Non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus. A first message is sent to a second node by determining to suspend and / or release a first connection between a first node and the second node, the first message being used for instructing the second node to execute a suspension operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; a second message sent by the second node is received, the second message being used for indicating feedback on execution of the suspension operation or the release operation by the second node, so that when an access network device in a non-terrestrial network loses connection with ground, a connection between the access network device and a core network is not released, thereby ensuring that related signaling and data can be reliably forwarded. As a result, system communication efficiency is effectively improved, communication service continuity is ensured, and system robustness is improved.

Description

Non-terrestrial communication method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a non-terrestrial communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] Non-terrestrial Network (NTN) is an important technology introduced by the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G), which provides wireless resources through satellites (or drones) instead of ground base stations.

[0003] However, since the satellite (or drone) and the ground gateway (GW) may not be relatively stationary (for example, for non-geostationary (non-GEO) satellites, the satellite and the ground are not relatively stationary), the connection between the satellite and the GW may be interrupted at some point.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus.

[0006] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, which is performed by a first node and includes:

[0007] Determine to suspend and / or release a first connection between the first node and a second node, and send a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection;

[0008] A second message sent by the second node is received, where the second message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0009] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, which is performed by a second node and includes:

[0010] receiving a first message sent by a first node, where the first message is used by the first node to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on a first connection between the second node and the first node;

[0011] A second message is sent to the first node, where the second message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0012] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, including:

[0013] The first node determines to suspend and / or release a first connection between the first node and a second node, and sends a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection;

[0014] The second node sends a second message to the first node, where the second message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0015] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a network device, including:

[0016] a transceiver module, configured to determine whether to suspend and / or release the first connection, and send a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection;

[0017] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a second message sent by the second node, where the second message is configured to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0018] A fifth embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network device, including:

[0019] a transceiver module, configured to receive a first message sent by a first node, wherein the first message is sent by the first node when determining to suspend and / or release a first connection, and the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection;

[0020] The transceiver module is further configured to send a second message to the first node, where the second message is configured to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0021] The solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is to determine to suspend and / or release the first connection between the first node and the second node, and send a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; and receive a second message sent by the second node, wherein the second message is used to indicate the second node's feedback on the execution of the suspend operation or the release operation, so that when the access network device in the non-ground network loses connection with the ground, the connection between the access network device and the core network is not released, ensuring that the relevant signaling and data can be reliably forwarded, effectively improving the efficiency of system communication, ensuring the continuity of communication services, and improving the robustness of the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

[0023] FIG1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG1B is a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial communication connection interruption provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] 2A-2B are interactive schematic diagrams of a non-terrestrial communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] 3A-3D are flowcharts of a non-terrestrial communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] 4A-4D are flowcharts of a non-terrestrial communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG5 is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] 6A-6B are interactive schematic diagrams of a non-terrestrial communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of another network device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG8A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] FIG8B is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus.

[0035] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, the method comprising:

[0036] Determine to suspend and / or release the first connection between the first node and the second node, send a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; receive a second message sent by the second node, wherein the second message is used to indicate the second node's feedback on performing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0037] In the above embodiment, when the access network device in the non-ground network loses connection with the ground, the connection between the access network device and the core network is not released, ensuring that the relevant signaling and data can be reliably forwarded, effectively improving the efficiency of system communication, ensuring the continuity of communication services, and improving the robustness of the system.

[0038] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, it is determined to restore or release the first connection that has been suspended, and a third message is sent to the second node, wherein the third message is used to instruct the second node to perform the restoration and / or release operation on the first connection; and a fourth message sent by the second node is received, wherein the fourth message is used to indicate the second node's feedback on the execution of the restoration and / or release operation.

[0039] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that a feeder link between the first node and the second node is switched or unavailable, and determining to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0040] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that a feeder link between the first node and the second node is available, and determining to restore the first connection.

[0041] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the first node and the second node; a user plane connection between the first node and the second node.

[0042] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, and the second node is a core network device; or,

[0043] The first node is a core network device, and the second node is an access network device.

[0044] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second node is the core network device, and the first message indicates that the second node performs a suspension operation on the first connection, including at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

[0045] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is further used to instruct the second node to release context information of a terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0046] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the second node is the access network device, and the first message indicates that the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the second node includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; retaining the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

[0047] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is also used to instruct the second node to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended, and / or to release the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0048] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes at least one of the following information: first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; suspension time information, used to indicate the time information of the suspension of the first connection; suspension reason information, used to indicate the reason for the suspension of the first connection; suspended terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; released terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released.

[0049] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

[0050] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: performing a suspend operation on the first connection based on the second message.

[0051] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, and the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; retaining the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

[0052] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is a core network device, and the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

[0053] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third message indicates that the second node performs at least one of the following recovery operations on the first connection: restoring the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; restoring the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; restoring the bearer corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection in the core network device.

[0054] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following information: third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device and the core network device; fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device and the core network device; restoration reason information, used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection; restored terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be restored; released terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that has been released.

[0055] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the restored terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be restored; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be restored.

[0056] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, the second node is a core network device, and the method further includes: receiving uplink information sent by the terminal; caching the uplink information sent by the terminal during the time when the first connection is suspended; wherein, the first node and the second node support a storage and forwarding mechanism.

[0057] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining to restore the first connection, and sending the cached uplink information to the second node.

[0058] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving downlink information cached by the second node and sent by the second node, wherein the downlink information is stored by the second node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the downlink information is used by the first node to send to the terminal.

[0059] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the downlink information is included in the fourth message.

[0060] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is a core network device, the second node is an access network device, and the method further includes: caching downlink information during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the downlink information is used by the second node to send to the terminal; wherein the first node and the second node support a storage and forwarding mechanism.

[0061] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining to restore the first connection, and sending the cached downlink information to the second node.

[0062] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving uplink information cached by the second node and sent by the second node, wherein the uplink information is stored by the second node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the uplink information is sent by the terminal.

[0063] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink information is included in the fourth message.

[0064] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: determining the suspension time corresponding to the first connection based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device; wherein the suspension time corresponds to the access network device, or the suspension time corresponds to the terminal.

[0065] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, the method comprising:

[0066] Receive a first message sent by a first node, where the first message is used by the first node to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection between the second node and the first node; and send a second message to the first node, where the second message is used to instruct the second node to provide feedback on the execution of the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0067] In the above embodiment, when the access network device in the non-ground network loses connection with the ground, the connection between the access network device and the core network is not released, ensuring that the relevant signaling and data can be reliably forwarded, effectively improving the efficiency of system communication, ensuring the continuity of communication services, and improving the robustness of the system.

[0068] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a third message sent by the first node, wherein the third message is sent by the first node to determine to restore or release the first connection that has been suspended, and the third message is used to instruct the second node to perform the recovery and / or release operation on the first connection; sending a fourth message to the first node, and the fourth message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on the execution of the recovery and / or release operation.

[0069] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the first node and the second node; a user plane connection between the first node and the second node.

[0070] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, and the second node is a core network device; or,

[0071] The first node is a core network device, and the second node is an access network device.

[0072] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second node is the core network device, and the first message indicates that the second node performs a suspension operation on the first connection, including at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

[0073] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is further used to instruct the second node to release context information of a terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0074] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second node is the access network device, and the first message indicates that the second node performs a suspension operation on the first connection, including at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; retaining the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

[0075] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first message is also used to instruct the second node to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended, and / or to release the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0076] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first message includes at least one of the following information: first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; suspension time information, used to indicate the time information of the suspension of the first connection; suspension reason information, used to indicate the reason for the suspension of the first connection; suspended terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; released terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released.

[0077] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

[0078] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second message is further used to instruct the first node to perform a suspend operation on the first connection.

[0079] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, and the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; retaining the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

[0080] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is a core network device, and the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

[0081] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the third message indicates that the second node performs at least one of the following recovery operations on the first connection: restoring the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; restoring the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; restoring the bearer corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection in the core network device.

[0082] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following information: third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device and the core network device; fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device and the core network device; restoration reason information, used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection; restored terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be restored; released terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that has been released.

[0083] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the restored terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be restored; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be restored.

[0084] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is an access network device, the second node is a core network device, and the method further includes: receiving uplink information sent by the first node, wherein the uplink information is uplink information sent by the terminal cached by the first node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the uplink information is sent by the first node after determining that the first connection is restored.

[0085] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: caching downlink information during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the downlink information is used by the first node to send to the terminal; and sending the downlink information cached by the second node to the first node.

[0086] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the downlink information is included in the fourth message.

[0087] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first node is a core network device, the second node is an access network device, and the method further includes: receiving uplink information sent by the terminal; caching the uplink information sent by the terminal during the time when the first connection is suspended; wherein, the first node and the second node support a storage and forwarding mechanism.

[0088] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending the cached uplink information to the first node, wherein the first connection has been restored.

[0089] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink information is included in the fourth message.

[0090] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the suspension time corresponding to the first connection is determined based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device; wherein, the suspension time corresponds to the access network device, or the suspension time corresponds to the terminal.

[0091] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method, the method comprising:

[0092] The first node determines to suspend and / or release the first connection between the first node and the second node, and sends a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; the second node sends a second message to the first node, and the second message is used to indicate the second node's feedback on the execution of the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0093] In the above embodiment, when the access network device in the non-ground network loses connection with the ground, the connection between the access network device and the core network is not released, ensuring that the relevant signaling and data can be reliably forwarded, effectively improving the efficiency of system communication, ensuring the continuity of communication services, and improving the robustness of the system.

[0094] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a network device, which includes a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein the access network device is used to execute the first aspect and the optional implementation method of the first aspect.

[0095] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a network device, which includes a transceiver module and a processing module; wherein the core network device is used to execute the second aspect and the optional implementation method of the second aspect.

[0096] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the first aspect and the optional implementation method of the first aspect.

[0097] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the second aspect and the optional implementation method of the second aspect.

[0098] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a terminal and a network device; wherein the network device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, or is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0099] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0100] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0101] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0102] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a chip or a chip system, wherein the chip or chip system includes a processing circuit configured to execute the method described in accordance with the first aspect and its optional implementation, the second aspect and its optional implementation.

[0103] It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, access network devices, core network devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems are all used to perform the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0104] The present disclosure provides a non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus. In some embodiments, the terms "non-terrestrial communication method," "information processing method," and "communication method" are interchangeable; the terms "non-terrestrial communication apparatus," "information processing apparatus," and "communication apparatus" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system," "communication system," and "communication system" are interchangeable.

[0105] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0106] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0107] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0108] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "above", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0110] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0111] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0112] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0113] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0114] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0115] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0116] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0117] In some embodiments, devices and equipment can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0118] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network, such as access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.

[0119] In some embodiments, "access network device (AN device)" may also be referred to as "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", and in some embodiments may also be understood as "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission and / or reception point (TRP)" "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "serving cell", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)", etc.

[0120] In some embodiments, "terminal" or "terminal device" may be referred to as "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal" "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc.

[0121] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it is also possible to set the structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

[0122] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0123] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0124] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0125] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0126] FIG1A is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0127] As shown in FIG1A , a communication system 100 includes an access network device 101 , a core network device 102 , and a terminal 103 .

[0128] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include nodes such as satellites or drones in non-terrestrial communication networks, evolved NodeB (eNB) in 5G communication systems, next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), next generation RAN node (NG-RAN node), node B (NB), home node B (HNB), home evolved nodeB (HeNB), wireless backhaul equipment, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), base band unit (BBU), mobile switching center, base station in 6G communication system, open base station (Open RAN), cloud base station (Cloud RAN), base station in other communication systems, and at least one of access nodes in Wi-Fi systems, but is not limited thereto.

[0129] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of the Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0130] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0131] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 may be a single device including a first network element 1021, a second network element 1022, etc., or may be a plurality of devices or a device group including all or part of the first network element 1021, the second network element 1022, etc. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G core network (5GCN), and a next generation core (NGC).

[0132] In some embodiments, the first network element 1021 is, for example, at least one of a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF), and a session management function (SMF).

[0133] In some embodiments, the first network element 1021 is used to "perform mobility management, identity authentication and security authentication, perform session management, location management, switching control, etc.", and the name is not limited to this.

[0134] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 is, for example, at least one of a serving gateway (SGW) and a user plane function (UPF).

[0135] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 is used to "provide transmission and mobility management of user data", but the name is not limited thereto.

[0136] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 may be independent of the core network device 102 .

[0137] In some embodiments, the second network element 1022 may be part of the core network device 102 .

[0138] In some embodiments, the terminal 103 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, a wireless terminal device in a smart home, and at least one of a reduced capability (RedCap) terminal, but is not limited thereto.

[0139] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0140] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A , or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG1A are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or a portion of the entities shown in FIG1A , or may include entities other than those shown in FIG1A . The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary, and the entities may be physical or virtual. The connections between the entities are illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connections may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0141] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.18 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX ( 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0142] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) is an important technology introduced by the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G). It provides wireless resources through satellites (or UAS platforms, where UAS, unmanned aircraft systems) rather than ground base stations, as shown in Figure 1A. The link between the satellite and the terminal is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the core network equipment is called a feeder link.

[0143] However, because the satellite (or drone) and the ground gateway (GW) may not be stationary relative to each other (for example, for non-geostationary (non-GEO) satellites, the satellite and the ground are not stationary relative to each other), the connection between the satellite and the GW may be interrupted at certain times. As shown in Figure 1B, the satellite, acting as the access network device gNB1, is not stationary relative to the ground. During its movement relative to the ground, it may switch from connecting to gateway GW1 to connecting to gateway GW2.

[0144] In this case, how to maintain the connection between the access network and the core network (such as AMF) and ensure business continuity is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0145] In some embodiments, non-terrestrial communications may also support a "store and forward" mode. This mode is a common data transmission method in non-terrestrial communications. This mode is particularly suitable for scenarios where real-time communication is not possible or the communication link is unstable.

[0146] In the "store and forward" mode, the process of non-terrestrial communication systems usually includes the following steps:

[0147] 1. Data collection: Ground stations or other sensors (or terminals) collect data and send it to satellites.

[0148] 2. Data storage: After receiving the data, the satellite will store it in its own memory instead of forwarding it immediately.

[0149] 3. Data forwarding: When the satellite moves over the destination ground station or terminal, or when a communication link becomes available, the satellite forwards the stored data to the ground station or terminal.

[0150] 4. Data processing: After receiving the data, the ground station or terminal processes and analyzes it.

[0151] The non-terrestrial communication method and apparatus provided by the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0152] FIG2A is an interactive diagram of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, the method comprising:

[0153] Step S2101: The access network device 101 determines to suspend and / or release a first connection.

[0154] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 can detect that the feeder link between itself and the ground is switched or unavailable.

[0155] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 determines that the feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is switched or unavailable, and determines to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0156] In some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and a user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102.

[0157] Optionally, the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: at least one of a terminal-associated signaling connection and a non-terminal-associated signaling connection.

[0158] In some embodiments, after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection, the access network device 101 may also perform a suspend and / or release operation on the first connection.

[0159] Step S2102: The access network device 101 sends a first message.

[0160] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 receives the first message.

[0161] In some embodiments, upon determining to suspend and / or release the first connection, the access network device 101 can send a first message to the core network device 102 .

[0162] In some embodiments, the first message is used to instruct the core network device 102 to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection.

[0163] In some embodiments, the first message is further used to instruct the core network device 102 to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0164] In some embodiments, the suspension operation performed by the core network device 102 on the first connection indicated by the first message includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device 101; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device 102, and retaining the air interface connection between the terminal 103 and the access network device 101.

[0165] Optionally, suspending the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: retaining at least one of the configuration information of the node and retaining the context of the terminal.

[0166] Optionally, suspending the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: releasing a bearer corresponding to the terminal.

[0167] In some embodiments, the name of the first message is not limited, and may be, for example, "suspend indication", "connection suspend indication", "S1 connection suspend indication", etc.

[0168] In some embodiments, the first message includes at least one of the following information:

[0169] First indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0170] Second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0171] Suspension time information, used to indicate the time information when the first connection is suspended;

[0172] Suspension reason information, used to indicate the reason why the first connection is suspended;

[0173] Suspended terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended;

[0174] The released terminal information is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released.

[0175] In some embodiments, the name of the first indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 signaling connection suspension indication", "S1AP suspension", "signaling connection suspension indication", etc.

[0176] In some embodiments, the name of the second indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 user plane connection suspension indication", "S1-U suspension indication", etc.

[0177] In some embodiments, the suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

[0178] Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be, for example, an eNB UE S1AP ID and / or an MME UE S1AP ID.

[0179] Optionally, the identifier of the at least one terminal may be presented in the form of a list, and the identifier of the at least one bearer may also be presented in the form of a list.

[0180] In some embodiments, the first message may be included in at least one of the following messages: S1 connection establishment request (S1 Setup Request); access network device configuration update (Configuration Update) message; other newly added S1 interface application protocol (S1 Application Protocol, S1AP) messages (such as S1 suspend request message, etc.).

[0181] In some embodiments, the first message (for example, at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the suspension time information, etc.) can be determined based on the location of the terminal and / or the current business being carried out by the terminal (for example, whether there is data transmission). Whether the connection corresponding to each terminal is suspended and the corresponding suspension time may be different, that is, the first message can be relative to the terminal and is based on the configuration of each terminal.

[0182] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 can determine the suspension time of the first connection based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device 101 .

[0183] Optionally, the suspension time may correspond to a terminal or to the access network device 101. That is, different terminals may correspond to different suspension times, or different access network devices 101 may correspond to different suspension times.

[0184] Step S2103: The core network device 102 sends a second message.

[0185] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 receives the second message.

[0186] In some embodiments, after the core network device 102 performs a suspend and / or release operation on the first connection based on the first message, it can send a second message to the access network device 101.

[0187] In some embodiments, the second message is used to indicate feedback from the core network device 102 on executing a suspend operation or a release operation.

[0188] In some embodiments, the name of the second message is not limited, and may be, for example, "suspend response", "release response", "S1 suspend confirmation", "S1 release confirmation", etc.

[0189] In some embodiments, the second message may be included in at least one of the following messages: S1 connection establishment response (S1 Setup Response); access network device configuration update confirmation (RAN Configuration Update Acknowledge); other newly added S1 interface application protocol S1AP messages (such as S1 suspend response message, etc.).

[0190] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 can perform a suspension or release operation on the first connection based on the second message.

[0191] In some embodiments, the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the access network device 101 may include at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device 102; retaining the context information of the terminal; and retaining the air interface connection between the access network device 101 and the terminal 103.

[0192] In some embodiments, during the time when the first connection is suspended, the access network device 101 can receive uplink information sent by the terminal 103.

[0193] Optionally, the uplink information includes: at least one of control plane information and user plane information.

[0194] Step S2104: The access network device 101 determines to restore or release the first connection.

[0195] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 can detect that a feeder link between itself and the ground is available.

[0196] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 determines that a feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is available, and determines to resume and / or release the first connection.

[0197] In some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and a user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102.

[0198] Optionally, the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: at least one of a terminal-associated signaling connection and a non-terminal-associated signaling connection.

[0199] In some embodiments, after determining to restore and / or release the first connection, the access network device 101 may also perform a restoration and / or release operation on the first connection.

[0200] Step S2105: The access network device 101 sends a third message.

[0201] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 receives the third message.

[0202] In some embodiments, upon determining to restore and / or release the first connection, the access network device 101 can send a third message to the core network device 102 .

[0203] In some embodiments, the third message is used to instruct the core network device 102 to perform a recovery operation and / or a release operation on the first connection.

[0204] In some embodiments, the recovery operation performed on the first connection includes at least one of the following: restoring the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; restoring the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and restoring the bearer corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection in the core network device 102.

[0205] In some embodiments, the third message is used to instruct the core network device 102 to release the terminal connection and corresponding context information.

[0206] In some embodiments, the name of the third message is not limited, and may be, for example, "recovery indication", "connection recovery indication", "S1 connection recovery indication", etc.

[0207] In some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following information:

[0208] Third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0209] Fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0210] Restoration reason information, used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection;

[0211] Restored terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be restored;

[0212] The released terminal information is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that has been released.

[0213] In some embodiments, the name of the third indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 signaling connection recovery indication", "S1AP recovery", "signaling connection recovery indication", etc.

[0214] In some embodiments, the name of the fourth indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 user plane connection recovery indication", "S1-U recovery indication", etc.

[0215] In some embodiments, the restored terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be restored; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be restored.

[0216] Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be, for example, an eNB UE S1AP ID and / or an MME UE S1AP ID.

[0217] Optionally, the identifier of the at least one terminal may be presented in the form of a list, and the identifier of the at least one bearer may also be presented in the form of a list.

[0218] In some embodiments, the released terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be released.

[0219] In some embodiments, the third message may be included in at least one of the following messages: S1 connection establishment request (S1 Setup Request); access network device configuration update (Configuration Update) message; other newly added S1 interface application protocol (S1 Application Protocol, S1AP) messages (such as S1 recovery request message, etc.).

[0220] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 supports a "store and forward" mechanism. During the period when the first connection is suspended, the access network device 101 can cache uplink information sent by the terminal 103. The core network device 102 supports a "store and forward" mechanism. During the period when the first connection is suspended, the core network device 102 can cache downlink information to be sent to the terminal 103.

[0221] Optionally, the uplink information includes control plane signaling and / or user plane data.

[0222] Optionally, the downlink information includes control plane signaling and / or user plane data.

[0223] In some embodiments, the third message further includes cached uplink information, where the cached uplink information indicates information about uplink signaling and / or data cached by the access network device 101 during the suspension of the first connection, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling. The uplink signaling and / or data is sent by the terminal 103 to the access network device 101.

[0224] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 determines to restore the first connection and may send the cached uplink information to the core network device 102 .

[0225] In some embodiments, the third message further includes the size of available storage space, which is used to indicate the size of the available storage space in the access network device 101 .

[0226] Step S2106: The core network device 102 sends a fourth message.

[0227] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 receives the fourth message.

[0228] In some embodiments, after the core network device 102 performs a recovery and / or release operation on the first connection based on the third message, it can send a fourth message to the access network device 101.

[0229] In some embodiments, the fourth message is used to indicate feedback from the core network device 102 on executing a recovery operation or a release operation.

[0230] In some embodiments, the name of the fourth message is not limited, and may be, for example, "recovery response", "release response", "S1 recovery confirmation", "S1 release confirmation", etc.

[0231] In some embodiments, the second message may be included in at least one of the following messages: S1 connection establishment response (S1 Setup Response); access network device configuration update confirmation (RAN Configuration Update Acknowledge); other newly added S1 interface application protocol S1AP messages (such as S1 recovery response message, etc.).

[0232] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 can perform a suspension or release operation on the first connection based on the fourth message.

[0233] In some embodiments, during the time when the first connection is suspended, the core network device 102 can cache downlink information, and the downlink information is used by the access network device 101 to send to the terminal 103.

[0234] Optionally, the downlink information includes: at least one of control plane information and user plane information.

[0235] Optionally, the downlink information is included in the fourth message.

[0236] In some embodiments, the fourth message further includes cached downlink information, where the cached downlink information is used to indicate information about downlink signaling and / or data that has been cached by the core network device 102 during the suspension of the first connection, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling. The downlink signaling and / or data needs to be sent by the access network device 101 to the terminal 103.

[0237] In some embodiments, terms such as "eNB", "gNB", "base station", "NG-RAN node", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0238] In some embodiments, terms such as "MME", "CN", "AMF", "SMF", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0239] In some embodiments, terms such as "SGW" and "UPF" may be used interchangeably.

[0240] In some embodiments, the terms "bearer", "Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session", "Evolved Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB)", "EPS bearer", "QoS flow" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0241] In some embodiments, terms such as "Next Generation Application Proposal (NGAP)" and "S1 Application Proposal (S1AP)" may be used interchangeably.

[0242] In some embodiments, the terms "Xn Application Proposal (XnAP)" and "X2 Application Proposal (X2AP)" may be used interchangeably.

[0243] In some embodiments, terms such as "carrier", "band", and "frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0244] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0245] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0246] In some embodiments, terms such as "physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)" and "DL data" can be used interchangeably, and terms such as "physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)" and "UL data" can be used interchangeably.

[0247] In some embodiments, the terms "radio", "wireless", "radio access network (RAN)", "access network (AN)", "RAN-based" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0248] In some embodiments, terms such as "resource block (RB)", "physical resource block (PRB)", "sub-carrier group (SCG)", "resource element group (REG)", "PRB pair", "RB pair", "resource element (RE)", and "sub-carrier" can be used interchangeably.

[0249] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0250] In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "download", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably.

[0251] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain", "preset", "preset", "setting", "indicated", "a certain", "any", and "first" can be interchangeable. "Specific A", "preset A", "preset A", "setting A", "indicated A", "a certain A", "any A", and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-specified in a protocol, etc., or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or indication, etc., or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, etc., but not limited to this.

[0252] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be performed by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (Boolean value) represented by true or false, or by comparison of numerical values ​​(for example, comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0253] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2106. For example, step 2101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2101+2102+2103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2104+2105+2106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2101+2102+2103+2104+2105+2106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0254] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2A .

[0255] FIG2B is an interactive diagram of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, the method comprising:

[0256] In step S2201, the core network device 102 determines to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0257] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 can determine that the feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is switched or unavailable.

[0258] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 determines that the feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is switched or unavailable, and determines to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0259] In some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and a user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102.

[0260] Optionally, the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: at least one of a terminal-related signaling connection and a non-terminal-related signaling connection.

[0261] In some embodiments, after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection, the core network device 102 may also perform a suspend and / or release operation on the first connection.

[0262] Step S2202: The core network device 102 sends a first message.

[0263] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 receives the first message.

[0264] In some embodiments, upon determining to suspend and / or release the first connection, the core network device 102 may send a first message to the access network device 101 .

[0265] In some embodiments, the first message is used to instruct the access network device 101 to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection.

[0266] In some embodiments, the first message is further used to instruct the access network device 101 to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

[0267] In some embodiments, the suspension operation performed by the access network device 101 on the first connection indicated by the first message includes at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the access network device 101; retaining the context information of the terminal; releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device 102, and retaining the air interface connection between the terminal 103 and the access network device 101.

[0268] Optionally, suspending the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: retaining at least one of the configuration information of the node and retaining the context of the terminal.

[0269] Optionally, suspending the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal and retaining the air interface connection between the terminal 103 and the access network device 101.

[0270] In some embodiments, the name of the first message is not limited, and may be, for example, "suspend indication", "connection suspend indication", "S1 connection suspend indication", etc.

[0271] In some embodiments, the first message includes at least one of the following information:

[0272] First indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0273] Second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate whether to suspend the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0274] Suspension time information, used to indicate the time information when the first connection is suspended;

[0275] Suspension reason information, used to indicate the reason why the first connection is suspended;

[0276] Suspended terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended;

[0277] The released terminal information is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released.

[0278] In some embodiments, the name of the first indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 signaling connection suspension indication", "S1AP suspension", "signaling connection suspension indication", etc.

[0279] In some embodiments, the name of the second indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 user plane connection suspension indication", "S1-U suspension indication", etc.

[0280] Optionally, the suspension reason information may be, for example, feeder link switching, or feeder link unavailability, etc.

[0281] In some embodiments, the suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

[0282] Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be, for example, an eNB UE S1AP ID and / or an MME UE S1AP ID.

[0283] Optionally, the identifier of the at least one terminal may be presented in the form of a list, and the identifier of the at least one bearer may also be presented in the form of a list.

[0284] In some embodiments, the first message may be included in at least one of the following messages: a core network device configuration update (Configuration Update) message; or other newly added S1 interface application protocol (S1 Application Protocol, S1AP) messages (such as an S1 suspend request message, etc.).

[0285] Step S2203: The access network device 101 sends a second message.

[0286] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 receives the second message.

[0287] In some embodiments, after the access network device 101 performs a suspend and / or release operation on the first connection based on the first message, it can send a second message to the core network device 102 .

[0288] In some embodiments, the second message is used to indicate feedback from the access network device 101 on executing a suspend operation or a release operation.

[0289] In some embodiments, the name of the second message is not limited, and may be, for example, "suspend response", "release response", "S1 suspend confirmation", "S1 release confirmation", etc.

[0290] In some embodiments, the second message may be included in at least one of the following messages: a core network device configuration update confirmation (Configuration Update Acknowledge); or other newly added S1 interface application protocol S1AP messages (eg, an S1 suspend response message, etc.).

[0291] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 can perform a suspension or release operation on the first connection based on the second message.

[0292] In some embodiments, the suspension operation of the first connection performed by the core network device 102 may include at least one of the following: retaining the configuration information of the core network device 102; retaining the context information of the terminal; and releasing the bearer corresponding to the terminal 103 in the core network device 102.

[0293] In some embodiments, during the time when the first connection is suspended, the core network device 102 can cache downlink information, and the downlink information is used by the access network device 101 to send to the terminal 103.

[0294] Optionally, the downlink information includes: at least one of control plane information and user plane information.

[0295] In some embodiments, the first message (for example, at least one of the first indication information, the second indication information, the suspension time information, etc.) can be determined based on the location of the terminal and / or the current business being carried out by the terminal (for example, whether there is data transmission). Whether the connection corresponding to each terminal is suspended and the corresponding suspension time may be different, that is, the first message can be relative to the terminal and is based on the configuration of each terminal.

[0296] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 or the access network device 101 can determine the suspension time of the first connection based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device 101 .

[0297] Optionally, the suspension time may correspond to a terminal or to the access network device 101. That is, different terminals may correspond to different suspension times, or different access network devices 101 may correspond to different suspension times.

[0298] In some embodiments, the second message also includes the suspension time information.

[0299] In step S2204, the core network device 102 determines whether to restore or release the first connection.

[0300] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 is capable of detecting that the feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is available.

[0301] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 determines that the feeder link between the access network device 101 and the ground is available, and determines to restore and / or release the first connection.

[0302] In some embodiments, the first connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and a user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102.

[0303] Optionally, the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102 may include: at least one of a terminal-related signaling connection and a non-terminal-related signaling connection.

[0304] In some embodiments, after determining to restore and / or release the first connection, the core network device 102 may also perform restoration and / or release operations on the first connection.

[0305] Step S2205: The core network device 102 sends a third message.

[0306] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 receives the third message.

[0307] In some embodiments, upon determining to restore and / or release the first connection, the core network device 102 can send a third message to the access network device 101 .

[0308] In some embodiments, the third message is used to instruct the access network device 101 to perform a recovery operation and / or a release operation on the first connection.

[0309] In some embodiments, the recovery operation performed on the first connection includes at least one of the following: restoring the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; restoring the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102; and restoring the bearer corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection in the core network device 102.

[0310] In some embodiments, the third message is used to instruct the core network device 102 to release the terminal connection and corresponding context information.

[0311] In some embodiments, the name of the third message is not limited, and may be, for example, "recovery indication", "connection recovery indication", "S1 connection recovery indication", etc.

[0312] In some embodiments, the third message includes at least one of the following information:

[0313] Third indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0314] Fourth indication information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device 101 and the core network device 102;

[0315] Restoration reason information, used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection;

[0316] Restored terminal information, used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be restored;

[0317] The released terminal information is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that has been released.

[0318] In some embodiments, the name of the third indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 signaling connection recovery indication", "S1AP recovery", "signaling connection recovery indication", etc.

[0319] In some embodiments, the name of the fourth indication information is not limited, and it can be, for example, "S1 user plane connection recovery indication", "S1-U recovery indication", etc.

[0320] In some embodiments, the restored terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be restored; an identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be restored.

[0321] Optionally, the identifier of the terminal may be, for example, an eNB UE S1AP ID and / or an MME UE S1AP ID.

[0322] Optionally, the identifier of the at least one terminal may be presented in the form of a list, and the identifier of the at least one bearer may also be presented in the form of a list.

[0323] In some embodiments, the released terminal information includes at least one of the following: an identifier of at least one terminal that needs to be released.

[0324] In some embodiments, the third message may be included in at least one of the following messages: S1 connection establishment request (S1 Setup Request); core network device configuration update (Configuration Update) message; other newly added S1 interface application protocol (S1 Application Protocol, S1AP) messages (such as S1 recovery request message, etc.).

[0325] In some embodiments, the access network device 101 supports a "store and forward" mechanism. During the period when the first connection is suspended, the access network device 101 can cache uplink information sent by the terminal 103. The core network device 102 supports a "store and forward" mechanism. During the period when the first connection is suspended, the core network device 102 can cache downlink information to be sent to the terminal 103.

[0326] Optionally, the uplink information includes control plane signaling and / or user plane data.

[0327] Optionally, the downlink information includes control plane signaling and / or user plane data.

[0328] In some embodiments, the third message further includes cached downlink information, where the cached downlink information is used to indicate information about downlink signaling and / or data that has been cached by the core network device 102 during the time when the first connection is suspended, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling. The downlink signaling and / or data needs to be sent by the access network device 101 to the terminal 103.

[0329] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 determines to restore the first connection and may send the cached downlink information to the access network device 101.

[0330] Step S2206: The access network device 101 sends a fourth message.

[0331] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 receives the fourth message.

[0332] In some embodiments, after the access network device 101 performs a recovery and / or release operation on the first connection based on the third message, it can send a fourth message to the core network device 102 .

[0333] In some embodiments, the fourth message is used to indicate feedback from the access network device 101 on executing a recovery operation or a release operation.

[0334] In some embodiments, the name of the fourth message is not limited, and may be, for example, "recovery response", "release response", "S1 recovery confirmation", "S1 release confirmation", etc.

[0335] In some embodiments, the second message may be included in at least one of the following messages: a core network device configuration update confirmation (Configuration UpdateAcknowledge); or other newly added S1 interface application protocol S1AP messages (eg, an S1 recovery response message, etc.).

[0336] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 can perform a suspension or release operation on the first connection based on the fourth message.

[0337] In some embodiments, during the time when the first connection is suspended, the access network device 101 can cache the uplink information sent by the terminal 103.

[0338] Optionally, the uplink information includes control plane signaling and / or user plane data.

[0339] In some embodiments, the fourth message further includes cached uplink information, where the cached uplink information is used to indicate information about uplink signaling and / or data that has been cached by the access network device 101 during the time when the first connection is suspended, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling. The uplink signaling and / or data is sent by the terminal 103 to the access network device 101.

[0340] In some embodiments, the core network device 102 determines to restore the first connection and may send the cached uplink information to the access network device 101.

[0341] In some embodiments, the fourth message further includes the size of available storage space, which is used to indicate the size of the available storage space in the access network device 101 .

[0342] In some embodiments, terms such as "eNB", "gNB", "base station", and "NG-RAN node" can be used interchangeably.

[0343] In some embodiments, terms such as "MME", "CN", "AMF", "SMF", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0344] In some embodiments, terms such as "SGW" and "UPF" may be used interchangeably.

[0345] In some embodiments, the terms "bearer", "Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session", "Evolved Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB)", "EPS bearer", "QoS flow" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0346] In some embodiments, terms such as "Next Generation Application Proposal (NGAP)" and "S1 Application Proposal (S1AP)" may be used interchangeably.

[0347] In some embodiments, the terms "Xn Application Proposal (XnAP)" and "X2 Application Proposal (X2AP)" may be used interchangeably.

[0348] In some embodiments, terms such as "carrier", "band", and "frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0349] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0350] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "codeword", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0351] In some embodiments, the terms "physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)", "DL data" and the like may be used interchangeably, and the terms "physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)", "UL data" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0352] In some embodiments, the terms "radio", "wireless", "radio access network (RAN)", "access network (AN)", "RAN-based" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0353] In some embodiments, terms such as "resource block (RB)", "physical resource block (PRB)", "sub-carrier group (SCG)", "resource element group (REG)", "PRB pair", "RB pair", "resource element (RE)", and "sub-carrier" can be used interchangeably.

[0354] In some embodiments, "obtain", "get", "get", "receive", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be interchangeable, and can be interpreted as receiving from other entities, obtaining from protocols, obtaining from higher layers, obtaining by self-processing, autonomous implementation, etc.

[0355] In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "download", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and / or receive" can be used interchangeably.

[0356] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain", "preset", "preset", "setting", "indicated", "a certain", "any", and "first" can be interchangeable. "Specific A", "preset A", "preset A", "setting A", "indicated A", "a certain A", "any A", and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-specified in a protocol, etc., or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or indication, etc., or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, etc., but not limited to this.

[0357] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be performed by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (Boolean value) represented by true or false, or by comparison of numerical values ​​(for example, comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0358] The communication method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 to S2206. For example, step 2201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2201+2202+2203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 2204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2204+2205+2206 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 2201+2202+2203+2204+2205+2206 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0359] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2B .

[0360] FIG3A is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by an access network device 101 and includes:

[0361] Step S3101: Determine to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0362] The optional implementation of step S3101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0363] Step S3102, sending the first message.

[0364] The optional implementation of step S3102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0365] Step S3103, receive the second message.

[0366] The optional implementation of step S3104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0367] Step S3104: Determine whether to restore or release the first connection.

[0368] The optional implementation of step S3104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2104 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0369] Step S3105: Send the third message.

[0370] The optional implementation of step S3105 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0371] Step S3106, receiving the fourth message.

[0372] The optional implementation of step S3106 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0373] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 to S3106. For example, step 3101 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3101+3102+3103 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3104 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3104+3105+3106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3101+3102+3103+3104+3105+3106 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0374] FIG3B is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by access network device 101 and includes:

[0375] Step S3201, receiving a first message.

[0376] The optional implementation of step S3201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2202 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0377] Optionally, the first message is sent by the core network device 102 after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection. Its optional implementation method can refer to the optional implementation method of step S2201 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0378] Step S3202, sending a second message.

[0379] The optional implementation of step S3202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2203 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0380] Step S3203, receive the third message.

[0381] The optional implementation of step S3203 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2205 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0382] Optionally, the first message is sent by the core network device 102 after determining to restore and / or release the first connection. Its optional implementation method can be found in the optional implementation method of step S2204 of Figure 2B and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0383] Step S3204, sending the fourth message.

[0384] The optional implementation of step S3204 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2206 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0385] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 to S3204. For example, step 3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3201+3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3203 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3203+3204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3201+3202+3203+3204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0386] FIG3C is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by access network device 101 and includes:

[0387] Step S3301: Determine to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0388] The optional implementation of step S3301 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2101 in Figure 2A, step S3101 in Figure 3A, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0389] Step S3302, sending the first message.

[0390] The optional implementation of step S3302 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2A, step S3102 in Figure 3A, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0391] Step S3303, receive the second message.

[0392] The optional implementation of step S3304 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2A, step S3103 in Figure 3A, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 3A, which will not be repeated here.

[0393] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 to S3303. For example, step 3302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3303 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3301+3302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3302+3303 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 3301+3302+3303 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0394] FIG3D is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3D , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by access network device 101 and includes:

[0395] Step S3401, receiving a first message.

[0396] The optional implementation of step S3401 can refer to step S2202 in Figure 2B, the optional implementation of step S3201 in Figure 3B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0397] Optionally, the first message is sent by the core network device 102 after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection. Its optional implementation method can be referred to the optional implementation method of step S2201 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0398] Step S3402, sending a second message.

[0399] The optional implementation of step S3402 can refer to step S2203 in Figure 2B, the optional implementation of step S3202 in Figure 3B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 3B, which will not be repeated here.

[0400] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3401 and S3402. For example, step 3401 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 3402 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 3401+3402 may be implemented as independent embodiments, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0401] FIG4A is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by a core network device 102 and includes:

[0402] Step S4101, receiving a first message.

[0403] The optional implementation of step S4101 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0404] Optionally, the first message is sent by the access network device 101 after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection. For optional implementations, see the optional implementations of step S2101 in FIG. 2A and other related parts of the embodiment involved in FIG. 2A , which will not be described in detail here.

[0405] Step S4102, sending a second message.

[0406] The optional implementation of step S4102 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2103 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0407] Step S4103, receive the third message.

[0408] The optional implementation of step S4103 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2105 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0409] Optionally, the first message is sent by the core network device 102 after determining to restore and / or release the first connection. Its optional implementation method can be found in the optional implementation method of step S2104 of Figure 2A and other related parts of the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0410] Step S4104, sending the fourth message.

[0411] The optional implementation of step S4104 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2106 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2A, which will not be repeated here.

[0412] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4101 to S4104. For example, step 4101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4101+4102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4104+4104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4101+4102+4104+4104 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0413] FIG4B is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by a core network device 102 and includes:

[0414] Step S4201: Determine to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0415] The optional implementation of step S4201 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2201 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0416] Step S4202, sending the first message.

[0417] The optional implementation of step S4202 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2202 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0418] Step S4203, receive the second message.

[0419] The optional implementation of step S4203 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2203 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0420] Step S4204: Determine whether to restore or release the first connection.

[0421] The optional implementation of step S4204 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2204 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0422] Step S4205: Send the third message.

[0423] The optional implementation of step S4205 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2205 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0424] Step S4206, receiving the fourth message.

[0425] The optional implementation of step S4206 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2206 in Figure 2B and other related parts in the embodiment involved in Figure 2B, which will not be repeated here.

[0426] The communication method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4201 to S4206. For example, step 4201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4201+4202+4204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4204 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4204+4205+4206 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4201+4202+4204+4204+4205+4206 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0427] FIG4C is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by the core network device 102 and includes:

[0428] Step S4301, receiving a first message.

[0429] The optional implementation of step S4301 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2102 in Figure 2A, step S4201 in Figure 4A, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 4A, which will not be repeated here.

[0430] Optionally, the first message is sent by the core network device 102 after determining to suspend and / or release the first connection. Its optional implementation method can be referred to the optional implementation method of step S2101 in Figure 2A and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 4A, which will not be repeated here.

[0431] Step S4302, sending a second message.

[0432] The optional implementation of step S4302 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2104 in Figure 2A, step S4202 in Figure 4A, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A and 4A, which will not be repeated here.

[0433] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4301 and S4302. For example, step 4301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps 4301+4302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, etc., but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0434] FIG4D is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4D , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a non-terrestrial communication method, which is executed by the core network device 102 and includes:

[0435] Step S4401: Determine to suspend and / or release the first connection.

[0436] The optional implementation of step S4401 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2201 in Figure 2B, step S4101 in Figure 4B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 4B, which will not be repeated here.

[0437] Step S4402, sending the first message.

[0438] The optional implementation of step S4402 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2202 in Figure 2B, step S4102 in Figure 4B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 4B, which will not be repeated here.

[0439] Step S4403, receive the second message.

[0440] The optional implementation of step S4403 can refer to the optional implementation of step S2203 in Figure 2B, step S4103 in Figure 4B, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2B and 4B, which will not be repeated here.

[0441] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S4401 to S4403. For example, step 4402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 4403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4401+4402 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4402+4403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, steps 4401+4402+4403 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and so on, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0442] FIG5 is a flow chart of a non-terrestrial communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG5 , the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is used in a communication system 100, and the method includes:

[0443] Step S5101: The first node determines to suspend and / or release the first connection, and sends a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or a release operation on the first connection.

[0444] Step S5102: The second node sends a second message to the first node, where the second message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on executing the suspend operation or the release operation.

[0445] Optionally, the first node may be an access network device 101 , and the second node may be a core network device 102 .

[0446] Optionally, the first node may be a core network device 102 , and the second node may be an access network device 101 .

[0447] The optional implementation methods of steps S5101-S5102 can refer to the steps in any embodiment or any multiple embodiments in the above-mentioned Figures 2A-2B, Figures 3A-3D, and Figures 4A-4D, and other related parts in the embodiments involved in Figures 2A-2B, Figures 3A-3D, and Figures 4A-4D.

[0448] In some embodiments, the above method may include the above method of embodiments of the communication system side, terminal side, network device side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0449] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0450] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above methods in the above embodiments.

[0451] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 6A , the following steps shown in FIG. 6A omits the prior art and the contents irrelevant to the present embodiment.

[0452] In this embodiment, “data” includes user plane data and / or control plane data.

[0453] In this embodiment, the following terms are interchangeable: "eNB" and "gNB", "base station", and "NG-RAN node" are interchangeable; "MME" is interchangeable with "CN", "AMF", and "SMF"; "SGW" is interchangeable with "UPF"; "bearer" is interchangeable with "PDU session", "E-RAB", "EPS bearer", and "QoS flow"; "NGAP" is interchangeable with "S1AP"; and "XnAP" is interchangeable with "X2AP".

[0454] Step 101: When the eNB on the satellite detects that the feederlink connection with the ground is about to be disconnected, the eNB sends a first message to the MME.

[0455] In some embodiments, the first message includes information for indicating suspension of the S1 connection, wherein the above-mentioned S1 connection includes at least one of the following: a signaling connection between the eNB and the MME, including UE-associated signaling and / or non-UE-associated signaling; a user plane connection between the eNB and the SGW, including an S1 bearer connection of one or more UEs.

[0456] In some embodiments, the first message is an S1 Setup Request, an eNB Configuration Update message, or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Suspend Request message.

[0457] Among them, the above-mentioned information used to indicate the suspension of the S1 connection includes at least one of the following information: S1AP suspension indication, used to indicate whether to suspend the S1AP connection; S1-U suspension indication, used to indicate whether to suspend the SA-U connection; suspension reason, used to indicate the reason for suspension, such as feeder link switching or feeder link unavailability; suspension time, used to indicate the suspension time, which can be the start time and / or duration, etc.; suspended UE information list, used to indicate UE information that needs to suspend UE context; released UE information list, used to indicate UE information that needs to release UE context, including one or more UE IDs (for example, eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID).

[0458] Among them, optionally, the suspended UE information list may include information of one or more UEs, and each UE information includes at least one of the following information: UE ID, used to indicate a specific UE, such as eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID; E-RAB list, used to indicate one or more E-RAB IDs that need to be suspended.

[0459] In some embodiments, the suspension indication and suspension time can be determined based on the UE location and / or the current UE's ongoing business (for example, whether there is data transmission), that is, whether the connection corresponding to each UE is suspended and the corresponding suspension time are different, that is, the suspension indication and suspension time can be configured based on each UE.

[0460] The MME receives the above message and information, and performs connection suspension related operations (MME behavior description) according to the above information, including at least one of the following: suspending the logical connection with the above eNB, that is, retaining the eNB configuration information when the connection is unavailable; suspending the indicated UE context and corresponding bearer resources, that is, when the connection is unavailable, the bearer between the eNB and the GW can be released, but the MME retains the UE context; releasing the UE context that does not need to be suspended. The UE that does not need to be suspended refers to the UE that is not included in the suspended UE information list, or the UE included in the released UE information list.

[0461] Step 102: The MME sends a second message to the eNB, which includes confirmation and / or results of executing the suspension-related operation.

[0462] The eNB performs a suspend or release operation on the UE based on the confirmation result of the MME.

[0463] The above-mentioned suspension operation means that the eNB maintains the air interface connection with the UE, and if there is uplink data, the eNB saves the received uplink data.

[0464] In some embodiments, the second message is an S1 Setup Response, an eNB Configuration Update Confirm message, or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Suspend Response message.

[0465] Step 103: When the connection between the eNB and the terrestrial MME is available, the eNB sends a third message to the MME.

[0466] In some embodiments, the third message includes information indicating that the S1 connection is restored.

[0467] In some embodiments, the third message is an S1 Setup Request, an eNB Configuration Update message, or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Resume Request message.

[0468] Among them, the above-mentioned information used to indicate the recovery of the S1 connection includes at least one of the following information: S1AP recovery indication, used to indicate whether to restore the S1AP connection; S1-U recovery indication, used to indicate whether to restore the S1-U connection; recovery reason, used to indicate the reason for recovery, such as feeder link switching or feeder link availability; recovery UE information list, used to indicate UE information that requires UE context recovery; release UE information list, used to indicate UE information that has been released, including one or more UE IDs (for example, eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID); cached uplink data information, used to indicate information about cached uplink signaling and / or data, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling; available storage space size, used to indicate the size of the space that can be stored.

[0469] Among them, the restored UE information list may include information of one or more UEs, and each UE information includes at least one of the following information: UE ID, used to indicate a specific UE, such as eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID; E-RAB list, used to indicate one or more E-RAB IDs that need to be restored.

[0470] The MME receives the above message and information, and performs connection recovery or release operations based on the above information.

[0471] In some embodiments, the MME restores the UE connection and / or the corresponding bearer connection indicated in the restoration UE information list;

[0472] In some embodiments, the MME releases the UE connections and contexts indicated in the release UE information list.

[0473] In some embodiments, the MME determines to receive cached uplink data and / or signaling from the eNB and / or decides to send downlink data and / or signaling cached in the MME or SGW based on the cached uplink data information and / or available storage space size.

[0474] Step 104: The MME sends a fourth message to the base station, wherein the fourth message includes confirmation and / or feedback of the MME's execution of recovery and release. Optionally, the fourth message may also include cached downlink data information, such as the size of the cached downlink data.

[0475] In some embodiments, the fourth message may be an S1 setup response, an eNB configuration update confirm message, or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 resume response message.

[0476] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 6B , the following steps shown in FIG. 6B omits the prior art and the contents irrelevant to the present embodiment.

[0477] In this embodiment, “data” includes user plane data and / or control plane data.

[0478] In this embodiment, the following terms are interchangeable: "eNB" and "gNB", "base station", and "NG-RAN node" are interchangeable; "MME" is interchangeable with "CN", "AMF", and "SMF"; "SGW" is interchangeable with "UPF"; "bearer" is interchangeable with "PDU session", "E-RAB", "EPS bearer", and "QoS flow"; "NGAP" is interchangeable with "S1AP"; and "XnAP" is interchangeable with "X2AP".

[0479] Step 201: When the ground MME determines to suspend the S1 connection (for example, the feeder link is unavailable), the MME sends a fifth message to the eNB.

[0480] In some embodiments, the fifth message includes information for requesting suspension of the S1 connection.

[0481] In some embodiments, the first message is an MME Configuration Update message or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Suspend Request message.

[0482] Among them, the above-mentioned information for requesting S1 connection suspension includes at least one of the following information: suspension request, used to request to suspend the S1 connection; suspension request reason, used to indicate the reason for requesting suspension, such as feeder link switching or feeder link unavailable; suspension UE information list, used to indicate the UE information requested to suspend.

[0483] Among them, the suspended UE information list may include information of one or more UEs, and each UE information includes at least one of the following information: UE ID, used to indicate a specific UE, such as eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID; E-RAB list, used to indicate one or more E-RAB IDs requested to be suspended.

[0484] The eNB receives the above message and information, and performs operations related to connection suspension based on the above information, including at least one of the following: suspending the logical connection with the above MME, that is, retaining the MME configuration information when the connection is unavailable; suspending the requested UE context and corresponding bearer resources, that is, when the connection is unavailable, the bearer between the eNB and the GW can be released, but the eNB retains the UE context and the UE's air interface connection.

[0485] Step 202: The eNB sends a sixth message to the MME, which includes confirmation and / or results of executing the suspension-related operation. The sixth message may also include the suspension time.

[0486] The MME performs a suspend or release operation on the UE bearer or context based on the confirmation result of the eNB.

[0487] The suspend operation means that the MME keeps the UE context, but may release the connection between the eNB and the GW and the connection between the eNB and the MME.

[0488] In some embodiments, the sixth message is an MME Configuration Update Confirm message or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Suspend Response message.

[0489] Step 203: When the connection between the MME and the eNB is available, the MME sends a seventh message to the eNB.

[0490] In some embodiments, the seventh message includes information for requesting S1 connection restoration.

[0491] In some embodiments, the seventh message is an MME Configuration Update message or a new S1AP message, such as an S1 Resume Request message.

[0492] Among them, the above-mentioned information for requesting S1 connection recovery includes at least one of the following information: a recovery request, used to indicate a request to restore the S1AP connection; a recovery request reason, used to indicate the reason for requesting recovery, such as feeder link switching or feeder link availability; a recovery UE information list, used to indicate UE information for requesting UE context recovery; cached downlink data information, used to indicate information about cached downlink signaling and / or data, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling.

[0493] The restored UE information list may include information of one or more UEs, and each UE information includes at least one of the following information: UE ID, used to indicate a specific UE, such as eNB UE S1AP ID and / or MME UE S1AP ID; E-RAB list, used to indicate one or more E-RAB IDs requested for restoration.

[0494] The eNB receives the above message and information, and performs connection recovery or release operations according to the above information.

[0495] In step 204, the eNB sends an eighth message to the MME, wherein the eighth message includes confirmation and / or feedback of the eNB's execution of recovery and release. Optionally, the eighth message may also include at least one of the following information: a released UE information list, indicating information about released UEs, including one or more UE IDs (e.g., eNB UE S1AP IDs and / or MME UE S1AP IDs); cached uplink data information, indicating information about cached uplink signaling and / or data, such as the size and time of the cached data and / or signaling; and available storage space size, indicating the amount of available storage space.

[0496] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0497] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0498] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0499] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7A, network device 7100 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 7101, a processing module 7102, etc. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is used to determine whether to suspend and / or release a first connection and send a first message to a second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or release operation on the first connection; the transceiver module is also used to receive a second message sent by the second node, wherein the second message is used to instruct the second node to provide feedback on the execution of the suspend operation or release operation.

[0500] Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0501] Optionally, the processing module is used to execute at least one of the other steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0502] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of another network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG7B , the network device 7200 may include: at least one of a transceiver module 7201 and a processing module 7202. In some embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a first message sent by a first node, wherein the first message is sent by the first node to determine to suspend and / or release a first connection, and the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspend operation and / or release operation on the first connection; the transceiver module is further configured to send a second message to the first node, and the second message is used to instruct the second node to provide feedback on the execution of the suspend operation or release operation.

[0503] Optionally, the above-mentioned transceiver module is used to perform at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0504] Optionally, the processing module is used to execute at least one of the other steps performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0505] In some embodiments, the transceiver module may include a transmitting module and / or a receiving module, and the transmitting module and the receiving module may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the transceiver module may be interchangeable with the transceiver.

[0506] In some embodiments, the processing module can be a single module or can include multiple submodules. Optionally, the multiple submodules respectively execute all or part of the steps required to be executed by the processing module. Optionally, the processing module can be interchangeable with the processor.

[0507] Figure 8A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 8100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 8100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 8100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0508] As shown in Figure 8A, the communication device 8100 includes one or more processors 8101. The processor 8101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The communication device 8100 is used to perform any of the above methods.

[0509] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more memories 8102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 8102 may be located outside the communication device 8100.

[0510] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 further includes one or more transceivers 8103. When the communication device 8100 includes one or more transceivers 8103, the transceiver 8103 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method, and the processor 8101 performs at least one of the other steps.

[0511] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter. The receiver and transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0512] In some embodiments, the communication device 8100 may include one or more interface circuits 8104. Optionally, the interface circuit 8104 is connected to the memory 8102. The interface circuit 8104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 8102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 8102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8104 may read instructions stored in the memory 8102 and send the instructions to the processor 8101.

[0513] The communication device 8100 described in the above embodiment may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 8100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 8100 may not be limited by FIG. 8A. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0514] FIG8B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 8200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 8100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 8200 shown in FIG8B , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0515] The chip 8200 includes one or more processors 8201 , and the chip 8200 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0516] In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further includes one or more interface circuits 8202. Optionally, the interface circuit 8202 is connected to the memory 8203. The interface circuit 8202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 8203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 8203 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 8202 can read instructions stored in the memory 8203 and send the instructions to the processor 8201.

[0517] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 8202 executes at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step S2101, step S2102, step S2103, but not limited thereto), and the processor 8201 executes at least one of the other steps.

[0518] In some embodiments, terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver may be used interchangeably.

[0519] In some embodiments, the chip 8200 further includes one or more memories 8203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 8203 may be outside the chip 8200.

[0520] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on the communication device 8100, causes the communication device 8100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0521] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 8100, enables the communication device 8100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0522] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0523] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0524] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0525] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0526] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A non-terrestrial communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a first node, and the method includes: Determining to suspend and / or release a first connection between the first node and a second node, and sending a first message to the second node, where the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspension operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; Receiving a second message sent by the second node, where the second message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on performing the suspension operation or the release operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Determining to resume or release the first connection that has been suspended, and sending a third message to the second node, where the third message is used to instruct the second node to perform a resume and / or a release operation on the first connection; Receiving a fourth message sent by the second node, where the fourth message is used to indicate feedback from the second node on performing the resume and / or the release operation.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Determining a feeder link switch between the first node and the second node or the feeder link being unavailable, and determining to suspend and / or release the first connection.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determining that the feeder link between the first node and the second node is available, and determining to resume the first connection.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first connection includes at least one of the following: A signaling connection between the first node and the second node; A user plane connection between the first node and the second node.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein The first node is an access network device and the second node is a core network device; or The first node is a core network device and the second node is an access network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the second node is the core network device, the suspension operation on the first connection instructed by the first message by the second node includes at least one of the following: Retaining configuration information of the access network device; Retaining context information of a terminal; Releasing a bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first message is further used to instruct the second node to release context information of a terminal that does not need to be suspended.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the second node is the access network device, the suspension operation on the first connection instructed by the first message by the second node includes at least one of the following: Retaining configuration information of the core network device; Retaining context information of a terminal; Retaining a radio interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first message is further used to instruct the second node to release context information of a terminal that does not need to be suspended, and / or release a radio interface connection between the access network device and the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 - 10, characterized in that, The first message includes at least one of the following information: First indication information, which is used to indicate whether to suspend a signaling connection between the first node and the second node; Second indication information, which is used to indicate whether to suspend a user plane connection between the first node and the second node; Suspension time information, which is used to indicate time information for suspending the first connection; Suspension reason information, which is used to indicate the reason for suspending the first connection; Suspended terminal information, which is used to indicate information about at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; The released terminal information is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; The identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the second message, perform a suspension operation on the first connection.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first node is an access network device, and the suspension operation on the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: Retain the configuration information of the core network device; Retain the context information of the terminal; Retain the radio interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first node is a core network device, and the suspension operation on the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: Retain the configuration information of the access network device; Retain the context information of the terminal; Release the bearer corresponding to the terminal in the core network device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 2 - 15, characterized in that, The third message indicates that the recovery operation on the first connection performed by the second node includes at least one of the following: Restore the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; Restore the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; Restore the bearer corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection in the core network device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The third message includes at least one of the following information: The third indication information, which is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device and the core network device; The fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device and the core network device; The recovery reason information, which is used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection; The recovered terminal information, which is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that needs to be recovered; The released terminal information, which is used to indicate information of at least one terminal that has been released.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The recovered terminal information includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be recovered; The identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be recovered.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that The first node is an access network device, the second node is a core network device, and the method further includes: Receive the uplink information sent by the terminal; Cache the uplink information sent by the terminal during the time when the first connection is suspended; Wherein, the first node and the second node support a store-and-forward mechanism.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: Determine to restore the first connection, and send the cached uplink information to the second node.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The method further includes: Receive the downlink information cached by the second node sent by the second node, where the downlink information is stored by the second node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the downlink information is for the first node to send to the terminal.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The downlink information is included in the fourth message.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1-18, characterized in that, The first node is a core network device, the second node is an access network device, and the method further includes: Cache the downlink information during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the downlink information is for the second node to send to the terminal; Wherein, the first node and the second node support a store-and-forward mechanism.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further includes: Determine to resume the first connection, and send the cached downlink information to the second node.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The method further includes: Receive the uplink information cached by the second node sent by the second node, where the uplink information is stored by the second node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the uplink information is sent by the terminal.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The uplink information is included in the fourth message.

27. The method according to any one of claims 1-26, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine the suspension time corresponding to the first connection based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device; Wherein, the suspension time corresponds to the access network device, or the suspension time corresponds to the terminal.

28. A non-terrestrial communication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a second node, and the method includes: Receive a first message sent by a first node, where the first message is used by the first node to instruct the second node to perform a suspension operation and / or a release operation on a first connection between the second node and the first node; Send a second message to the first node, where the second message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on performing the suspension operation or the release operation.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The method further includes: Receive a third message sent by the first node, where the third message is sent by the first node to determine to resume or release the suspended first connection, and the third message is used to instruct the second node to perform a recovery and / or a release operation on the first connection; Send a fourth message to the first node, where the fourth message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on performing the recovery and / or the release operation operation.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, The first connection includes at least one of the following: A signaling connection between the first node and the second node; A user plane connection between the first node and the second node.

31. The method according to any one of claims 28-30, characterized in that The first node is an access network device, and the second node is a core network device; or, The first node is a core network device, and the second node is an access network device.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein When the second node is the core network device, the suspension operation on the first connection instructed by the first message for the second node includes at least one of the following: Retain the configuration information of the access network device; Retain the context information of the terminal; Release the bearer in the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein The first message is further used to instruct the second node to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

34. The method according to claim 31, wherein, When the second node is the access network device, the suspension operation on the first connection instructed by the first message for the second node includes at least one of the following: Retain the configuration information of the core network device; Retain the context information of the terminal; Retain the radio interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that, The first message is further used to instruct the second node to release the context information of the terminal that does not need to be suspended, and / or release the radio interface connection between the access network device and the terminal that does not need to be suspended.

36. The method according to any one of claims 31-35, characterized in that, The first message includes at least one of the following information: The first indication information, which is used to indicate whether to suspend the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; The second indication information, which is used to indicate whether to suspend the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; The suspension time information, which is used to indicate the time information for which the first connection is suspended; The suspension reason information, which is used to indicate the reason for which the first connection is suspended; The suspended terminal information, which is used to indicate the information of at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; The released terminal information, which is used to indicate the information of at least one terminal that does not need to be suspended and / or needs to be released; 37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The suspended terminal information includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be suspended; The identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be suspended.

38. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that, The second message is further used to instruct the first node to perform a suspension operation on the first connection.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The first node is an access network device, and the suspension operation on the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: Retaining the configuration information of the core network device; Retaining the context information of the terminal; Retaining the air interface connection between the access network device and the terminal.

40. The method according to claim 38, wherein, The first node is a core network device, and the suspension operation on the first connection performed by the first node includes at least one of the following: Retaining the configuration information of the access network device; Retaining the context information of the terminal; Releasing the bearer in the core network device corresponding to the terminal.

41. The method according to any one of claims 29 - 40, characterized in that, The third message instructs the second node to perform a recovery operation on the first connection, including at least one of the following: Restoring the signaling connection between the first node and the second node; Restoring the user plane connection between the first node and the second node; Restoring the bearer in the core network device corresponding to the terminal corresponding to the first connection.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein The third message includes at least one of the following information: The third indication information, which is used to indicate whether to restore the signaling connection between the access network device and the core network device; The fourth indication information, which is used to indicate whether to restore the user plane connection between the access network device and the core network device; The recovery reason information, which is used to indicate the reason for restoring the first connection; The recovered terminal information, which is used to indicate the information of at least one terminal that needs to be recovered; The released terminal information, which is used to indicate the information of at least one terminal that has been released.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein The recovered terminal information includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the at least one terminal that needs to be recovered; The identifier of at least one bearer that needs to be recovered.

44. The method according to any one of claims 28 - 33, characterized in that, The first node is an access network device and the second node is a core network device, and the method further includes: Receiving the uplink information sent by the first node, where the uplink information is the uplink information sent by the terminal cached by the first node during the time when the first connection is suspended, and the uplink information is sent by the first node after determining that the first connection is restored.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein The method further includes: Caching the downlink information during the time when the first connection is suspended, where the downlink information is for the first node to send to the terminal; Send the downlink information cached by the second node to the first node.

46. The method according to claim 45, characterized in that, The downlink information is included in the fourth message.

47. The method according to any one of claims 28-33, characterized in that, The first node is a core network device, and the second node is an access network device. The method further includes: Receive uplink information sent by a terminal; Cache the uplink information sent by the terminal during the suspension time of the first connection; Wherein, the first node and the second node support a store-and-forward mechanism.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein The method further includes: Send the cached uplink information to the first node, wherein the first connection has been restored.

49. The method according to claim 48, characterized in that, The uplink information is included in the fourth message.

50. The method according to any one of claims 28-49, characterized in that The suspension time corresponding to the first connection is determined based on the location information of the terminal and the satellite information of the access network device; Wherein, the suspension time corresponds to the access network device, or the suspension time corresponds to the terminal.

51. A non-terrestrial communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The first node determines to suspend and / or release the first connection between the first node and the second node, and sends a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspension operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; The second node sends a second message to the first node, and the second message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on performing the suspension operation or the release operation.

52. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes: A transceiver module, configured to determine to suspend and / or release the first connection between the first node and the second node, and send a first message to the second node, wherein the first message is used to instruct the second node to perform a suspension operation and / or a release operation on the first connection; The transceiver module is further configured to receive the second message sent by the second node, and the second message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on performing the suspension operation or the release operation.

53. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes: A transceiver module, configured to receive the first message sent by the first node, and the first message is used by the first node to instruct the second node to perform a suspension operation and / or a release operation on the first connection between the second node and the first node; The transceiver module is further configured to send a second message to the first node, and the second message is used to indicate the feedback of the second node on performing the suspension operation or the release operation.

54. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes: One or more processors; Wherein, the network device is configured to execute the non-terrestrial communication method according to any one of claims 1-27 or 28-50.

55. A storage medium, the storage medium stores instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 1-27 or 28-50.

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