supports satellite switching but does not require a cell identifier change, or indicating that the first cell of the first network device supports satellite switching and a cell identifier change but does not require other wireless resource configuration changes for the terminal device.

[0244] In step F4, the first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the first cell to the second cell using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is a cell of the second network device.

[0245] The first indication information may include the ephemeris information corresponding to the second network device. The first indication information may also include relevant information of the first cell, such as identification information of the first cell. The first indication information may also include first time information. The first time information indicates any one of the following times: the time when the first cell stops service (i.e., t-service), the first cell is the cell that provides communication services to the first network device, and the terminal device is provided with communication services by the first cell; the time when the target base station takes effect of the switching mode of the switching process without L3 signaling; or, the time when the second cell starts service (i.e., t-start). Optionally, the first network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device via a broadcast message. Only when the terminal device supports the switching mode without L3 signaling will the terminal device perform the switching without L3 signaling according to the first indication information.

[0246] Exemplarily, the first time information may include the time information provided by the NTN quasi-terrestrial fixed system when the first cell stops serving the currently covered area, that is, the time when the first network device stops serving the first cell, i.e., "t-service." In another example, the first time information may also be the time when the second network device's L3 signaling-free switching mode takes effect. In another example, the first time information may also be the time when the second cell performs downlink synchronization with the first cell. In another example, the first time information may also be the time when the second cell of the second network device provides coverage, i.e., "t-start."

[0247] It should be noted that the first network device may also send the first indication information to the second network device.

[0248] The execution order of step F4 and the aforementioned steps F1 to F3 is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0249] F5. In response to the first indication information, the terminal device accesses the second cell.

[0250] In step F5, after the terminal device receives the first indication information, for hard handover, the terminal device starts to perform downlink synchronization with the second cell in the second network device after the t-service time. For soft handover, the terminal device starts to perform downlink synchronization with the second cell in the second network device at a time between t-start and t-service or after t-service.

[0251] The terminal device initiates random access to the second cell, or the terminal device monitors the downlink physical channel sent by the second cell for triggering the terminal device to initiate random access, or monitors the downlink physical channel sent by the second cell for scheduling uplink or downlink data of the terminal device (in this way, the terminal device does not need to initiate random access to the second cell).

[0252] In this embodiment of the present application, the second network device applies the first configuration information and the second configuration information from the first network device, so that the cell-level configuration information and the terminal device-level configuration information between the first network device and the second network device are consistent. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated star operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0253] In conjunction with the above embodiment, please refer to FIG8 , which is a flowchart of another embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application. The non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0254] G1. A first network device sends first configuration information to a second network device. The first configuration information includes a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to identify a system message of a first cell.

[0255] In step G1, the first network device sends first configuration information to the second network device, the first configuration information including a first identifier, the first identifier being used to identify a system message of the first cell. The first network device may send multiple first identifiers to the second network device, each first identifier being used to identify a system message of the first cell.

[0256] For example, the first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first network device includes a system message block SIB.

[0257] In a possible implementation manner, the first identifier is carried in the SIB1 sent by the first network device to the second network device.

[0258] In step G1, the manner in which the first network device sends the first configuration information to the second network device is similar to the aforementioned step F1 and will not be described in detail here.

[0259] G2. The first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information is configuration information related to the terminal device.

[0260] Step G2 is similar to the aforementioned step F2 and will not be described in detail here.

[0261] G3. The first network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the first cell in the first network device supports the terminal device to switch from the first cell of the first network device to the second cell of the second network device using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is the cell to be switched by the terminal device.

[0262] Regarding the first indication information, please refer to the aforementioned step F4, which will not be described in detail here.

[0263] Optionally, the first network device may further send third configuration information to the second network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access RACH in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell. Exemplarily, the third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information: random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, wherein the rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending a preamble, or a mapping relationship between a preamble and a synchronization signal block; the ssb-PositionsInBurst information element includes: time information for sending a synchronization signal block.

[0264] After the second network device obtains the third configuration information, the third configuration information, i.e., the RACH-related configuration, is enabled. The second network device may enable the third configuration information before the UE initiates access, for example, at the time indicated by the first time information. The terminal device accesses the second cell according to the original RACH-related configuration.

[0265] G4. The second network device determines a second identifier based on the first identifier, where the second identifier is used to identify the system message of the second cell, and the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier.

[0266] After step G1, step G4 is executed. In step G4, after receiving the first identifier, the second network device determines a second identifier based on the first identifier. The second identifier is used to identify the system information of the second cell, and the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier.

[0267] Optionally, the second network device performs step G4 after t-service, or after a certain time between t-start and t-service.

[0268] For example, the first identifier is a value tag. The value tag is carried in SIB1 and is used to indicate whether the system message corresponding to the value tag has changed. When the value tag corresponding to SIBx (SIBx is any SIB) read by the terminal device in SIB1 is different from the value tag stored locally in the terminal device, the SIBx corresponding to the value tag has changed, and the UE needs to read the updated SIBx.

[0269] Exemplarily, after receiving value tag #1 from the first network device, the second network device detects value tag #2 of the local SIB. If value tag #1 and value tag #2 are different, value tag #2 is determined as the second identifier. If value tag #1 and value tag #2 are the same, value tag #3 is determined as the second identifier, and value tag #3 is different from value tag #1. This ensures that the UE is aware that the value tag provided by the network side is different from the local value tag.

[0270] Exemplarily, after the second network device receives value tag #1 of the SIBx corresponding to the first cell of the first network device, the second network device sets the SIBx of the second cell to value tag #2, where value tag #1 is different from value tag #2. To ensure that the terminal device is aware of the need to re-read the SIBx content corresponding to the second cell of the second network device, the terminal device reads the SIBx corresponding to the second cell of the second network device.

[0271] G5. The second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device. The system message of the second cell includes a second identifier.

[0272] After step G4, proceed to step G5. After the second network device determines the second identifier, it sends a system message for the second cell to the terminal device. The system message of the second cell includes the second identifier. For example, the second network device carries SIBx corresponding to the second identifier in SIB1, and then sends the SIB1 to the terminal device.

[0273] Exemplarily, the second network device sends the system message of the second cell to the terminal device by broadcasting.

[0274] Optionally, the second network device may further send a third indication message to the terminal device, where the third indication message is used to notify the terminal device that a change has occurred in the system message of the cell. For example, the third indication message is carried in a short message. The second network device sets a bit corresponding to the short message to indicate to the terminal device that a change has occurred in the system message of the cell. The terminal device receives the short message and learns that it needs to read SIB1. After reading SIB1, the terminal device compares the second identifier corresponding to SIBx carried in SIB1. If the second identifier is different from the first identifier corresponding to SIBx stored in the terminal device, the terminal device reads SIBx.

[0275] G6. In response to the inconsistency between the locally stored first identifier and the second identifier in the system message of the second cell, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell.

[0276] In step G6, after receiving the SIB1 of the second cell, the terminal device reads the second identifier. When the terminal device finds that the second identifier is inconsistent with the locally stored first identifier, it further reads the system message (SIBx) of the second cell corresponding to the second identifier. For example, the terminal device reads the SIB1 of the second cell, and the SIB1 of the second cell includes the second identifier. When it is determined that the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier, the terminal device further reads the system message (SIBx) of the second cell corresponding to the second identifier.

[0277] Optionally, after the terminal device receives the third indication information, the terminal device reads the SIB1 of the second cell according to the third indication information, and then obtains the second identifier from the SIB1 of the second cell.

[0278] G7. The terminal device validates the system message of the second cell and obtains the configuration information of the second cell.

[0279] In step G7, after the terminal device reads the system message (SIBx) of the second cell, the terminal device validates the system message (SIBx) of the second cell, and then obtains the configuration information of the second cell from the system message of the second cell.

[0280] Optionally, the terminal device may validate the system message of the second cell at the time indicated by the first time information.

[0281] G8. In response to the first indication information, the terminal device accesses the second cell.

[0282] In step G8, after the terminal device receives the first indication information, the terminal device can access the second cell according to the configuration information of the second cell.

[0283] Step G8 is similar to the aforementioned step F5 and will not be described in detail here. This embodiment does not limit the order of steps G8 and G6. Generally speaking, G8 is executed first, and then G6 and G7 are executed.

[0284] In another implementation, the terminal device accesses the second cell at the time indicated by the first time information.

[0285] In this embodiment of the present application, the second network device transmits a second identifier, informing the terminal device that it needs to read and validate the system message of the second cell. During a handover from the first cell to the second cell, the terminal device only needs to reread the system message of the second cell, without having to update the terminal device-level configuration information. This allows the terminal device configuration to match the second cell configuration. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handover, and improving communication efficiency.

[0286] In conjunction with the above embodiment, please refer to FIG9 , which is a flowchart of another embodiment of a non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application. The non-terrestrial network communication method proposed in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0287] H1. The first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information is configuration information related to the terminal device.

[0288] Step H1 is similar to the aforementioned step F2 and will not be described in detail here.

[0289] H2. The first network device sends a first indication message to the terminal device, where the first indication message is used to indicate that the first cell in the first network device supports the terminal device to switch from the first cell of the first network device to the second cell of the second network device using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is the cell to be switched by the terminal device.

[0290] Step H2 is similar to the aforementioned step G3 and will not be described in detail here.

[0291] It should be noted that the execution order of step H2 and the aforementioned step H1 is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0292] H3. The second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device.

[0293] In step H3, the second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device. The system message of the second cell includes: SIB1 of the second cell, and SIBx of the second cell (ie, any one or more SIBs of the second cell).

[0294] H4. The terminal device reads the system message of the second cell.

[0295] In step H4, the terminal device does not need to determine whether the SIB corresponding to the value tag needs to be updated based on the value tag of SIB1. After the terminal device receives the system message (SIBx) of the second cell, the terminal device reads and validates the system message of the second cell.

[0296] In one example, a terminal device receives a SIB1 for a second cell sent by a second network device. The SIB1 includes a second identifier, where the second identifier is used to identify a system message for the second cell, such as SIBx for the second cell. The terminal device then ignores the second identifier and continues to read the SIBx for the second cell sent by the second network device. In other words, regardless of the value of the second identifier, the terminal device reads the SIBx for the second cell sent by the second network device.

[0297] H5. The terminal device validates the system message of the second cell and obtains the configuration information of the second cell.

[0298] In step H5, the terminal device may validate the system message of the second cell at the time indicated by the first time information, or the terminal device may validate the system message of the second cell after reading the system message of the second cell.

[0299] For example, for a hard handover, the terminal device starts to perform downlink synchronization with the second cell in the second network device after the t-service time. For a soft handover, the terminal device starts to perform downlink synchronization with the second cell in the second network device at a time between t-start and t-service or after t-service.

[0300] Furthermore, after the terminal device receives the system message of the second cell, it obtains the configuration information of the second cell from the system message of the second cell.

[0301] H6. In response to the first indication information, the terminal device accesses the second cell according to the configuration information of the second cell.

[0302] In step H6, after the terminal device receives the first indication information, the terminal device can access the second cell according to the configuration information of the second cell.

[0303] Step H6 is similar to the aforementioned step H5 and will not be described in detail here.

[0304] This embodiment does not limit the order of steps H6 and H4. Generally speaking, H6 is performed first, and then H4 and H5 are performed.

[0305] In another implementation, the terminal device accesses the second cell at the time indicated by the first time information.

[0306] In this embodiment of the present application, after the second network device sends a system message from the second cell to the terminal device, the terminal device directly reads and validates the system message from the second cell without detecting the value tag corresponding to the system message. This ensures that the configurations of the terminal device and the second cell match. This enables L3 signaling-free handover in a regenerated satellite operating scenario, saving signaling overhead, avoiding signaling storms caused by handovers, and improving communication efficiency.

[0307] The present application is described above from the perspective of method, and other embodiments provided in the present application will be further described below.

[0308] Please refer to Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of an implementation of the communication device provided in this application. The communication device 1000 includes a processing module 1001 and a transceiver module 1002. The communication device 1000 can implement the functions of the communication device (including the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device, etc.) in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and therefore can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 1000 can be the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device, or it can be an integrated circuit or component inside the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device, such as a chip, or it can be an integrated circuit or component integrated with the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device.

[0309] Please refer to Fig. 11, which is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in this application. The communication device 1100 at least includes an input and output interface 1102. The communication device 1100 may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0310] Optionally, the communication device further includes a logic circuit 1101 .

[0311] The transceiver module 1002 shown in FIG10 may be a communication interface, which may be the input / output interface 1102 in FIG11 , which may include an input interface and an output interface. Alternatively, the communication interface may be a transceiver circuit, which may include an input interface circuit and an output interface circuit.

[0312] Optionally, when the communication device 1100 is the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment, the input and output interface 1102 is used to input and output information; the logic circuit 1101 is used to execute the method executed by the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0313] The logic circuit 1101 and the input / output interface 1102 may also execute other steps executed by the communication device in any embodiment and achieve corresponding beneficial effects, which will not be described in detail here.

[0314] In a possible implementation, the processing module 1001 shown in FIG10 may be the logic circuit 1101 in FIG11 .

[0315] Optionally, the logic circuit 1101 may be a processing device, and the functions of the processing device may be partially or entirely implemented by software. The functions of the processing device may be partially or entirely implemented by software.

[0316] Optionally, the processing device may include a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program stored in the memory to perform corresponding processing and / or steps in any one of the method embodiments.

[0317] Alternatively, the processing device may include only a processor. A memory for storing the computer program is located outside the processing device, and the processor is connected to the memory via circuits / wires to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory. The memory and processor may be integrated or physically separate.

[0318] Optionally, the processing device may be one or more chips, or one or more integrated circuits. For example, the processing device may be one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), system-on-chips (SoCs), central processor units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontroller units (MCUs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or other integrated chips, or any combination of the above chips or processors.

[0319] Please refer to Figure 12, which shows a communication device 1200 involved in the above embodiments provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1200 can specifically be a communication device serving as the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the above embodiments.

[0320] Herein, a possible logical structure diagram of the communication device 1200 is shown. The communication device 1200 may include but is not limited to at least one processor 1201 and a communication port 1202 .

[0321] Further optionally, the device may also include at least one of a memory 1203 and a bus 1204. In an embodiment of the present application, the at least one processor 1201 is used to control and process the actions of the communication device 1200.

[0322] In addition, the processor 1201 can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so on. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0323] It should be noted that the communication device 1200 shown in Figure 12 can be specifically used to implement the steps implemented by the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and to achieve the corresponding technical effects of the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device. The specific implementation methods of the communication device shown in Figure 12 can refer to the description in the aforementioned method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0324] Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1300 involved in the above embodiments provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1300 can specifically be the communication device serving as the first network device, the second network device, and / or the terminal device in the above embodiments. The structure of the communication device can refer to the structure shown in Figure 13.

[0325] The communication device 1300 includes at least one processor 1301 and at least one network interface 1304. Further optionally, the communication device also includes at least one memory 1302, at least one transceiver 1303 and one or more antennas 1305. The processor 1301, the memory 1302, the transceiver 1303 and the network interface 1304 are connected, for example, via a bus. In an embodiment of the present application, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines or buses, etc., which are not limited in this embodiment. The antenna 1305 is connected to the transceiver 1303. The network interface 1304 is used to enable the communication device to communicate with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 1304 may include a network interface between the communication device and a core network device, such as an S1 interface, and the network interface may include a network interface between the communication device and other communication devices (such as other radio access networks or core network devices), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0326] Processor 1301 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data, for example, to support the communication device in performing the actions described in the embodiments. The communication device may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit is primarily used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Processor 1301 in Figure 13 may integrate the functions of both a baseband processor and a central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors interconnected via a bus or other technology. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network standards, multiple central processing units to enhance its processing capabilities, and various components of the terminal device may be connected via various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The functionality for processing communication protocols and communication data may be built into the processor or stored in memory as a software program, which is executed by the processor to implement the baseband processing functionality.

[0327] The memory is primarily used to store software programs and data. Memory 1302 can exist independently and be connected to processor 1301. Alternatively, memory 1302 can be integrated with processor 1301, for example, within a single chip. Memory 1302 can store program code for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and execution is controlled by processor 1301. The various computer program codes executed can also be considered drivers for processor 1301.

[0328] Figure 13 shows only one memory and one processor. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device. The memory may be a storage element on the same chip as the processor, i.e., an on-chip storage element, or an independent storage element, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0329] The transceiver 1303 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device and the terminal. The transceiver 1303 can be connected to the antenna 1305. The transceiver 1303 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 1305 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of the transceiver 1303 is used to receive the radio frequency signal from the antenna, convert the radio frequency signal into a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, and provide the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to the processor 1301 so that the processor 1301 can further process the digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 1303 is also used to receive a modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 1301, convert the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmit the radio frequency signal through one or more antennas 1305. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a RF signal. The order of the up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0330] The transceiver 1303 may also be referred to as a transceiver module, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. Optionally, a device in the transceiver module that implements a receiving function may be referred to as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiver module that implements a transmitting function may be referred to as a transmitting unit. That is, the transceiver module includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0331] It should be noted that the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 13 can be specifically used to implement the steps implemented by the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment, and to achieve the technical effects corresponding to the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device. The specific implementation method of the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 13 can refer to the description in the aforementioned method embodiment, and will not be repeated here one by one.

[0332] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the method as a possible implementation method of the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0333] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product (or computer program) storing one or more computers. When the computer program product is executed by the processor, the processor executes the method of the possible implementation of the above-mentioned first network device, second network device and / or terminal device.

[0334] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting a communication device to implement the functions involved in the possible implementation methods of the above-mentioned communication device. Optionally, the chip system also includes an interface circuit, which provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor. In one possible design, the chip system may also include a memory, which is used to store the necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices, wherein the communication device can specifically be the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0335] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the first network device, the second network device and / or the terminal device in any of the above embodiments.

[0336] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0337] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0338] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit. If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the contributing part or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a wireless access network, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method of each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A non-terrestrial network communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first network device, and the method includes: The first network device acquires first configuration information of a first cell, where the first cell is a cell in the first network device; The first network device sends the first configuration information to the second network device, where the first configuration information includes: a first identifier, and / or relevant information of a physical broadcast channel PBCH of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following: The lower 4 bits of the system frame number; The absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell; The high 1 bit of the offset of the synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier, where the offset of the SSB subcarrier is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block CRB to SSB subcarrier 0; the number of SSBs of the first cell; Alternatively, half-frame indication information, wherein the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half-frame or the second half-frame.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first network device includes a system message block SIB.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device sends second configuration information to the second network device, where the second configuration information includes configuration information related to a terminal device. The terminal device is served by the first network device, and a second cell corresponding to the second network device is a cell to be switched by the terminal device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device sends third configuration information to the second network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The second configuration information includes any one or more of the following: A key KgNB, wherein the key KgNB is used to determine a key of an access layer; Cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI; A mapping relationship between a quality of service QoS flow and a data radio bearer DRB associated with the terminal device; Capability information of the terminal device; Measurement configuration information for radio resource management RRM; Relevant information of the protocol data unit (PDU) session related to the terminal device; Alternatively, other information except the system information block SIB1 and the master information block MIB in the reconfigurationWithSync message is synchronized.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first configuration information includes any one or more of the following: identification information of the first cell; Configuration information of the access layer of the first cell; The system information block SIB1 of the first cell; Or, the master information block MIB of the first cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that: The third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information: Random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, where: The rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending a preamble, or a mapping relationship between a preamble and a synchronization signal block; The ssb-PositionsInBurst element includes: time information for sending the synchronization signal block.

9. A non-terrestrial network communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second network device, and the method includes: The second network device receives first configuration information sent by the first network device, where the first configuration information includes: a first identifier, and / or related information of a physical broadcast channel PBCH of a first cell, wherein the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell, and the first cell is a cell in the first network device; The second network device applies the first configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in a second cell. The terminal device is provided with services by the first network device, and the second cell is a cell to be switched by the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The second network device applies the first configuration information to provide a communication service for the terminal device in the second cell, including: The second network device generates a system message of the second cell according to the first configuration information; The second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second network device receives a first identifier sent by the first network device, where the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first network device; The second network device determines a second identifier according to the first identifier, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second network device, and the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier; The second network device sends the second identifier to the terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The second network device sending the second identifier to the terminal device includes: The second network device sends a system message of the second cell to the terminal device, where the system message of the second cell includes the second identifier.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The first identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the first cell includes a system message block SIB; The second identifier is a value tag, and the system message of the second cell includes a system message block SIB.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second network device receives second configuration information sent by the first network device, where the second configuration information includes configuration information related to the terminal device; The second network device applies the second configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second network device receives third configuration information sent by the first network device, where the third configuration information is configuration information related to random access in the system information block SIB1 of the second cell; The second network device applies the third configuration information to provide communication services for the terminal device in the second cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that: The first configuration information includes any one or more of the following: identification information of the first cell; Configuration information of the access layer of the first cell; The system information block SIB1 of the first cell; Or, the master information block MIB of the first cell.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that: The second configuration information includes any one or more of the following: A key KgNB, wherein the key KgNB is used to determine a key of an access layer; Cell radio network temporary identifier C-RNTI; A mapping relationship between a quality of service QoS flow and a data radio bearer DRB associated with the terminal device; Capability information of the terminal device; Relevant information of the protocol data unit (PDU) session related to the terminal device; Alternatively, in addition to the system information block SIB1 and the master information block MIB, the synchronous reconfiguration reconfigurationWithSync message Additional information.

18. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 17, characterized in that: The relevant information of the PBCH of the first cell includes any one or more of the following: The lower 4 bits of the system frame number; The absolute time corresponding to the system frame number of the first cell; the high 1 bit of the offset of the SSB subcarrier of the synchronization signal block, the SSB subcarrier offset is used to indicate the subcarrier offset of the SSB from subcarrier 0 of the common resource block CRB to SSB subcarrier 0; the number of SSBs of the first cell; Alternatively, half-frame indication information, wherein the half-frame indication information is used to indicate whether the SSB is carried in the first half-frame or the second half-frame.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The third configuration information includes any one or more of the following information: Random access-common configuration rach-ConfigCommon information element, or synchronization signal block-burst position ssb-PositionsInBurst information element, where: The rach-ConfigCommon information element includes any one or more of the following information: random access RACH parameters for random access or beam recovery, parameters for sending a preamble, or a mapping relationship between a preamble and a synchronization signal block; The ssb-PositionsInBurst element includes: time information for sending the synchronization signal block.

20. A non-terrestrial network communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a terminal device, and the method comprises: Receive first indication information sent by a first network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first cell in the first network device supports a terminal device to switch from the first cell of the first network device to a second cell of a second network device using a switching mode without L3 signaling, where the second cell is a cell to be switched by the terminal device; The terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device, including: receiving a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second cell; Detecting whether the second identifier is consistent with a first identifier locally stored in the terminal device, where the first identifier is used to identify a system message of the first cell; If the second identifier is inconsistent with the first identifier, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device, including: receiving a second identifier sent by the second network device, wherein the second identifier is used to identify a system message of the second cell; Ignoring the second identifier, the terminal device reads the system message of the second cell sent by the second network device.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that The terminal device receives the second identifier sent by the second network device, including: A system message of the second cell sent by the second network device is received, where the system message of the second cell includes the second identifier.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: Including transceiver module and processing module: The transceiver module is used to input and / or output signaling or data; The processing module is used to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or the method described in any one of claims 9 to 19, or the method described in any one of claims 20 to 23 through the communication unit.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: Including communication interface and processor: The communication interface is used to input and / or output signaling or data; The processor is used to execute a computer executable program so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is executed, or The method according to any one of claims 9 to 19 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 20 to 23 is executed.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: including a processor and memory, The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; The processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 9 to 19 is executed, or the method described in any one of claims 20 to 23 is executed.

27. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed by a processor, the method of any one of claims 1-8, or claims 9-19, or claims 20-23 is implemented.

28. A computer program product comprising a program, characterized in that When the program is executed by a processor, the method of any one of claims 1-8, or claims 9-19, or claims 20-23 is implemented.

29. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system includes at least one processor, and when the program instructions are executed in the at least one processor, the method described in any one of claims 1-8, or claims 9-19, or claims 20-23 is implemented.

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