Communication methods and apparatuses

Abstract

Provided in the present application are communication methods and apparatuses. A method comprises: a first network element receiving a control policy from a second network element, and sending a first message to a network device on the basis of the control policy, wherein the control policy is used for controlling the network device to transmit data of a terminal device, the control policy is determined on the basis of the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowable for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device, and the first message is used for requesting a reduction in the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. A network side determines the control policy on the basis of the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota, and requests, on the basis of the control policy, the network device to reduce the energy consumption for transmitting the data of the terminal device, so that the network side can perform policy control on the transmission of the data of the terminal device on the basis of the energy consumption.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on January 10, 2024, with application number 202410043000.3 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] In response to climate change and global energy shortages, many countries and regions have introduced policies and requirements to control carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. These policies and requirements have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for many telecom operators worldwide. For example, energy consumption significantly impacts the operating costs of mobile network operators (MNOs). Furthermore, energy consumption can also have a certain impact on the environment, as shown by the proportion of energy components used to power the network.

[0005] To address these issues, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has begun research on energy conservation. For example, 3GPP is conducting research on energy-related subscriptions and policy control for specific services (such as those without Quality of Service (QoS) standards). This approach aims to control energy usage and thus provide support for achieving energy conservation (ES). However, further research is needed to implement policy control over data transmission on terminal devices based on energy consumption.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for implementing energy consumption-based policy control of data transmission of a terminal device on the network side.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first network element or a module of the first network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first network element. Exemplarily, the following takes the execution of the communication method by the first network element as an example. The method may include the following steps: the first network element receives a control policy from the second network element, and then the first network element may send a first message to the network device according to the control policy, wherein the control policy is used to control the network device to transmit data of the terminal device, and the control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device, and the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0009] In this method, the network side determines a control strategy based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and requests the network device to reduce the energy consumption of transmitting data of the terminal device based on the control strategy. In this way, the network side can perform policy control on the data transmission of the terminal device based on energy consumption, which helps to reduce the energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network side to a certain extent.

[0010] Accordingly, in a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device or a module of a network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. Exemplarily, the following takes the execution of the communication method by a network device as an example. The method may include the following steps: the network device receives a first message from a first network element, and thereafter, the network device may transmit the data of the terminal device according to a strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device, wherein the first message is used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0011] The technical effects that can be achieved in the second aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0012] Accordingly, in a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a fourth network element or a module of the fourth network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fourth network element. Exemplarily, the following takes the fourth network element executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the fourth network element receives the seventh message from the first network element, and then the fourth network element may send an eighth message to the first network element, wherein the seventh message is used to request a first energy consumption quota, the first energy consumption quota indicates the maximum value of energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data for the first session, and the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data for other sessions of the terminal device.

[0013] The technical effects that can be achieved in the third aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0014] Accordingly, in a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device or a module of a terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the following takes the terminal device executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the terminal device receives a fifth message from the first network element, after which the terminal device may update the data transmission policy of the application based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, or may send a third message to the first network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, wherein the fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device.

[0015] In this method, based on the fifth message, direct and effective adjustments can be made to the data transmission policy of the terminal device, or the user can instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to his own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized. This helps to achieve direct control of the terminal device and can, to a certain extent, reduce the impact on the data transmission volume of the terminal device.

[0016] In a possible implementation provided by the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, the method also includes: the first network element sends a second message to the second network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, wherein the second message is used to request the control policy.

[0017] In the above implementation method, by sending the second message based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the sending of the second message can be made more accurate and reasonable, which helps to avoid blindly (or incorrectly) sending the second message to the second network element, thereby reducing the power consumption caused by blindly (or incorrectly) sending the second message to a certain extent.

[0018] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first network element sends a second message to the second network element, including: when the contract information of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element can send the second message to the second network element.

[0019] In the above implementation method, when the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element can send the second message more accurately and more in line with actual needs, thereby avoiding the situation where a control policy is blindly requested but policy control cannot be performed on the data transmission of the terminal device.

[0020] In a possible implementation provided by the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, before the first network element sends the second message to the second network element, the method also includes: the first network element receives a third message from the terminal device, wherein the third message is used to indicate an update control strategy.

[0021] In the above implementation method, on the basis of the third message, combined with the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the sending of the second message can be targeted, which helps to avoid blindly (or incorrectly) sending the second message to the second network element, thereby reducing the power consumption caused by blindly (or incorrectly) sending the second message to a certain extent.

[0022] In a possible implementation provided by the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, before the first network element receives the third message from the terminal device, the method also includes: the first network element receives a fourth message from the network device, and thereafter, the first network element may send a fifth message to the terminal device based on the fourth message, wherein the fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data, and the fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0023] In the above implementation method, the energy consumption quota usage is determined based on the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device reported by the network device (which can be understood as the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, such as the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is about to be used up). This can facilitate timely triggering of the terminal device to update the data transmission strategy or triggering the terminal device to request the first network element to execute a policy control process based on energy consumption for the data transmission of the terminal device.

[0024] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0025] In the above implementation, when the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is about to be used up, a corresponding control strategy is requested from the second network element so that the data of the terminal device can be transmitted according to the corresponding control strategy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0026] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element receives contract information of a terminal device from a third network element, wherein the contract information includes a first energy consumption quota.

[0027] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first network element receives a sixth message from the network device, wherein the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0028] In the above implementation, by calculating the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption based on the first energy consumption quota included in the contract information and the energy consumption determined by the sixth message, it is possible to accurately calculate whether the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0029] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, when the data of the terminal device is the data of the first session of the terminal device, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, wherein the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device.

[0030] In the above implementation method, when the remaining energy consumption is insufficient, a corresponding control strategy is requested from the second network element so that the network device can transmit the data of the terminal device according to the corresponding control strategy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0031] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the method also includes: the first network element can send a seventh message to the fourth network element, and then the first network element can receive an eighth message from the fourth network element, wherein the seventh message is used to request a first energy consumption quota, and the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0032] In the above implementation method, when the first network element applies for the first energy consumption quota from the fourth network element, if the fourth network element determines that the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is less than the first energy consumption quota, the fourth network element can notify the first network element of the insufficient remaining energy consumption quota, so that the first network element can take corresponding measures in time to trigger the network device to reduce the energy consumption of the network device in transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0033] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the method also includes: the first network element can receive the updated first energy consumption quota, and then the first network element can send a ninth message to the second network element based on the updated first energy consumption quota, wherein the ninth message is used to request an update of the control strategy.

[0034] In the above implementation method, when the first energy consumption quota is updated, the first network element can request the second network element to update the control strategy, so that the network device can adopt the new control strategy for subsequent transmission of terminal device data, thereby making data transmission more reasonable and helping to improve user experience.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the control strategy includes a strategy for reducing energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

[0036] In the above implementation method, the network device can subsequently transmit the data of the terminal device according to the strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. This can enable the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device in an energy-saving manner, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the network device in transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0037] In a possible implementation provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the strategy includes at least one of the following methods: reducing the transmission power of the network device used to transmit data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device used to transmit data of the terminal device, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device used to transmit data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device used to transmit data of the terminal device, or updating the data wireless bearer used by the network device to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0038] In the above implementation manners, by adopting one or more of the above manners, the network device can achieve energy-saving transmission of the terminal device's data, thereby effectively reducing the energy consumption of the network device in transmitting the terminal device's data.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the data of the terminal device is user plane data of the terminal device.

[0040] In a possible implementation method provided in the third aspect, the method also includes: the fourth network element sends a tenth message to the third network element, after which the fourth network element can receive the contract information of the terminal device from the third network element, wherein the tenth message is used to query the contract information of the terminal device, and the contract information may include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0041] In the above implementation method, by obtaining the total energy consumption quota from the third network element, the fourth network element can accurately allocate corresponding energy consumption quotas to different sessions of the terminal device based on the total energy consumption quota, and when the remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient, the first network element can promptly request the corresponding control strategy from the second network element so that the network device can transmit the data of the terminal device according to the corresponding control strategy, which helps to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device.

[0042] In a possible implementation method provided in the third aspect, the method also includes: the fourth network element receives the updated total energy consumption quota from the third network element, and then the fourth network element can update the first energy consumption quota based on the updated total energy consumption quota, and then the fourth network element can send the updated first energy consumption quota to the first network element.

[0043] In the above implementation, the updated first energy consumption quota can be accurately calculated based on the updated total energy consumption quota, which helps the first network element to accurately request the second network element for a control strategy that matches the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0044] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fourth aspect, the data transmission strategy includes at least one of the following methods: postponing the automatic update time of the application or postponing the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud.

[0045] In the above implementation methods, by adopting one or more of the above methods, energy-saving control for terminal devices can be achieved, and to a certain extent, the key services of terminal devices can be avoided from being affected by the automatic update of applications or the data synchronization between applications and the cloud occupying busy time resources.

[0046] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a fifth network element or a module of the fifth network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the fifth network element. Exemplarily, the following takes the fifth network element executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the fifth network element receives first information from the second network element, and then the fifth network element may update the data transmission strategy based on the first information, wherein the first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the data transmission strategy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit the data of the terminal device.

[0047] In this method, by updating the data transmission strategy corresponding to the terminal device based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, energy-saving control of the terminal device based on energy consumption can be achieved, and to a certain extent, the data transmission content and data transmission volume corresponding to the terminal device can be minimized as much as possible.

[0048] Accordingly, in a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a second network element or a module of the second network element (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). Optionally, the method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second network element. Exemplarily, the following takes the second network element executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the second network element receives third information from the first network element, and then the second network element can determine the session information associated with the terminal device based on the third information, and can determine the corresponding fifth network element based on the session information associated with the terminal device. Then, the second network element can send first information to the fifth network element, wherein the third information can be used to request a control policy corresponding to the terminal device, the third information can include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit the data of the terminal device.

[0049] The technical effects that can be achieved in the sixth aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the fifth aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0050] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the method further includes: the fifth network element sends second information to the terminal device, wherein the second information is used to indicate that the data transmission strategy is updated due to energy consumption reasons.

[0051] The above implementation method can facilitate the terminal device to promptly learn the reason why the data transmission strategy changes by sending the second information to the terminal device.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the data transmission strategy may include at least one of the following methods: updating the sending time of downlink data, adjusting the data synchronization time, or adjusting the clarity of the cloud service streaming, etc.

[0053] In the above implementation manners, by adopting one or more of the above methods, timely and effective energy-saving control of the terminal device can be achieved without reducing the data transmission volume of the terminal device as much as possible.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a communication device capable of implementing the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects. The communication device can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in executing the corresponding functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the above-described method. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface for supporting communication between the communication device and other devices.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0057] In one possible embodiment, the structure of the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method example. For details, please refer to the description of the method in any possible implementation of any aspect from the first aspect to the sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, wherein the processor implements the method of any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above through a logic circuit or by executing a computer program or instruction. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory configured to store the computer program or instruction.

[0059] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising multiple communication devices (e.g., multiple of a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element, a fifth network element, a network device, or a terminal device). The implementation of the relevant functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, or the network device or the terminal device can be referred to the relevant descriptions mentioned in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0060] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible implementation of any of the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects.

[0061] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible implementation of any of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the sixth aspects.

[0062] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), wherein the chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above. "Coupled" refers to the direct or indirect connection of two components to each other, such as electrical connection between two components.

[0063] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above. In one possible implementation, the chip system also includes a memory for storing programs and data necessary for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0064] Based on the implementation methods provided in the above aspects, this application can also be further combined to provide more implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] FIG1 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a possible communication system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG2 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG3 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG4 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG5 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG6 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG7 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG8 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] FIG9 exemplarily shows a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG10 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] Before introducing the technical solution provided by this application, some of the terms involved in this application are first explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0076] (1) Network data analytics function (NWDAF): This function is primarily used to analyze various types of network data. The sources of network data may include, but are not limited to, network operation data collected from the network function (NF), terminal device and network-related statistical data obtained from operation administration and maintenance (OAM), or application data obtained from third-party application function (AF) network elements. Accordingly, the analysis results generated by the NWDAF can also be output to the NF, OAM, or third-party AF. Furthermore, the NF, OAM, or AF can use the NWDAF analysis results to perform different optimization operations.

[0077] (2) OAM: A general term for a group of network management functions, including fault monitoring, fault reporting, fault location, and fault repair. Generally speaking, there is a corresponding OAM on the access network side, which can be called access network OAM, and there is a corresponding OAM on the core network side, which is called core network OAM. There may be transmission interfaces between different OAMs. OAM can be a network element management system (EMS), or it can also be a collection of any management units such as a network management system (NMS), manage authorization and execution (MAE), or operations support system (OSS) / business support system (BSS).

[0078] (3) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session: A logical connection between a terminal device and a data network (DN), which provides a user plane connection between the terminal device and the DN. PDU sessions include sessions between the terminal device and the access network device, between the access network device and the user plane function (UPF) network element, and between the UPF network element and the DN. A PDU session includes at least one Quality of Service (QoS) flow.

[0079] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, "sending a message (or information)" can be understood as one device sending a message (or information) to another device, or it can also be understood as a logic module within a device sending a message (or information) to another logic module. For example, "a first network element sending a message" can be understood as the first network element sending a message to another device (such as a second network element), or it can be understood as logic module 1 in the first network element sending a message to logic module 2 in the second network element.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, "receiving a message (or information)" can be understood as a device receiving a message (or information) from another device, or it can also be understood as a logic module within a device receiving a message (or information) from another logic module. For example, "a first network element receiving a message" can be understood as the first network element receiving a message from another device (such as a second network element), or it can be understood as logic module 1 in the first network element receiving a message from logic module 2 in the second network element.

[0081] In the embodiment of the present application, "sending a message (or information) to the second network element" can be understood as the destination end of the message (or information) is the second network element. It can include sending a message (or information) to the second network element directly or indirectly. "Receiving a message (or information) from the second network element" can be understood as the source end of the message (or information) is the second network element, which can include receiving a message (or information) from the second network element directly or indirectly. The message (or information) may be subjected to necessary processing between the source end and the destination end of the message (or information), such as format changes, etc., but the destination end can understand the valid message from the source end. Similar expressions in the embodiments of the present application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0082] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0083] The following describes the communication system architecture to which the communication method provided in this application is applicable. It should be noted that these descriptions are for the purpose of facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art and do not limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0084] Figure 1 exemplarily shows a possible communication system architecture diagram applicable to an embodiment of the present application. Among them, the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 is the fifth-generation (5th-generation, 5G) communication system architecture formulated by the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard, and the communication system architecture includes terminal equipment (for example, user equipment (UE)), access network (AN) (for example, radio access network (RAN)), core network (CN) and data network. Optionally, the terminal device can be connected to the access network device (such as (R)AN device) in a wireless manner, and the access network device can be connected to the core network in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device and the radio access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device can be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some radio access network devices can be integrated on one physical device. Terminal devices and terminal devices, and access network devices and access network devices can be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner. Exemplarily, the communication system architecture may also include other network devices (such as wireless relay devices or wireless backhaul devices, etc.).

[0085] The following is a brief introduction to the functions of some devices included in the communication system architecture.

[0086] Terminal devices are user-side entities capable of transmitting and receiving signals, providing services such as video, voice, and data connectivity. For example, terminal devices are the gateway for mobile users to interact with the network, providing basic computing and storage capabilities, displaying service windows, and receiving user input. Next-generation terminal devices (NextGen UEs) utilize new air interface technologies to establish signal and data connections with access network equipment, transmitting control signals and service data to the mobile network.

[0087] Optionally, the terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile device, UE terminal equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent or UE device, etc. In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be fixed or mobile, and the implementation of the present application does not limit this. For example, the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted, or may be deployed on water (such as a ship, etc.), or may be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon or a satellite, etc.).

[0088] Exemplarily, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a subscriber unit, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, factory machinery / equipment, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a ship, or a robot, etc. For example, vehicles may include, but are not limited to, smart cars (or intelligent cars), digital cars, unmanned cars (or driverless cars or pilotless cars or automobiles), self-driving cars (or autonomous cars), pure electric vehicles (or battery EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), range-extended EVs (REEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), or new energy vehicles, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0089] Access network equipment: This is the device that connects terminal devices to a wireless network. Access network equipment can also be referred to as access network devices, wireless access network equipment, (R)AN entities, network devices, access nodes, (R)AN nodes, or (R)AN devices. For example, access network equipment provides network access for authorized users in a specific area and can determine transmission tunnels of varying quality to transmit user data based on user levels and service requirements. Access network equipment manages its own resources, utilizing them effectively, providing access services to terminal devices on demand, and forwarding control signals and user data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0090] Exemplarily, the access network equipment may include, but is not limited to: a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) communication system, a base station in a future communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved Node B, or a home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc.

[0091] Optionally, in a network structure, the access network device may include a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). This structure can split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers being centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers being distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. For example, the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and above can be set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP (such as the RLC layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer, etc.) are set in the DU. It should be noted that this division of the protocol layers is only an example, and can also be divided in other protocol layers. The radio frequency device can be remote and not placed in the DU, or it can be integrated in the DU, or partly remote and partly integrated in the DU, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions. In addition, in some embodiments, the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) of the CU can be separated and implemented as different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (CU-CP entity) and the user plane CU entity (CU-UP entity).

[0092] For example, taking the access network device as a base station, the base station can communicate with the terminal device, or communicate with the terminal device through a relay station. The terminal device can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies.

[0093] In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the wireless access network device.

[0094] Data network: A data network that provides business services to users. Typically, the client is located on a terminal device, and the server is located on the data network. A data network can be a private network, such as a local area network (LAN), an external network not controlled by the operator, such as the Internet, or a proprietary network jointly deployed by operators, such as the network that provides IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) services.

[0095] Core network: responsible for maintaining mobile network subscription data, managing mobile network network elements, and providing terminal devices with session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication and other functions. When the terminal device is attached, it provides network access authentication for the terminal device; when the terminal device has a service request, it allocates network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device moves, it updates network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device is idle, it provides a fast recovery mechanism for the terminal device; when the terminal device detaches, it releases network resources for the terminal device; when the terminal device has service data, it provides data routing functions for the terminal device, such as forwarding uplink data to the data network; or receiving downlink data from the terminal device from the data network and forwarding it to the access network device, which is then sent to the terminal device by the access network device. Optionally, in terms of functional logic, the network elements of the core network can be divided into two parts: user plane network elements and control plane network elements. Among them, the user plane network elements are responsible for the transmission of service data. For example, user plane network elements can include but are not limited to UPF network elements. The control plane network element is responsible for the management of the mobile network. For example, the control plane may include but is not limited to the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, the session management function (SMF) network element, the unified data management (UDM) network element, the policy control function (PCF) network element, the AF network element, the authentication server function (AUSF) network element, and the network slice selection function (NSSF) network element. Of course, the core network may also include other network elements (such as the network exposure function (NEF) network element, the network storage function (NRF) network element, the unified data repository (UDR) network element, the network slice-specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) network element, etc.), which are not listed here one by one.

[0096] Optionally, the core network control plane adopts a service-based architecture, where interactions between control plane network elements use service invocations, replacing the traditional point-to-point communication. In a service-based architecture, control plane network elements expose services to other control plane network elements for invocation. In point-to-point communication, the communication interface between control plane network elements stores a set of specific messages that can only be used by the control plane network elements at both ends of the interface during communication.

[0097] The following is a brief introduction to the functions of some network elements included in the core network:

[0098] (1) SMF network element: mainly used for session management, IP address allocation and management of terminal devices, selection of endpoints for manageable user equipment plane functions, policy control, or charging function interfaces, and downlink data notification, etc. For example, it can complete processes such as establishment, release, and update of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions. In 5G communication systems, the session management network element can be an SMF network element. In future communications such as the sixth-generation (6G) communication system, the session management function network element can still be an SMF network element, or have other names, which is not limited in this application. Nsmf is a service-based interface provided by the SMF network element. The SMF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nsmf.

[0099] (2) AMF network element: Mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. For example, it can receive non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of terminal devices (including mobility management (MM) signaling and session management (SM) signaling) and related signaling of access network devices (such as N2 signaling at the base station granularity that interacts with the AMF network element), complete the user registration process and forwarding of SM signaling and mobility management. For example, it can be the mobility management entity (MME) in the fourth-generation (6G) communication system or the AMF network element in the 5G communication system. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the access management network element can still be the AMF network element, or have other names, which is not limited in this application. Namf is a service-based interface provided by the AMF network element. The AMF network element can communicate with other network functions through Namf.

[0100] (3) UDM network element: used to process user identification, contract signing, access authentication, registration, or mobility management. In 5G communication systems, the data management network element can be a UDM network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the data management network element can still be a UDM network element or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nudm is a service-based interface provided by the UDM network element. The UDM network element can communicate with other network functions through Nudm.

[0101] (4) PCF network element: a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information (such as mobility-related policies or PDU session-related policies (such as quality of service (QoS) policies, billing policies, etc.) or slice selection policies) for control plane functional network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.). In a 5G communication system, the policy control network element may be a PCF network element. In future communication systems such as a 6G communication system, the policy control network element may still be a PCF network element, or have other names, which is not limited in this application. Npcf is a service-based interface provided by the PCF network element, and the PCF network element can communicate with other network functions through Npcf.

[0102] (5) AF network element: used for data routing affected by applications, accessing network open functions, or interacting with the policy framework for policy control. In 5G communication systems, application network elements can be AF network elements. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, application network elements can still be AF network elements or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Naf is a service-based interface provided by AF. AF network elements can communicate with other network functions through Naf.

[0103] (6) UPF network element: used for packet routing and forwarding, or QoS processing of user plane data. In 5G communication systems, the user plane network element can be a UPF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the user plane network element can still be a UPF network element, or have other names. This application does not limit this.

[0104] (7) AUSF network element: Mainly used for user authentication, etc. In 5G communication systems, the authentication service network element can be an AUSF network element. In future communication systems such as 6G communication systems, the authentication service network element can still be an AUSF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nausf is a service-based interface provided by the AUSF network element. The AUSF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nausf.

[0105] (8) NSSF network element: used to select network slices for terminal devices. In the 5G communication system, the network slice selection function network element may be the NSSF network element. In future communication systems such as the 6G communication system, the network slice selection function network element may still be the NSSF network element, or may have other names. This application does not limit this.

[0106] (9) NEF network element: used to securely open up services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to the outside world. In 5G communication systems, the network open network element may be an NEF network element. In future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems, the network open function network element may still be an NEF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application. Nnef is a service-based interface provided by the NEF network element. The NEF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nnef.

[0107] (10) NRF network element: used to provide service registration, discovery and authorization, and maintain available network function (NF) instance information, which can realize on-demand configuration of network functions and services and interconnection between NFs. In the 5G communication system, the network storage network element can be an NRF network element. In future communication systems such as the 6G communication system, the network storage function network element can still be an NRF network element, or have other names, which is not limited in this application. Nnrf is a service-based interface provided by the NRF network element. The NRF network element can communicate with other network functions through Nnrf.

[0108] (11) NSSAAF network element: It is mainly responsible for the authentication and authorization of network slices and can interact with the authentication, authorization, and accounting server (AAA-S) through the authentication, authorization, and accounting proxy (AAA-P).

[0109] (12) UDR network element: used by UDM network elements to store subscription data or read subscription data and PCF network elements to store policy data or read policy data.

[0110] It is understood that the above-mentioned network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). Optionally, the above-mentioned network element or function can be implemented by a single device, or by multiple devices, or can be a functional module within a single device, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0111] As shown in Figure 1, the terminal device can access the 5G communication system through access network devices such as (R)AN devices. The terminal device can communicate with the AMF network element through the next generation network (NG) 1 interface (N1 for short), the access network device can communicate with the AMF network element through the N2 interface (N2 for short), the access network device can communicate with the UPF network element through the N3 interface (N3 for short), the SMF network element can communicate with the UPF network element through the N4 interface (N4 for short), and the UPF network element can access the data network through the N6 interface (N6 for short).

[0112] Optionally, the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 also includes OAM, energy consumption network elements and charging function (CHF) network elements (or charging enablement function, CEF) network elements). The energy consumption network element is used to determine energy consumption information and send the energy consumption information to other network elements, such as AF network elements. The energy consumption network element can be a newly introduced network element in the core network, or the energy consumption network element can be an existing network element in the core network, and the function of determining energy consumption information is implemented by using the existing network element. For example, the energy consumption network element can be an NWDAF network element, or a PCF network element, etc. In this way, the energy consumption network element may no longer be included in the core network. The energy consumption network element can be set separately, or can be set together with other core network network elements, for example, it can be set together with the SMF network element, etc. For example, the energy consumption information may include the energy consumption of the access network device for transmitting data of the terminal device or the energy efficiency (referred to as energy efficiency) of the access network device for transmitting data of the terminal device. The CHF network element is used to support scenarios such as online billing, offline billing, and converged billing. It assumes the charging gateway function and completes tasks such as the generation, merging, organization, and formatting of call records. It can also provide the quota required for online billing for the SMF network element.

[0113] It is understood that access network equipment, terminal equipment, network elements in the core network, and OAM can be referred to as communication devices. For example, access network equipment can be understood as a communication device with base station functions. Terminal equipment can be understood as a communication device with terminal functions. Network elements in the core network can be understood as devices with core network element functions. For example, AMF can be understood as a communication device with AMF functions, and OAM can be understood as a device with OAM functions.

[0114] It should be understood that the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 is intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0115] The specific implementation of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0116] It can be understood that Figures 2 to 8 below are illustrated by taking multiple communication devices (such as a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element, a fifth network element, a network device or a terminal device, etc.) as the execution subject of the interaction diagram, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction diagram. For example, the first network element may be an SMF network element (or an NWDAF network element), the second network element may be a PCF network element, the third network element may be a UDM network element (or a UDR network element), the fourth network element may be a CHF network element (or a CEF network element or other network element used for energy consumption quota allocation for sessions of terminal devices), the fifth network element may be an AF network element, the terminal device may be a UE, and the network device may be a RAN device.

[0117] It should be understood that the method performed by the first network element in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the first network element, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the first network element function. The method performed by the second network element in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the second network element, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the second network element function. The method performed by the third network element in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the third network element, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the third network element function. The method performed by the fourth network element in the present application may also be performed by a module (e.g., a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the fourth network element, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the fourth network element function. The method performed by the fifth network element in the present application may also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the fifth network element, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the fifth network element. The method performed by the network device in the present application may also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network device, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network device. The method performed by the terminal device in the present application may also be performed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the terminal device, and may also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0118] FIG2 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 . As shown in FIG2 , the method includes:

[0119] Step 201: The second network element sends a control policy to the first network element. Correspondingly, the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element.

[0120] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, if the first network element is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the received information comes from; if the second network element is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the sent information is sent to.

[0121] For example, a control policy may refer to a policy control and charging (PCC) rule. The control policy may be carried (or embedded) in a message. The message may include (or carry) a reason for updating and sending the control policy, such as an energy consumption reason indication, which indicates that the control policy was updated due to energy consumption reasons (e.g., insufficient energy consumption quota), or the message may be named "Updating Control Policy Due to Energy Consumption Reasons."

[0122] The control policy may be used to control the network device's transmission of terminal device data. The control policy may be determined by the second network element based on the relationship between the network device's energy consumption for transmitting the terminal device's data and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota represents the maximum energy consumption permitted for the network device to transmit the terminal device's data. For example, the terminal device data may refer to user plane data of the terminal device.

[0123] For example, the control strategy may include a strategy for reducing energy consumption of a network device for transmitting data of a terminal device. For example, the strategy may include, but is not limited to: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, updating the data radio bearer used by the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, combining / reducing the number of transmissions of carriers, or changing the transmission time of carriers, etc.

[0124] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the circumstances under which the second network element transmits the control policy. For example, in one example, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, the first network element may send a second message to the second network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The second message is used to request the control policy. Optionally, the second message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the terminal device's data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. In another example, before the first network element receives the control policy from the second network element, another first network element may send a message to the second network element requesting the control policy based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device and the third energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device (i.e., the maximum energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device). Optionally, the message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the other data of the terminal device and the third energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Subsequently, the second network element may send the control policy to multiple first network elements based on the message. The multiple first network elements include the first network element and other first network elements.

[0125] For example, before sending the control policy, the second network element may also determine whether it is necessary to perform policy control on the data transmission of the terminal device in combination with the local policy. When it is determined in combination with the local policy that policy control is required for the data transmission of the terminal device, the second network element may update (or modify) the existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy, and may send the updated control policy. For example, take the control policy as a Qos policy. When it is determined in combination with the local policy that it is necessary to perform policy control on the data transmission of the terminal device, the second network element may modify the existing Qos policy (i.e., modify the Qos parameters) to obtain an updated Qos policy, and may send the updated Qos policy.

[0126] Exemplarily, the relationship between the energy consumption of a network device for transmitting data of a terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is introduced below through the following possible examples.

[0127] Example 1: The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0128] For example, the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device included in the contract information may be the energy usage quota corresponding to the terminal device (daily / monthly / maximum / off-peak / busy-hour energy usage quota, etc., in joules (J)). The energy usage quota has the following characteristics:

[0129] (1) The unit may be joules, watt-hours (w·h), kilowatt-hours (kw·h), or other energy consumption units, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It should be understood that the units of energy consumption, the first energy consumption quota, the second energy consumption quota, the third energy consumption quota, the total energy consumption quota, or the remaining energy consumption quota may also adopt these units.

[0130] (2) The time period can be per minute, per hour, per day, per month, or per year, and the present embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. For example, taking the energy usage quota as 10 kw·h per hour as an example, the network device can only consume a maximum of 10 kw·h of energy per hour when transmitting data to the terminal device. It should be understood that the time period of energy consumption, the first energy consumption quota, the second energy consumption quota, the third energy consumption quota, the total energy consumption quota, or the remaining energy consumption quota can also adopt these time periods.

[0131] (3) Energy usage quotas can be divided into time periods, such as off-peak hours, busy hours, nighttime, daytime, peak hours, or valley hours. For example, taking the peak hours as an example, the energy consumption quota for network equipment to transmit data to terminal equipment during the peak hours of each month is 100 kw·h.

[0132] Optionally, the contract information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a session associated with the terminal device, whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, etc. For example, whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption may include: allowing the network device to adjust the QoS policy (such as adjusting the packet loss rate or maximum transmission rate of data transmission) at specific times (such as peak power consumption periods or busy power consumption periods or idle power consumption periods) for a certain type of service, or not allowing the network device to adjust the QoS policy. For example, a certain type of service may be a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) service or a non-GBR service.

[0133] For example, the energy consumption of a network device for transmitting data to a terminal device may include: the energy consumption of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device, the energy consumption of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device, or the sum of the energy consumption of the network device for sending downlink data to the terminal device and the energy consumption of the network device for receiving uplink data from the terminal device. It should be understood that the above energy consumption does not refer to the energy consumption of the terminal device itself, but rather the energy consumption generated by the network device for transmitting data to the terminal device (such as sending data and / or receiving data).

[0134] The energy consumption credit corresponding to the terminal device (such as the first energy consumption credit, the second energy consumption credit, or the third energy consumption credit) may include: the energy consumption credit for the network device to send downlink data to the terminal device, the energy consumption credit for the network device to receive uplink data from the terminal device, or the sum of the energy consumption credit for the network device to send downlink data to the terminal device and the energy consumption credit for the network device to receive uplink data from the terminal device. It should be understood that the energy consumption credit refers to the amount of energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network device. For example, the maximum amount of energy (such as electricity) that the network device can consume in order to transmit data to the terminal device.

[0135] In one possible implementation, the first network element may first receive the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element and receive a sixth message from a network device (e.g., a RAN device or an AMF network element). The subscription information of the terminal device includes a first energy consumption quota, and the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device. For example, the sixth message may be an NAS message. The first network element may then determine the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with a first threshold to determine whether a control policy needs to be requested from the second network element.

[0136] For example, the first threshold value may be 0, or the first threshold value may be 20% of the first energy consumption quota. For example, if the first energy consumption quota is a, the first threshold value is 0.2a. Optionally, the first energy consumption quota may refer to the maximum energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of a session of the terminal device.

[0137] In one example, take the first energy consumption quota as a, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device (such as the data of a certain PDU session) as b, and the first threshold as 0. The first network element can calculate the difference (ab) between the first energy consumption quota a and the energy consumption b. If the difference (ab) is less than or equal to 0 or the difference (ab) is greater than 0, the first network element can send a message to the second network element for requesting a control policy. Optionally, the message may include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 0, or the message may also include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device is greater than 0.

[0138] In another example, assuming that the first energy consumption quota is a, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is b, and the first threshold is 0.2a, the first network element may calculate the difference (ab) between the first energy consumption quota a and the energy consumption b. If the difference (ab) is less than or equal to 0.2a, the first network element may send a message to the second network element for requesting a control policy. Optionally, the message may include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 20% of the first energy consumption quota.

[0139] The following describes the implementation process of the first network element receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element through the following possible scenarios.

[0140] Scenario 1: After the terminal device establishes a session connection (such as a PDU session connection (such as a PDU session modification process)), or during the process of establishing a session connection on the terminal device, the first network element may send a contract information query request to the third network element. The contract information query request is used to query the contract information (or contract data) of the terminal device. For example, the contract information query request may include the identification (or index or name) of the terminal device or the identification of a certain session (such as the identification of a certain PDU session), etc. Afterwards, the third network element may determine the contract information of the terminal device based on the contract information query request. Then, the third network element may send the contract information of the terminal device to the first network element. It is understandable that the query of the contract information of the terminal device may be performed multiple times, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0141] Scenario 2: The first network element may have pre-subscribed to the terminal device's contract information. When the third network element has the terminal device's contract information, the third network element may send the terminal device's contract information to the first network element. Alternatively, the third network element may proactively push the terminal device's contract information to the first network element after determining that the terminal device's contract information exists locally.

[0142] The following describes the implementation process of the first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device through the following possible scenarios.

[0143] Scenario 1: The sixth message is triggered and reported by the network device by default.

[0144] Scenario 2: The sixth message is reported by the network device according to the message sent by the first network element for requesting the network device to periodically report the energy consumption of the terminal device (ie, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device).

[0145] For example, taking the terminal device as UE, the network device as RAN device, and the first network element as SMF network element as an example. In the default triggering mode of reporting the sixth message or in the mode of periodically reporting the UE's energy consumption based on the SMF network element's request, the RAN device can directly report the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element through the N interface (for example, 6w·h per hour) or report the energy consumption along with the user plane, or can also report the UE's energy consumption to the AMF network element through the N2 interface, and the AMF network element reports the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element.

[0146] It is understood that the RAN device may report the specific value of energy consumption to the SMF network element via the N2 interface, or may also report indication information corresponding to the energy consumption (such as an index) via the N2 interface. For example, taking the RAN device reporting indication information corresponding to energy consumption via the N2 interface as an example, the SMF network element may determine the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting UE data based on the indication information corresponding to the energy consumption reported by the RAN device.

[0147] For example, a correspondence between energy consumption values ​​and indexes can be pre-established, which is of course not limited to: establishing a correspondence between energy consumption value ranges and indexes. The RAN device can determine the index corresponding to the energy consumption based on the determined energy consumption value. Afterwards, the RAN device can report the index corresponding to the energy consumption to the SMF network element. For example, the pre-established correspondence between energy consumption values ​​and indexes may include: energy consumption of 0 joules, corresponding to index 1; energy consumption of 10 joules, corresponding to index 2; energy consumption of 20 joules, corresponding to index 3; energy consumption of 30 joules, corresponding to index 4, etc. Optionally, the index corresponding to the energy consumption reported by the RAN device is used to indicate the energy consumption level. For example, three energy consumption levels are pre-divided, such as high, medium, and low. The RAN device determines the energy consumption level used by the RAN device to transmit UE data and reports the energy consumption level to the SMF network element. The SMF network element can request the management network element (or NWDAF network element, etc.) to obtain the mapping relationship (or correspondence relationship) between the energy consumption level reported by the RAN device and the energy consumption. For example, taking the energy consumption level of the RAN device used to transmit UE data as "low" as an example, the SMF network element can determine that the energy consumption corresponding to the energy consumption level "low" is 10 joules based on the mapping relationship between energy consumption level and energy consumption.

[0148] In another possible implementation, another first network element receives the contract information of the terminal device from the third network element and receives the eleventh message from the network device. The contract information of the terminal device includes a third energy consumption quota, and the eleventh message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device. For example, the eleventh message may be a NAS message. Afterwards, the first network element may determine the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with the second threshold to determine whether it is necessary to request a control policy from the second network element. In this implementation, the second network element may send a control policy to multiple first network elements respectively, so that the control policy may be universal. Therefore, the network device may adopt the control policy to perform corresponding energy consumption control on the data of multiple sessions of the terminal device. The data of the multiple sessions are respectively managed by multiple first network elements.

[0149] For example, the second threshold value may be 0, or may be 20% of the third energy consumption quota. For example, if the third energy consumption quota is C, then the first threshold value is 0.2 C. Optionally, the third energy consumption quota may refer to the maximum energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of another session of the terminal device.

[0150] In one example, the third energy consumption quota is c, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device (such as data of another PDU session) is d, and the second threshold is 0. The first network element can calculate the difference (cd) between the first energy consumption quota a and the energy consumption b. If the difference (cd) is less than or equal to 0, the first network element can send a message to the second network element for requesting a control policy. Optionally, the message may include that the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 0.

[0151] In another example, taking the third energy consumption quota as c, the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device as d, and the second threshold as 0.2c as an example, the first network element may calculate the difference (cd) between the first energy consumption quota c and the energy consumption d. If the difference (cd) is less than or equal to 0.2c, the first network element may send a message to the second network element requesting a control policy. Optionally, the message may include that the difference between the third energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting other data of the terminal device is less than or equal to 20% of the third energy consumption quota.

[0152] It should be understood that the implementation process of another first network element receiving the signing information of the terminal device from the third network element can refer to the implementation process of the above-mentioned first network element receiving the signing information of the terminal device from the third network element, and the implementation process of another first network element receiving the eleventh message from the network device can refer to the implementation process of the above-mentioned first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device, which will not be repeated here.

[0153] Example 2: When the data of the terminal device is the data of the first session of the terminal device, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0154] The remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device.

[0155] In an embodiment of the present application, the first network element may first send a seventh message to the fourth network element. The seventh message may be used to request a first energy consumption quota. For example, the seventh message may include an identifier (or index or name) of the first session. Afterwards, the fourth network element may send an eighth message to the first network element. The eighth message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. It should be understood that before the first network element sends the seventh message to the fourth network element, the terminal device has established a session connection (e.g., a PDU session connection).

[0156] It is understandable that before the fourth network element sends the eighth message to the first network element, the fourth network element may send a tenth message (e.g., a contract information query request) to the third network element. The tenth message is used to query the contract information of the terminal device. For example, the tenth message may include an identifier of the terminal device. Subsequently, the third network element may determine the contract information of the terminal device based on the tenth message and may send the contract information of the terminal device to the fourth network element. The contract information of the terminal device may include a total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the contract information of the terminal device may also include whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption. Then, after receiving the seventh message from the first network element, the fourth network element may calculate (or count) the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data for other sessions of the terminal device, and determine the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device based on the total energy consumption quota included in the contract information of the terminal device and the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data for other sessions of the terminal device. When the first energy consumption quota requested by the first network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, the fourth network element sends the eighth message to the first network element.

[0157] For example, take the first session as a PDU session, the identifier of the PDU session as 1, the first network element as an SMF network element, the fourth network element as a CHF network element, the seventh message as a credit application request, and the eighth message as a credit indication. The SMF network element can send a credit application request to the CHF network element. The credit application request is used to request the allocation of an energy consumption credit for the PDU session of the terminal device. The credit application request may include the identifier 1 of the PDU session. Optionally, the credit application request may also include the specific value of the energy consumption credit applied for by the SMF network element.

[0158] In one example, if the credit request includes a specific value for the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element, the CHF network element may calculate the energy consumption credit used by the network device to transmit data from other PDU sessions of the terminal device and determine the current remaining energy consumption credit corresponding to the terminal device based on the total energy consumption credit corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption credit used by the network device to transmit data from other PDU sessions of the terminal device. The CHF network element may then determine whether the current remaining energy consumption credit exceeds the specific value for the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element. If the specific value for the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element is less than or equal to the current remaining energy consumption credit, the CHF network element may send the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element to the SMF network element. If the specific value for the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element is greater than the current remaining energy consumption credit, the CHF network element may send a credit indication to the SMF. The credit indication may indicate that the current remaining energy consumption credit is less than the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element. For example, the credit indication may indicate an energy consumption value. For example, the energy consumption value is the current remaining energy consumption quota (such as 100 joules), and the SMF network element can learn from the current remaining energy consumption quota that the current remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient (that is, the current remaining energy consumption quota is less than the energy consumption quota applied for by the SMF network element). Optionally, the quota indication can also be directly used to indicate that the current remaining energy consumption quota is insufficient, or the name of the quota indication is insufficient current remaining energy consumption quota.

[0159] In another example, when the credit application request does not include the specific value of the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element, the CHF network element may determine the specific value of the energy consumption credit required for each SMF network element to request each time based on preset credit configuration information. The CHF network element may then calculate the energy consumption credit used by the network device to transmit data from other PDU sessions of the terminal device and determine the current remaining energy consumption credit corresponding to the terminal device based on the total energy consumption credit corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption credit used by the network device to transmit data from other PDU sessions of the terminal device. The CHF network element may then determine whether the current remaining energy consumption credit exceeds the specific value of the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element. If the specific value of the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element is less than or equal to the current remaining energy consumption credit, the CHF network element may send the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element to the SMF network element. If the specific value of the energy consumption credit requested by the SMF network element is greater than the current remaining energy consumption credit, the CHF network element may send a credit indication to the SMF. For example, the preset quota configuration information may include the pre-configured energy consumption quota applied for each SMF network element each time, or the preset quota configuration information may also include the proportion of the pre-configured energy consumption quota applied for each SMF network element each time to the total energy consumption quota.

[0160] The following describes the implementation process of the first network element sending the second message to the second network element through the following possible implementation methods.

[0161] Method 1: The first network element may determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data from the terminal device and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Subsequently, if the contract information of the terminal device requested by the first network element includes that the terminal device supports energy consumption-based policy control, the first network element may send a second message to the second network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0162] Method 2: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. And the first network element can receive a third message from the terminal device. The third message is used to indicate the update of the control policy. For example, the third message may include indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the update of the control policy (or can be understood as being used to allow the network side to determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device). Afterwards, when the contract information of the terminal device requested to be queried by the first network element includes that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, the first network element can send a second message to the second network element based on the third message and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the third message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0163] Method 3: The first network element may determine a relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first network element may then directly send a second message to the second network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0164] Method 4: The first network element can determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. And the first network element can receive a third message from the terminal device. The third message is used to indicate the update of the control policy. For example, the third message may include indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the update of the control policy (or can be understood as being used to allow the network side to determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device). Afterwards, the first network element can directly send a second message to the second network element based on the third message and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the third message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0165] Optionally, before the first network element receives the third message from the terminal device, the first network element may also receive a fourth message from the network device. The fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device. Subsequently, the first network element may determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device based on the fourth message, and may determine the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device based on the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device. The first network element may then send a fifth message to the terminal device. For example, the fifth message may include energy consumption quota usage (which can be understood as the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, such as whether the first energy consumption quota has been used up or is almost used up), or the fifth message may include indication information indicating the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the fifth message may also include a busy / idle time calendar. For example, the fifth message may be an N1 message, such as an NAS message. It should be noted that the implementation process of the first network element receiving the fourth message from the network device can refer to the implementation process of the first network element receiving the sixth message from the network device below, which will not be repeated here.

[0166] The following describes the corresponding operations performed by the terminal device after receiving the fifth message through the following possible implementation methods.

[0167] Implementation method 1: The terminal device updates the data transmission strategy of the application of the terminal device according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, which is included in the fifth message.

[0168] For example, after the terminal device learns the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the terminal device's data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, it can also update the data transmission policy of the terminal device's application program in combination with the local preconfigured policy.

[0169] For example, the applications of the terminal device may include an operating system (OS), a system interface (such as an OS interface), or a third-party application. For example, the data transmission policy may include at least one of the following: postponing the automatic update time of the application or postponing the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud.

[0170] In one example, when the fifth message includes a busy / idle time calendar, the terminal device can determine the specific time to postpone the automatic update time of the application or the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud based on the busy / idle time calendar and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. In another example, when the fifth message does not include a busy / idle time calendar, the terminal device can also determine the busy / idle time according to the pre-configuration method of the terminal device. Thereafter, the terminal device can determine the specific time to postpone the automatic update time of the application or the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud based on the busy / idle time calendar and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, such as postponing the automatic update time of the application to be executed at night, or postponing the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud to be executed during off-peak hours.

[0171] Implementation method two: the terminal device sends a third message to the first network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device included in the fifth message and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0172] For example, the terminal device may send a notification message to an application (e.g., an application program interface) based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data on the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, as included in the fifth message. The notification message may be used to prompt (or remind) the user that "current energy consumption has increased, which may increase network charges." Subsequently, the terminal device may also send a user control policy adjustment instruction to the application. The user control policy adjustment instruction may be an instruction to wait for user confirmation of whether to adjust the control policy. In response to a first action triggered by the user (e.g., a click to confirm), the application may send a user confirmation message to the terminal device. After receiving the user confirmation message, the terminal device may send a third message to the first network element. For example, the third message may be a non-access stratum (NAS) message. For example, the NAS message may include indication information (e.g., a user energy consumption feedback indication), which is used to allow the network to determine the energy consumption control logic for the terminal device (or may be understood as instructing the network to update the control policy). The first network element may enable energy consumption control for the terminal device based on the user energy consumption feedback indication. In this way, the method allows users to instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to their own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized.

[0173] Optionally, when the network status changes (for example, the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device changes or the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device changes), the network side can update (or adjust) the control policy corresponding to the terminal device. The following describes the control policy update process through the following possible implementation methods.

[0174] Method 1: When the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device is updated, the third network element can determine the corresponding first network element according to the preconfigured policy, and can send a first update message to the first network element. The first update message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The first update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota. Afterwards, the first network element may send a ninth message to the second network element according to the first update message. The ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy. Optionally, the ninth message may include that the difference between the updated first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device is greater than a first threshold. After receiving the ninth message, the second network element may send an updated control policy to the first network element. It should be understood that the updated control policy corresponds to the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0175] For example, the preconfigured policy may be: the first network element subscribes to the contract information of the terminal device, and when the contract information of the terminal device is updated, the third network element sends the updated contract information to the first network element. The updated contract information may include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0176] Method 2: When the total energy consumption quota corresponding to a terminal device is updated, the third network element may determine the corresponding fourth network element based on a preconfigured policy and may send a second update message to the fourth network element. The second update message may indicate that the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The second update message may include the updated total energy consumption quota. Subsequently, the fourth network element may update the first energy consumption quota based on the updated total energy consumption quota and may send a third update message to the first network element. The third update message may indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device has been updated. The third update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota. Then, based on the third update message, the first network element may send a ninth message to the second network element. The ninth message requests an update to the control policy. After receiving the ninth message, the second network element may send the updated control policy to the first network element. In this way, if the terminal device's control policy is associated with the billing process, the first network element can dynamically request the control policy based on the fourth network element's instructions.

[0177] For example, the preconfigured policy may be: the fourth network element subscribes to the contract information of the terminal device, and when the contract information of the terminal device is updated, the third network element sends the updated contract information to the fourth network element. The updated contract information may include the updated total energy consumption quota.

[0178] Optionally, the fourth network element may determine the updated first energy consumption quota based on the updated total energy consumption quota and in combination with the energy consumption quota configuration information used by the network device to transmit data of the first session. For example, the energy consumption quota configuration information may include a ratio of the pre-configured energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data of the first session to the total energy consumption quota.

[0179] For example, an update to the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in the first method or an update to the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in the second method may be obtained through indication information from the AF network element. The indication information may indicate that a new energy consumption quota has been added. For example, when the energy quota is exhausted and the terminal device performs a recharge operation, the AF network element may send an indication information to the third network element.

[0180] It can be understood that the execution of the above-mentioned method 1 or the above-mentioned method 2 can make the network side's policy control over the data transmission of the terminal device more refined, so that when the network status changes, the network side can adjust the control policy of the terminal device in a timely and effective manner.

[0181] Step 202: The first network element sends a first message to the network device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first message.

[0182] The first message may be used to request a reduction in energy consumption used by a network device to transmit data from a terminal device, or the first message may be used to improve the energy efficiency of the network device used to transmit data from the terminal device. For example, the first message may include an indication of an energy consumption cause and / or a control policy. Optionally, the first message may also include an identifier of a PDU session and / or an identifier of the terminal device. For example, the first message may be a PDU session modification request.

[0183] For example, the energy efficiency of a network device for transmitting data of a terminal device may include: the energy efficiency of the network device for sending downlink data, the energy efficiency of the network device for receiving uplink data, or other energy efficiencies determined based on the energy efficiency of downlink data and the energy efficiency of uplink data.

[0184] It should be understood that improving the energy efficiency of a network device used to transmit data to a terminal device can be understood as reducing the energy consumption of the network device per unit of data used to transmit data to the terminal device. Each unit of data can refer to each bit of data. For example, reducing the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit data to the terminal device per unit of data means reducing the energy consumption of the network device per bit of data transmitted. For example, the unit of energy efficiency can be joules per bit (J / bit) or watts per hour per bit (W / h / bit).

[0185] In an embodiment of the present application, after receiving a control policy (e.g., an updated control policy) from a second network element, the first network element may send a first message to the network device. For example, when the message carrying the control policy also includes an energy consumption cause indication, the first network element may also determine whether it is necessary to adjust the control policy of the terminal device based on the energy consumption cause indication and in combination with the local policy. When the first network element needs to adjust the control policy of the terminal device, the first network element may send the first message to the network device.

[0186] After receiving the first message, the network device can transmit (such as receive or send) the data of the terminal device according to the strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. For example, when the first message includes an indication of the reason for energy consumption, the network device can also determine whether it is necessary to execute an energy-saving strategy (which can be understood as a strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device) based on the indication of the reason for energy consumption and in combination with the local strategy. When the network device needs to execute the energy-saving strategy, the network device can transmit the data of the terminal device based on the energy-saving strategy, thereby directly reducing the energy consumption of the network device in transmitting the data of the terminal device. In this way, after receiving the first message, the network device can decide whether to execute the energy-saving strategy to provide services to the terminal device based on its own actual situation. It should be understood that the execution of the energy-saving strategy by the network device on the terminal device does not mean that the network device itself saves energy, but that the network device transmits the data of one or more terminal devices in an energy-saving manner, and does not change the transmission method of other terminal devices other than the one or more terminal devices.

[0187] It can be seen from the above steps 201 to 202 that by allowing the network side to determine (or update or adjust) the control strategy based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and requesting the network device to reduce the energy consumption of transmitting the data of the terminal device based on the control strategy, the network side can perform policy control on the data transmission of the terminal device based on energy consumption, which helps to reduce the energy consumption caused by the terminal device to the network side to a certain extent.

[0188] Based on the technical solution of the communication method illustrated in FIG2 , the communication method illustrated in FIG2 is described in detail below through the specific examples shown in FIG3 to FIG5 . In the specific examples shown in FIG3 to FIG5 , the terminal device is a UE, the network device is a RAN device, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is a PCF network element, the third network element is a UDM network element, the fourth network element is a CHF network element, and the first session is a PDU session.

[0189] FIG3 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0190] Step 301: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0191] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 301 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be repeated here.

[0192] Step 302: The SMF network element sends a contract information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the contract information query request from the SMF network element.

[0193] The contract information query request may be used to query the contract information of the UE. For example, the contract information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0194] It is understandable that the UDM network element can send the queried UE's subscription information to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's subscription information from the UDM network element.

[0195] The subscription information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may also include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0196] Step 303: The RAN device sends the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's energy consumption from the RAN device.

[0197] It should be understood that there is no particular order in which steps 302 and 303 may be performed. For example, step 302 may be performed before step 303, or after step 303, or in parallel with step 303.

[0198] For example, the RAN device can send the UE's energy consumption directly to the SMF network element, or can send the UE's energy consumption directly to the SMF network element periodically, or can send the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element through the AMF network element, or can send the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element periodically through the AMF network element.

[0199] It can be understood that the RAN device in the above step 303 can be replaced by a UPF network element or an NWDAF network element or an OAM or an energy consumption network element, etc., mainly depending on to whom the SMF network element subscribes to the UE's energy consumption.

[0200] Optionally, the implementation of step 303 may refer to the relevant description of the sixth message in the above step 201, which will not be repeated here.

[0201] Step 304: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0202] The second message is used to request a control policy. Optionally, the second message may include that a difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device at a certain time is less than or equal to a first threshold.

[0203] For example, for each time the UE energy consumption is reported by the RAN device, when the UE's subscription information includes that the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, when the difference between the first energy consumption amount included in the subscription information and the energy consumption of the UE reported this time is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element can send a second message to the PCF network element.

[0204] Step 305: The PCF network element sends the control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0205] Optionally, the PCF network element may also send an energy consumption reason indication to the SMF network element, and the energy consumption reason indication may be used to indicate that the control strategy should be updated due to insufficient energy consumption quota.

[0206] Optionally, the description of the control strategy in step 305 may refer to the description of the control strategy in step 201 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0207] Step 306: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0208] The first message may be used to request that the RAN device reduce energy consumption used to transmit UE data, or the first message may be used to improve energy efficiency used by the RAN device to transmit UE data. The first message may include an indication of an energy consumption cause and / or a control policy. Optionally, the first message may also include an identifier of a PDU session and / or an identifier of the UE.

[0209] In one example, after receiving the energy consumption reason indication, the SMF network element may determine whether it is necessary to perform UE control policy adjustment based on the energy consumption reason indication and in combination with the local policy. When it is necessary to perform UE control policy adjustment, the SMF network element may send a first message to the RAN device.

[0210] In another example, after receiving the energy consumption reason indication, the SMF network element can determine whether it is necessary to perform policy control based on energy consumption based on the energy consumption reason indication and the terminal device support included in the contract information, and combine the local policy to determine whether it is necessary to perform UE control policy adjustment. When it is necessary to perform UE control policy adjustment, the SMF network element can send a first message to the RAN device. It should be understood that the terminal device support for energy consumption-based policy control included in the contract information can be queried in the above step 302, or it can be queried by other contract information query requests sent by the SMF network element to the UDM network element at other times. This embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0211] Step 307: The RAN device transmits the UE data according to a policy for reducing energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE data.

[0212] For example, when the first message includes an energy consumption cause indication, the RAN device may determine whether to implement an energy conservation policy (which may be understood as a policy for reducing energy consumption used by the RAN device to transmit UE data) based on the energy consumption cause indication and in combination with a local policy. When the RAN device needs to implement the energy conservation policy, the RAN device may transmit the UE data based on the energy conservation policy, thereby directly reducing energy consumption of the RAN device in transmitting the UE data.

[0213] Step 308: When the RAN device needs to transmit the UE's data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit the UE's data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a notification message to the SMF network element. Accordingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or notification message from the RAN device.

[0214] The above step 308 is an optional step.

[0215] The response message is used to instruct the RAN device to transmit the UE's data using a transmission method (or transmission mode) that reduces energy consumption (i.e., reduces energy consumption used to transmit the UE's data). This means that the RAN device has implemented a policy (which can be understood as an energy-saving policy) for reducing energy consumption used by the RAN device to transmit the UE's data. The notification message is used to indicate that the transmission method used to transmit the UE's data has not been adjusted. Optionally, the notification message may include a cause value indicating the reason why the transmission method used to transmit the UE's data has not been adjusted.

[0216] For example, when the RAN device determines that the energy-saving strategy needs to be implemented, the above response message may be sent to the SMF network element. When the RAN device determines that the energy-saving strategy does not need to be implemented, the above notification message may be sent to the SMF network element.

[0217] It can be seen from the above steps 301 to 308 that by allowing the network side to adjust the policy used by the RAN device to transmit UE data according to the energy consumption of the RAN device transmitting the UE data, the network side can implement policy control of the UE data transmission based on energy consumption, and can reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device in transmitting the UE data to a certain extent.

[0218] FIG4 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0219] Step 401: The CHF network element sends the tenth message to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the tenth message from the CHF network element.

[0220] The tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the UE. For example, the tenth message may include the identifier of the UE.

[0221] It is understandable that the UDM network element may send the queried UE subscription information to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the UE subscription information from the UDM network element.

[0222] The subscription information of the UE may include the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may also include whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0223] Step 402: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0224] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing the PDU session connection in step 402 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be repeated here.

[0225] Step 403: The SMF network element sends the seventh message to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the seventh message from the SMF network element.

[0226] The seventh message may be used to request the RAN device to use a first energy consumption quota for transmitting data of a first session of the UE. For example, the seventh message may include an identifier of the first session.

[0227] Step 404: The CHF network element determines the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE according to the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE and the second energy consumption quota of data of other sessions of the UE.

[0228] In the embodiment of the present application, the CHF network element calculates the difference between the total energy consumption quota and the second energy consumption quota of data of other sessions of the UE, and determines the difference as the remaining energy consumption quota.

[0229] Step 405: The CHF network element sends the eighth message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the eighth message from the CHF network element.

[0230] The eighth message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0231] Optionally, when the first energy consumption quota is less than or equal to the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, the CHF network element may send the first energy consumption quota to the SMF network element.

[0232] Step 406: The SMF network element sends a contract information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the contract information query request from the SMF network element.

[0233] The above step 406 is an optional step.

[0234] The contract information query request may be used to query the contract information of the UE. For example, the contract information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0235] It is understandable that the UDM network element can send the queried UE's subscription information to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's subscription information from the UDM network element.

[0236] The subscription information of the UE may include whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption. Optionally, the subscription information of the UE may also include a total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0237] It should be understood that the above step 406 is performed to determine whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0238] Step 407: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0239] The second message is used to request a control policy. Optionally, the second message may include that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0240] Optionally, if step 406 is performed, the SMF network element may determine whether to send a second message to the PCF network element based on whether the UE supports energy consumption-based policy control and the local policy. For example, if the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, and if the UE's subscription information includes that the UE supports energy consumption-based policy control, the SMF network element may send the second message to the PCF network element in combination with the local policy. If step 406 is not performed, the SMF network element may trigger the sending of the second message based on the pre-configuration of the SMF network element.

[0241] Step 408: The PCF network element sends the control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0242] Optionally, the PCF network element may also send an energy consumption reason indication to the SMF network element, and the energy consumption reason indication may be used to indicate that the control strategy should be updated due to insufficient energy consumption quota.

[0243] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the PCF network element may also query the UDM network element whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption. If the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption, the PCF network element may send the corresponding control policy to the SMF network element, or send the type (or identifier or index) of the control policy to the SMF network element. If the UE does not support policy control based on energy consumption or the pre-configuration indicates that the session-related control policy cannot be adjusted, the PCF network element may send a failure message to the SMF network element. The failure message is used to indicate that the control policy cannot be adjusted.

[0244] Optionally, the description of the control strategy in step 408 may refer to the description of the control strategy in step 201 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0245] Step 409: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0246] Optionally, the implementation of step 409 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 306 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0247] Step 410: The RAN device transmits the UE data according to a policy for reducing energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE data.

[0248] Optionally, the implementation of step 410 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 307 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0249] Step 411: When the RAN device needs to transmit UE data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit UE data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a notification message to the SMF network element. Accordingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or notification message from the RAN device.

[0250] The above step 411 is an optional step.

[0251] Optionally, the implementation of step 411 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 308 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0252] It can be seen from the above steps 401 to 411 that by allowing the network side to adjust the policy used by the RAN device to transmit UE data when the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is less than the first energy consumption quota, the network side can implement policy control of UE data transmission based on energy consumption, and can reduce the energy consumption of the RAN device in transmitting UE data to a certain extent.

[0253] FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0254] Step 501: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0255] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 501 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be repeated here.

[0256] Step 502: The SMF network element sends a contract information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the contract information query request from the SMF network element.

[0257] The contract information query request may be used to query the contract information of the UE. For example, the contract information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0258] It is understandable that the UDM network element can send the queried UE's subscription information to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's subscription information from the UDM network element.

[0259] The subscription information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may also include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0260] Step 503: The RAN device sends the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's energy consumption from the RAN device.

[0261] It should be understood that there is no particular order in which step 502 and step 503 may be performed. For example, step 502 may be performed before step 503, or after step 503, or in parallel with step 503.

[0262] Optionally, the implementation of step 503 may refer to the implementation of step 303 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0263] Step 504: The SMF network element sends a fifth message to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the fifth message from the SMF network element.

[0264] Optionally, the description of the fifth message in step 504 may refer to the description of the fifth message in step 201 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0265] In an embodiment of the present application, for each energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device, the SMF network element may calculate the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported this time. When the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element may send a fifth message to the UE.

[0266] Optionally, before the SMF network element sends the fifth message to the UE, the SMF network element may also send a message to the PCF network element for requesting a control policy when the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold. For example, the message may include that the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the UE reported by the RAN device at a certain time is less than or equal to the first threshold. Afterwards, the PCF network element may determine whether it is necessary to perform policy control on the UE's data transmission in combination with the local policy. When it is determined that it is necessary to perform policy control on the UE's data transmission in combination with the local policy, the PCF network element may update the existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy, and may send the updated control policy to the SMF network element. Then, the SMF network element may trigger policy control on the UE's data transmission based on the updated control policy and / or local policy, and may send the fifth message to the UE.

[0267] It can be understood that the "implementation process of step 501 to step 503" can be replaced by the "implementation process of step 401 to step 406". Optionally, before the SMF network element sends the fifth message to the UE, the SMF network element may also send a message to the PCF network element for requesting a control policy when the first energy consumption quota applied by the SMF network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. For example, the message may include that the first energy consumption quota applied by the SMF network element is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Afterwards, the PCF network element may determine whether it is necessary to perform policy control on the data transmission of the UE in combination with the local policy. When it is determined that it is necessary to perform policy control on the data transmission of the UE in combination with the local policy, the PCF network element may update the existing control policy to obtain the updated control policy, and may send the updated control policy to the SMF network element. Then, the SMF network element may trigger policy control on the data transmission of the UE based on the updated control policy and / or the local policy, and may send the fifth message to the UE.

[0268] Optionally, after executing step 504, the UE may execute step 505 or execute steps 506 to 512. By executing step 505 or executing steps 506 to 512, direct control of the UE based on the fifth message (such as the energy consumption quota usage corresponding to the UE included in the fifth message) can be achieved, so as to adjust the UE data transmission policy. This helps to reduce the impact of policy control on the data transmission volume of the UE to a certain extent, and allows users to instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to their own wishes, so as to make policy control more personalized.

[0269] Step 505: The UE updates the data transmission policy of the application according to the fifth message.

[0270] Optionally, the implementation of step 505 may refer to the relevant implementation of updating the data transmission strategy of the application in the above step 201, which will not be repeated here.

[0271] Step 506: The UE sends a third message to the SMF network element according to the fifth message. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the third message from the UE.

[0272] Optionally, the implementation method of step 506 may refer to the relevant implementation method of the terminal device sending the third message to the first network element according to the fifth message in the above step 201, which will not be repeated here.

[0273] Step 507: The SMF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element according to the third message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message from the SMF network element.

[0274] Optionally, the implementation method of step 507 may refer to the relevant implementation method of the first network element sending the second message to the second network element according to the third message in the above step 201, which will not be repeated here.

[0275] Step 508: The PCF network element sends the control policy to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the control policy from the PCF network element.

[0276] Optionally, the implementation of step 508 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 305 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0277] Step 509: The SMF network element sends a first message to the RAN device according to the control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the first message from the SMF network element.

[0278] Optionally, the implementation of step 509 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 306 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0279] Step 510: The RAN device transmits the UE data according to a policy for reducing energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE data.

[0280] Optionally, the implementation of step 510 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 307 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0281] Step 511: When the RAN device needs to transmit the UE's data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a response message to the SMF network element, or when the RAN device does not need to transmit the UE's data in a transmission mode that reduces energy consumption, the RAN device sends a notification message to the SMF network element. Accordingly, the SMF network element receives the response message or notification message from the RAN device.

[0282] The above step 511 is an optional step.

[0283] Optionally, the implementation of step 511 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 308 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0284] It can be seen from the above steps 501 to 511 that, based on the fifth message, direct and effective adjustment of the UE data transmission policy can be achieved, or the user can instruct the network side to perform precise policy control according to his own wishes, so as to make the policy control more personalized, which helps to achieve direct control of the UE and can, to a certain extent, reduce the impact on the UE's data transmission volume.

[0285] Based on the technical solutions of the communication methods illustrated in Figures 3 to 5 above, if the UE's subscription information (such as the first energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota) stored in the UDM network element changes, this may also trigger an update to the UE's corresponding control policy. The following describes the implementation process of updating the UE's corresponding control policy in conjunction with Figure 6.

[0286] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0287] Step 601: When the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is updated, the UDM network element sends a first update message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the first update message from the UDM network element.

[0288] The first update message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The first update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0289] Step 602: The SMF network element sends a ninth message to the PCF network element according to the first update message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the ninth message from the SMF network element.

[0290] The ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy. Optionally, the ninth message may include an energy consumption reason indication, where the energy consumption reason indication is used to indicate that the control policy is updated because the energy consumption quota is sufficient (i.e., the difference between the updated first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE is greater than a first threshold).

[0291] Step 603: When the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE is updated, the UDM network element sends a second update message to the CHF network element. Correspondingly, the CHF network element receives the second update message from the UDM network element.

[0292] The second update message may be used to indicate that the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The second update message may include the updated total energy consumption quota.

[0293] Step 604: The CHF network element sends a third update message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the third update message from the CHF network element.

[0294] The third update message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE has been updated. The third update message may include the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0295] In the embodiment of the present application, the CHF network element may update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota to obtain an updated first energy consumption quota.

[0296] For example, the CHF network element may determine the updated first energy consumption quota based on, and in combination with, the energy consumption configuration information for transmitting data of the first session on the network side. For example, the energy consumption quota configuration information may refer to a pre-configured ratio of the energy consumption quota for transmitting data of the first session on the network side to the total energy consumption quota.

[0297] Step 605: The SMF network element sends a ninth message to the PCF network element according to the third update message. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the ninth message from the SMF network element.

[0298] Optionally, the implementation of step 605 may refer to the relevant implementation of step 602 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0299] It should be understood that when steps 601 to 602 are executed or steps 603 to 605 are executed, the execution of subsequent steps 606 to 610 can be triggered.

[0300] Step 606: The PCF network element sends the updated control policy to the SMF network element according to the ninth message. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the updated control policy from the PCF network element.

[0301] It can be understood that the updated control strategy corresponds to the updated first energy consumption quota.

[0302] Step 607: The SMF network element sends the twelfth message to the RAN device according to the updated control policy. Correspondingly, the RAN device receives the twelfth message from the SMF network element.

[0303] The twelfth message may be used to request adjustment of a transmission method (or transmission mode or transmission policy) used by the RAN device to transmit data to the UE. Optionally, the twelfth message may include an energy consumption reason indication, which is used to indicate that the control policy is updated due to sufficient energy consumption quota.

[0304] Step 608: The RAN device updates the transmission mode used to reduce energy consumption of transmitting UE data to a normal transmission mode according to the twelfth message.

[0305] For example, taking the case where the transmission mode used to reduce energy consumption in transmitting UE data is an energy-saving transmission mode (or energy-saving transmission mode or energy-saving transmission policy), the RAN device may update the transmission mode used to transmit UE data from the energy-saving transmission mode to a normal transmission mode (or normal transmission mode or normal transmission policy or normal transmission mode or normal transmission policy).

[0306] Step 609: The RAN device transmits the UE data according to a common transmission method.

[0307] Step 610: When the RAN device transmits the UE data in a normal transmission mode, it sends a response message to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the response message from the RAN device.

[0308] The above step 610 is an optional step.

[0309] The response message is used to instruct the RAN device to transmit the UE data in a normal transmission manner, that is, the RAN device adjusts the transmission manner used for transmitting the UE data.

[0310] It can be seen from the above steps 601 to 610 that when the UE's contract information (such as the first energy consumption quota or the total energy consumption quota) changes, the message of the change in energy consumption quota is notified to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element can promptly request the PCF network element to update the control policy. In this way, the network side can achieve more refined policy control over the UE's data transmission, so as to timely and effectively adjust the corresponding control policy of the UE.

[0311] It is understandable that the communication schemes shown in Figures 3 to 6 above can be implemented separately or in combination, without specific limitation. For example, the communication schemes shown in Figures 3 to 5 can be implemented in combination with the communication scheme shown in Figure 6. In one possible implementation, the communication scheme shown in Figure 6 may be executed after all the steps of the communication scheme shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, or Figure 5, or after some of the steps of the communication scheme shown in Figure 3, Figure 4, or Figure 5. Similarly, some of the steps of the communication scheme shown in Figure 3 may also be implemented in combination with some of the steps of the communication scheme shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5, without specific limitation. In addition, the step numbers of the various flowcharts described in Figures 3 to 6 above are only examples of the execution process and do not constitute a restriction on the order of execution of the steps. There are no time-dependent steps in the various implementations of this application, and there is no strict execution order between them. In addition, not all the steps shown in the various flowcharts are steps that must be executed, and some steps can be added or deleted based on actual needs on the basis of each flowchart.

[0312] FIG7 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 . As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0313] Step 701: The second network element sends first information to the fifth network element. Correspondingly, the fifth network element receives the first information from the second network element.

[0314] The first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Optionally, the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in step 701 can refer to the relevant description of the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device in step 201 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0315] For example, the first information may be carried (or included) in a message. Optionally, the message may also include at least one of the following: a busy / off-peak calendar, a control policy corresponding to the terminal device, or an energy consumption reason indication. The energy consumption reason indication is used to indicate that the control policy was updated due to energy consumption reasons (e.g., insufficient energy consumption quota).

[0316] In an embodiment of the present application, before sending the first information to the fifth network element, the second network element may receive third information from the first network element. The third information is used to request a control policy corresponding to the terminal device. The third information may include a relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The second network element may determine the session information associated with the terminal device based on the third information. Thereafter, the second network element may determine the corresponding fifth network element based on the session information associated with the terminal device. The second network element may then send the first information to the fifth network element.

[0317] In one possible implementation, before sending the third message, the first network element may receive a sixth message from the network device and the contract information of the terminal device from the third network element. The contract information of the terminal device includes a first energy consumption quota, and the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device. Optionally, the contract information of the terminal device may further include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a session associated with the terminal device, or whether the terminal device supports energy consumption-based policy control.

[0318] The first network element may then determine a difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption, and compare the difference with a first threshold to determine whether to request a control strategy from the second network element. When the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first network element may send third information to the second network element.

[0319] In another possible implementation, before sending the third information, the first network element may first send a seventh message to the fourth network element. The seventh message may be used to request the first energy consumption quota. For example, the seventh message may include an identifier of the first session. Subsequently, the fourth network element may send an eighth message to the first network element. The eighth message may be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. Then, based on the eighth message, the first network element may send the third information to the second network element.

[0320] Step 702: The fifth network element updates the data transmission strategy according to the first information.

[0321] The data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit data of the terminal device. For example, the data of the terminal device may be non-real-time downlink data (such as background data transfer (BDT) data).

[0322] For example, the data transmission policy may include at least one of the following: updating the downlink data sending time, adjusting the data synchronization time, or adjusting the cloud service streaming clarity, etc. Optionally, when the message carrying the first information further includes a busy / off-peak calendar, the fifth network element may determine the specific time to postpone the downlink data sending time or the data synchronization time based on the busy / off-peak calendar and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0323] Optionally, after updating the data transmission policy, the fifth network element may also send a second message to the terminal device. The second message is used to indicate that the data transmission policy is updated due to energy consumption reasons (such as insufficient energy consumption quota). Accordingly, after receiving the second message, the terminal device can be informed of the reason for the network-side service change operation.

[0324] As can be seen from steps 701 to 702 above, by updating the data transmission policy corresponding to the terminal device based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device used to transmit the terminal device's data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, energy-saving control of the terminal device based on energy consumption can be achieved, and the impact on the data transmission content and data transmission volume corresponding to the terminal device can be minimized to a certain extent. It should be understood that energy-saving control of the terminal device does not mean that the terminal device itself saves energy, but rather that the network transmits the terminal device's data in an energy-saving manner.

[0325] Based on the technical solution of the communication method illustrated in FIG7 , the communication method illustrated in FIG7 is described in detail below through the specific example shown in FIG8 . In the specific example shown in FIG8 , the terminal device is a UE, the network device is a RAN device, the first network element is an SMF network element, the second network element is a PCF network element, the third network element is a UDM network element, the fourth network element is a CHF network element, and the fifth network element is an AF network element.

[0326] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0327] Step 801: The UE establishes a PDU session connection.

[0328] Optionally, the process of the UE establishing a PDU session connection in step 801 may refer to the existing PDU session connection establishment process, which will not be repeated here.

[0329] Step 802: The SMF network element sends a contract information query request to the UDM network element. Correspondingly, the UDM network element receives the contract information query request from the SMF network element.

[0330] The contract information query request may be used to query the contract information of the UE. For example, the contract information query request may include the identifier of the UE.

[0331] It is understandable that the UDM network element can send the queried UE's subscription information to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's subscription information from the UDM network element.

[0332] The subscription information of the UE may include the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the subscription information of the terminal device may also include at least one of the following: the energy consumption quota of a session associated with the UE or whether the UE supports policy control based on energy consumption.

[0333] Step 803: The RAN device sends the UE's energy consumption to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the UE's energy consumption from the RAN device.

[0334] It should be understood that there is no particular order in which steps 802 and 803 may be performed. For example, step 802 may be performed before step 803, or after step 803, or in parallel with step 803.

[0335] Optionally, the implementation of step 803 may refer to the implementation of step 303 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0336] Step 804: The SMF network element sends the third information to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the third information from the SMF network element.

[0337] The third information is used to request a control policy corresponding to the UE. Optionally, the third information may include a relationship between energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting data of the UE and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE.

[0338] For example, taking the relationship between energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting UE data and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE as including a difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption being less than or equal to a first threshold, for each UE energy consumption reported by the RAN device, when the difference between the first energy consumption quota included in the contract information and the energy consumption of the UE reported this time is less than or equal to the first threshold, the SMF network element may send third information to the PCF network element.

[0339] Step 805: The PCF network element determines the AF network element associated with the terminal device based on the third information.

[0340] In the embodiment of the present application, the PCF network element may determine the session information associated with the UE based on the third information. Thereafter, the PCF network element may determine the corresponding AF network element based on the session information associated with the UE.

[0341] Step 806: The PCF network element sends the first information to the AF network element. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the first information from the PCF network element.

[0342] Optionally, the description of the first information in step 806 may refer to the description of the first information in step 701 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0343] Step 807: The AF network element updates the data transmission strategy according to the first information.

[0344] Optionally, the implementation of step 807 may refer to the relevant implementation of updating the data transmission strategy in the above step 702, which will not be repeated here.

[0345] Step 808: The AF network element sends the second information to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the second information from the AF network element.

[0346] The above step 808 is an optional step.

[0347] Optionally, the implementation method of step 808 may refer to the relevant implementation method of sending the second information in the above step 702, which will not be repeated here.

[0348] It can be seen from the above steps 801 to 808 that by updating the data transmission policy corresponding to the UE based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the RAN device for transmitting the UE's data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the UE, timely and effective energy-saving control of the UE can be achieved without reducing the UE's data transmission volume as much as possible.

[0349] It should be noted that in the description of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first", "second", and "third" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects. In addition, the terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations appearing in this application all mean "including but not limited to" unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0350] In addition, it should be noted that each step involved in the above embodiments can be performed by a corresponding device, or by a component such as a chip, processor, or chip system within the device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The above embodiments are described only as examples of execution by corresponding devices.

[0351] It should be noted that in each of the above embodiments, some steps may be selected for implementation, and the order of the steps in the diagrams may be adjusted for implementation, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that executing some of the steps in the diagrams, adjusting the order of the steps, or combining them for specific implementation all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0352] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the various devices involved in the above embodiments include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0353] It should be understood that the "steps" in the embodiments of this application are merely illustrative, a method of expression used to better understand the embodiments, and do not constitute a substantive limitation on the implementation of the solutions of this application. For example, the "steps" can also be understood as "features." Furthermore, the steps do not constitute any limitation on the execution order of the solutions of this application. Any changes in the order of steps, or any operations such as step merging or step splitting that do not affect the implementation of the overall solution, resulting in new technical solutions, are also within the scope of this application.

[0354] The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0355] As shown in FIG9 , a communication device 900 includes a transceiver module 901 (or a communication module, a transceiver unit, or a communication unit, for sending and receiving data) and a processing module 902 (or a processing unit). The communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG2 to FIG8 .

[0356] Optionally, the transceiver module 901 may include a receiving module and / or a transmitting module. The receiving module may be used by the communication device 900 to receive signals (information or data, etc.); the transmitting module may be used by the communication device 900 to transmit signals (information or data, etc.). The transmitting module may transmit signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902, and the receiving module may receive signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 902.

[0357] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the function of the first network element in the method embodiment shown in Figures 2 to 8 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to receive the control policy from the second network element. The control policy can be used to control the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device. The control policy is determined based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to indicate the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device. The transceiver module 901 is also used to send a first message to the network device according to the control policy. The first message can be used to request to reduce the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding processing operations, such as calculating the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device reported by the network device at a certain time.

[0358] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the function of the second network element in the method embodiment shown in Figures 2 to 8 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to send a control policy to the first network element. The control policy can be used to control the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device. The control policy is determined based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to indicate the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding processing operations, such as updating the existing control policy to obtain an updated control policy.

[0359] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the third network element in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 8 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to send the contract information of the terminal device to the first network element or the fourth network element. The contract information may include a first energy consumption quota or a total energy consumption quota. For example, the contract information of the terminal device may also include whether the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding processing operations, such as for storing user data (such as contract information or authentication / authorization information, etc.).

[0360] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the fourth network element in the method embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 4 to 8 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to receive the seventh message from the first network element. The seventh message can be used to request the network device to use a first energy consumption quota for transmitting data of the first session of the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to indicate the maximum energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit data of the first session. The transceiver module 901 is also used to send an eighth message to the first network element. The eighth message can be used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota used by the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to perform corresponding processing operations, such as for calculating the remaining energy consumption quota, or for determining whether the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

[0361] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the fifth network element in the method embodiments shown in Figures 7 and 8 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to receive first information from the second network element. The first information is used to indicate the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to update the data transmission policy corresponding to the terminal device based on the first information. The data transmission policy is used to control the fifth network element to transmit data of the terminal device.

[0362] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the network device functions in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6 above: the transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a first message from a first network element. The first message may be a request to reduce energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from a terminal device. The processing module 902 is configured to transmit the data from the terminal device according to a policy for reducing energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data from the terminal device.

[0363] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 to 6 above: the transceiver module 901 is used to receive the fifth message from the first network element. The fifth message may include the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The first energy consumption quota is used to indicate the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device. The processing module 902 is used to update the data transmission policy of the application based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, or to send a third message to the first network element based on the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device. The third message can be used to indicate the update of the control policy. The control policy can be used to control the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device.

[0364] For a more detailed description of the transceiver module 901 and the processing module 902 , please refer to the relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 8 , which will not be repeated here.

[0365] It should be understood that the transceiver module 901 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a communication interface or a communication interface-related circuit component, and the processing module 902 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component.

[0366] It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0367] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, or a server, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0368] As another possible product form, as shown in FIG10 , a communication device 1000 includes: a communication interface 1001 and a processor 1002. Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a memory 1003. The communication interface 1001, the processor 1002, and the memory 1003 are interconnected. When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element, or the third network element, or the fourth network element, or the fifth network element, or the network device, or the terminal device) in the above embodiments, the communication interface 1001 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver module 901 when executing the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element, or the third network element, or the fourth network element, or the fifth network element, or the network device, or the terminal device), and the processor 1002 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing module 902 when executing the technical solutions involved in the first network element (or the second network element, or the third network element, or the fourth network element, or the fifth network element, or the network device, or the terminal device).

[0369] Optionally, communication interface 1001, processor 1002, and memory 1003 are interconnected via bus 1004. Bus 1004 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. Buses can be categorized as address buses, data buses, control buses, and the like. For ease of illustration, FIG10 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0370] The communication interface 1001 is used to receive and send data. For example, when the communication device 1000 is a UE as shown in FIG1 , the communication interface 1001 can communicate with the RAN device as shown in FIG1 , or can also communicate with the AMF network element as shown in FIG1 , or can also communicate with other devices (such as other terminal devices or servers) outside the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 . In one example, the communication interface can be a transceiver device with integrated data transceiver functions. In another example, the communication interface can also be composed of a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the transmitter is used to send data and the receiver is used to receive data.

[0371] Optionally, the communication interface 1001 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transmitter is used to transmit signals, messages, information, or data. The receiver is used to receive signals, messages, information, or data. For example, the transmitter transmits signals, messages, information, or data under the control of the processor 1002. The receiver receives signals, messages, information, or data under the control of the processor 1002.

[0372] The functions of processor 1002 can refer to the descriptions of the corresponding functions involved in the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here. Processor 1002 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP, etc. Processor 1002 can further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When implementing the above functions, processor 1002 can be implemented through hardware, or alternatively, hardware can execute corresponding software implementations.

[0373] Memory 1003 is used to store program instructions, etc. Specifically, program instructions may include program code, which includes computer operating instructions. Memory 1003 may include random access memory (RAM) and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk storage. Processor 1002 executes the program instructions stored in memory 1003 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the method steps required to be executed by the first network element, the second network element, the third network element, the fourth network element, the fifth network element, the network device, or the terminal device in the above embodiments.

[0374] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes multiple communication devices (such as a first network element, a second network element, a third network element, a fourth network element, a fifth network element, or multiple network devices or terminal devices). Among them, the first network element can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the first network element in the above embodiment. The second network element can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the second network element in the above embodiment. The third network element can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the third network element in the above embodiment. The fourth network element can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the fourth network element in the above embodiment. The fifth network element can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the fifth network element in the above embodiment. The network device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the network device in the above embodiment. The terminal device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the terminal device in the above embodiment.

[0375] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0376] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0377] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0378] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), and the chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the method provided in the above embodiment. Wherein, "coupling" refers to the direct or indirect connection between two components, such as coupling can refer to the electrical connection between two components.

[0379] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in the communication device (such as the first network element or the second network element or the third network element or the fourth network element or the fifth network element or the network device or the terminal device, etc.) in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0380] The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiments of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0381] The steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software units can be stored in RAM, ROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or other storage media in any form known in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC.

[0382] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0383] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0384] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first network element, the method includes: Receiving a control policy from a second network element, where the control policy is used to control a network device to transmit data of a terminal device, and the control policy is determined according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and a first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data; According to the control policy, sending a first message to the network device, where the first message is used to request reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before receiving the control policy from the second network element, the method further includes: According to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, sending a second message to the second network element, where the second message is used to request the control policy.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The sending the second message to the second network element includes: When the subscription information of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports policy control based on energy consumption, sending the second message to the second network element.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Before sending the second message to the second network element, the method further includes: Receiving a third message from the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate updating the control policy.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Before receiving the third message from the terminal device, the method further includes: Receiving a fourth message from the network device, where the fourth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data; According to the fourth message, sending a fifth message to the terminal device, where the fifth message includes the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: The difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to a first threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The method further includes: Receiving the subscription information of the terminal device from a third network element, where the subscription information includes the first energy consumption quota.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving a sixth message from the network device, where the sixth message is used to determine the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The data is the data of a first session of the terminal device, and the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: The first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus a second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other sessions of the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The method further includes: Sending a seventh message to a fourth network element, where the seventh message is used to request the first energy consumption quota; Receiving an eighth message from the fourth network element, where the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving the updated first energy consumption quota; Send a ninth message to the second network element according to the updated first energy consumption quota, where the ninth message is used to request an update of the control policy.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The control policy includes a policy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The policy includes at least one of the following methods: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting the data, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting the data, or updating the data radio bearer used by the network device for transmitting the data.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The data is the user plane data of the terminal device.

15. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a fourth network element, the method includes: Receive a seventh message from a first network element, where the seventh message is used to request a first energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of a first session of a terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data of the first session; Send an eighth message to the first network element, where the eighth message is used to indicate that the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus a second energy consumption quota of the network device for transmitting data of other sessions of the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The method further includes: Send a tenth message to a third network element, where the tenth message is used to query the subscription information of the terminal device; Receive the subscription information of the terminal device from the third network element, where the subscription information includes the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The method further includes: Receive the updated total energy consumption quota from the third network element; Update the first energy consumption quota according to the updated total energy consumption quota; Send the updated first energy consumption quota to the first network element.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Receive a fifth message from a first network element, where the fifth message includes the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the first energy consumption quota represents the maximum value of the energy consumption allowed for the network device to transmit the data; Update the data transmission policy of the application program according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device; or, Send a third message to the first network element according to the relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, where the third message is used to indicate an update of the control policy, and the control policy is used to control the network device to transmit the data of the terminal device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The relationship between the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting the data of the terminal device and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the difference between the first energy consumption quota and the energy consumption is less than or equal to a first threshold; or, The data is the data of a first session of the terminal device. The relationship between the energy consumption for the network device to transmit the data and the first energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device includes: the first energy consumption quota is greater than the remaining energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device, and the remaining energy consumption quota is the total energy consumption quota corresponding to the terminal device minus the second energy consumption quota for the network device to transmit data of other sessions of the terminal device.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The data transmission strategy includes at least one of the following methods: delaying the automatic update time of the application or delaying the data synchronization time between the application and the cloud.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18-20, characterized in that, The control strategy includes a strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The strategy includes at least one of the following methods: reducing the transmission power of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the modulation complexity of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the number of retransmissions of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, reducing the transmission speed of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device, or updating the data radio bearer of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 18-22, characterized in that, The data is the user plane data of the terminal device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-14, or includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 15-17, or includes a module or unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 18-23.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: A communication interface for receiving and sending data; A memory for storing computer program instructions and data; A processor for executing and calling the computer program instructions and data in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or the method according to any one of claims 15-17 or the method according to any one of claims 18-23.

26. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first network element and a second network element; The first network element is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-14; The second network element is used to send a control strategy.

27. The communication system according to claim 26, wherein The communication system further includes a network device; The network device is used to receive a first message from the first network element, and the first message is used to request reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device; The network device is further used to transmit the data of the terminal device according to the strategy for reducing the energy consumption of the network device for transmitting data of the terminal device.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored in the computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or the method according to any one of claims 15-17 or the method according to any one of claims 18-23.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14 or the method according to any one of claims 15-17 or the method according to any one of claims 18-23.

Images