Communication method and apparatus for NTN, terminal, and network-side device

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications, and discloses a communication method and apparatus for an NTN, a terminal, and a network-side device. The communication method for an NTN in embodiments of the present application comprises: a terminal acquires first information, the first information comprising at least one of the following: a network supports a satellite communication-based store-and-forward communication mode, and the network executes a satellite communication-based store-and-forward communication mode; and on the basis of the first information, the terminal executes a first operation of the satellite communication-based store-and-forward communication mode, the first operation comprising an attach operation or a registration operation.

Description

NTN communication method, device terminal and network side equipment

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application number 202410049608.7 filed in China on January 12, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a communication method, a device terminal, and a network-side device for a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Background Art

[0004] In some related technologies, the terminal attachment and registration process is often performed on the terrestrial network. This process presupposes that the link between the terminal and the network is always available. This results in the terminal attachment and registration process being limited to the terrestrial network, resulting in poor communication performance for the terminal. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide an NTN communication method, an apparatus terminal, and a network-side device, which can solve the problem of poor communication performance of the terminal.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method of an NTN is provided, characterized by comprising:

[0007] The terminal obtains first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0008] The terminal performs a first operation of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information, where the first operation includes an attach operation or a registration operation.

[0009] In a second aspect, a communication method of an NTN is provided, characterized by comprising:

[0010] The first core network element obtains the third information;

[0011] The first core network element performs an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the third information.

[0012] In a third aspect, a communication method of an NTN is provided, comprising:

[0013] The access network device obtains fourth information;

[0014] The access network device performs an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the fourth information;

[0015] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0016] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0017] Second local configuration information, where the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device is in a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, a communication device of an NTN is provided, comprising:

[0019] An acquisition module is configured to acquire first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0020] An execution module is configured to execute a first operation of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information, where the first operation includes an attach operation or a registration operation.

[0021] In a fifth aspect, a communication device of an NTN is provided, comprising:

[0022] An acquisition module, configured to acquire third information;

[0023] An execution module is configured to execute an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the third information.

[0024] In a sixth aspect, a communication device of an NTN is provided, comprising:

[0025] an acquisition module, configured to acquire fourth information;

[0026] an execution module, configured to execute an attach operation or a registration operation of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information;

[0027] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0028] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0029] Second local configuration information, where the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device is in a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0031] In an eighth aspect, a terminal is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to obtain first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication; and a first operation of the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication is executed according to the first information, the first operation including an attachment operation or a registration operation.

[0032] In the ninth aspect, a network side device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores programs or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the third aspect are implemented.

[0033] In a tenth aspect, a network-side device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is configured to obtain third information; the communication interface or the processor is configured to perform an attachment operation or a registration operation in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information. Alternatively, the communication interface is configured to obtain fourth information; and perform an attachment operation or a registration operation in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information; wherein the fourth information comprises at least one of the following: second indication information, the second indication information being configured to instruct a terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; and second local configuration information, the second local configuration information being configured to instruct the access network device to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0034] In the eleventh aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the third aspect are implemented.

[0035] In the twelfth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, including: a terminal, an access network device and a first core network network element, wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, the first core network network element can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect, and the access network device can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the third aspect.

[0036] In the thirteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor are coupled, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect, or the method as described in the second aspect, or the method as described in the third aspect.

[0037] In the fourteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium, and the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect, or the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the third aspect.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal obtains first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; and the terminal executes a first operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication based on the first information, wherein the first operation includes an attach operation or a register operation. Thus, because the terminal can execute the first operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication based on the first information, wherein the first operation includes an attach operation or a register operation, the terminal can support attachment or registration with the NTN, thereby improving the communication performance of the terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application may be applied;

[0040] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG4 is a flow chart of an NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG5 is a flow chart of another NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG6 is a flow chart of another NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of NTN communication provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG12a is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG12b is a schematic diagram of another NTN communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG13 is a structural diagram of an NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG14 is a structural diagram of another NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG15 is a structural diagram of another NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG16 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG17 is a structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG18 is a structural diagram of another device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG19 is a structural diagram of another device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0060] The terms "first", "second", etc. in this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and do not limit the number of objects, for example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "or" in this application represents at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three options, namely, Option 1: including A but not including B; Option 2: including B but not including A; Option 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0061] The term "indication" in this application can be either a direct indication (or explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or implicit indication). A direct indication can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc. in the instruction sent; an indirect indication can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc. based on the judgment result.

[0062] It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the technology described can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for illustrative purposes, and NR terminology is used in most of the following description, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) systems. thGeneration, 6G) communication system.

[0063] FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a laptop computer (Laptop Computer), a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR), a virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device (Wearable Device), an aircraft (Flight Vehicle), a vehicle-mounted device (VUE), a ship-mounted device, a pedestrian user equipment (PUE), a smart home (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), a game console, a personal computer (PC), an ATM, or a self-service machine, or other terminal-side devices. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle-mounted device can also be called a vehicle-mounted terminal, vehicle-mounted controller, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0064] The network-side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device, a radio access network function, or a radio access network unit. The access network device may include a base station, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) node. Among them, the base station can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), the next generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), access point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home evolved Node B (home evolved Node B), Transmission Reception Point (TRP), on-board access network equipment, on-board central unit (CU) of the access network equipment, CU of the on-board access network equipment, or other appropriate terms in the relevant field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is used as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0065] Core network equipment is also called core network network element, which may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network node, core network function, Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Serving Gate Way (SGW), PDN Gateway (PGW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized Network Configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NRF), etc. Function, NEF), local NEF (Local NEF, or L-NEF), binding support function (Binding Support Function, BSF), application function (Application Function, AF), etc. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is introduced as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

[0066] In the NTN communication system, in order to realize data or signaling interaction between the terminal and the ground network, it is necessary to ensure that the service link (i.e., the link between the terminal and the satellite in Figure 2) and the feeder link (i.e., the link between the satellite and the ground station in Figure 2) can remain connected at the same time.

[0067] In some cases, such as the initial stage of satellite network deployment, it cannot be guaranteed that the service link and the feeder link can remain connected at the same time. In order to support data transmission (such as delay-tolerant business data), an embodiment of the present application proposes a store and forward communication (S&F) mode, as shown in Figure 3. Taking uplink data transmission as an example, when the terminal needs to send uplink data, it can first send it to the satellite through the service link (as shown in step A in the figure), and the satellite stores the relevant data (or the network equipment on the satellite stores the relevant data). When the satellite runs to the point where the feeder link is available, the stored data is forwarded to the ground network (as shown in step B in the figure). Similarly, when there is downlink data that needs to be sent to the terminal, the ground network first sends the data to the satellite, and the satellite stores the relevant downlink data. When the satellite runs to the point where the service link is available, the stored data is forwarded to the terminal.

[0068] The following describes in detail an NTN communication method, a device terminal, and a network-side device provided by an embodiment of the present application through some embodiments and application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0069] Please refer to FIG4 , which is a flow chart of an NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the method includes the following steps:

[0070] Step 401: The terminal obtains first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0071] Among them, the above-mentioned terminal obtaining the first information may be the terminal obtaining the first information sent by the network side device. In some embodiments, the terminal may also generate the above-mentioned first information. For example, the terminal determines that the above-mentioned network supports the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication based on the information that has been obtained or pre-configured, or the network executes the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0072] Step 402: The terminal performs a first operation of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information. The first operation includes an attach operation or a registration operation.

[0073] Among them, the above-mentioned first operation of executing the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information can be to determine that the network supports the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the above-mentioned first information, or the network executes the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication, and then executes the first operation of the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0074] Among them, the above-mentioned attachment operation can be an attachment request operation, specifically an attachment request operation based on the storage and forwarding communication mode of satellite communication; the above-mentioned registration operation can be a registration operation, specifically a registration request operation based on the storage and forwarding communication mode of satellite communication.

[0075] In an embodiment of the present application, the above steps can implement an attachment operation or a registration operation based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the first information, thereby supporting the attachment or registration of the NTN and improving the communication performance of the terminal.

[0076] As an optional implementation manner, the attach operation includes:

[0077] Sending a first type of attach request message, wherein the attach of the first type of attach request message is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0078] The registration operation includes:

[0079] A first type of registration request message is sent, wherein registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0080] The first type of attach request message may indicate an attach request based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0081] The first type of registration request message may indicate that the registration request is a registration request based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0082] In this embodiment, since the first type of attach request message is sent, attachment in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication can be supported, thereby better performing attachment on the NTN. Since the first type of request message is sent, requests in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication can be supported, thereby better performing requests on the NTN.

[0083] As an optional implementation manner, the first operation further includes:

[0084] Sending first instruction information;

[0085] sending a second instruction message;

[0086] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message, and the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0087] Instructs the use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0088] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0089] The second indication information is carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message sent to the RAN, and instructs the terminal to use a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0090] The first indication information may be a first S&F indication, and the second indication information may be a second S&F indication.

[0091] The above RRC message may carry the attach request message or the registration request message.

[0092] For example, a terminal sends an attach request message to an access network device via an RRC message. The attach request message carries a first S&F indication, which indicates to the first core network MME that the terminal has S&F communication capabilities or instructs the terminal to use S&F communication. The RRC message also carries a second S&F indication, which instructs the access network device to use S&F communication. S&F communication refers to communication by the terminal using a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0093] In the above implementation, the first indication information or the second indication information is used to explicitly indicate to the core network or the access network the attachment or registration of the terminal based on the store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0094] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to explicitly indicating to the core network or access network through the first indication information or the second indication information that the terminal is attaching or registering in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication. Alternatively, the embodiment of the present application may implicitly indicate to the core network or access network that the terminal is attaching or registering in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication. For example, if the core network or access network currently only supports or only allows a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication, then upon receiving an attach, register, or other NAS message from the UE, it may be considered that the terminal is communicating using a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication or has the capability of using a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0095] As an optional implementation, the method further includes:

[0096] The terminal receives second information sent by the network side, where the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0097] Satellite period;

[0098] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0099] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0100] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended;

[0101] The validity period of the terminal attachment or registration recovery;

[0102] Registration restoration instructions;

[0103] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resume indication.

[0104] Among them, the above-mentioned second information can be sent by the first core network network element or access network equipment, and the above-mentioned second information can be sent through one or more messages.

[0105] The satellite cycle may be used by the terminal to calculate the time or time window for the next access.

[0106] The time for the next access of the terminal may be a valid time for the next access of the terminal to the network, and the time window for the next access of the terminal may be a valid time range for the next access of the terminal.

[0107] The next access time or time window of the terminal can be used by the terminal to determine the next time to perform attachment or registration recovery. It can also be a periodic time such as (3:00-3:15, 6:00-6:15, 9:00-9:15, interval period 3 hours), or a specific time period such as (3:00-3:15).

[0108] The information of the cell that the terminal will access next time may be an identifier of the cell that the terminal will access next time.

[0109] The NAS signaling or process suspension resumption indication indicates the NAS signaling suspension resumption indication, or the NAS signaling or process suspension resumption indication.

[0110] The above NAS signaling is NAS signaling related to attachment or registration or NAS signaling of other NAS signaling or processes, such as PDN establishment, PDN establishment completion, or service request.

[0111] The terminal attachment or registration recovery validity period may be the attachment or registration validity retention period, i.e., the validity period during which the network saves context or pending signaling data for the UE, ensuring that the UE initiates registration recovery or other NAS signaling or process recovery within the recovery validity period.

[0112] In this embodiment, the second information includes the satellite cycle, the time or time window of the terminal's next access, the cell information of the terminal's next access, an indication that the attachment request, registration request or NAS signaling is suspended, or the effective duration of the terminal attachment or registration recovery. In this way, attachment or registration recovery can be initiated based on this information to improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0113] It should be noted that, when the indication that the attach request, registration request or NAS signaling is suspended is not included in the above-mentioned second information, the remaining information in the above-mentioned second information may also implicitly indicate that the attach request, registration request or NAS signaling is suspended.

[0114] As an optional implementation, the method further includes:

[0115] When a satellite cycle is met, the time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration or attachment recovery indication is received, or NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available, the attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0116] Among them, the above-mentioned initiation of the attachment or registration recovery process when one satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time is matched, a registration or attachment recovery indication is received, or NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available can be understood as initiating the attachment or registration recovery process when any one or more of the following are met:

[0117] Satisfy one satellite cycle;

[0118] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached;

[0119] Match the cell that the terminal will access next time.

[0120] receiving a registration or attachment resumption indication or;

[0121] Receive NAS signaling or process suspension resume indication;

[0122] It is detected that the service link is available;

[0123] For example, the terminal starts a next access timer, the duration of which matches the time or time window of the terminal's next access, so that when the timer times out or expires, an attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0124] In the above implementation, since the attachment or registration recovery process is initiated when a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or the service link is detected to be available, the success rate of the attachment or registration recovery can be improved.

[0125] Optionally, the initiating an attach or registration recovery process includes at least one of the following:

[0126] Initiate RRC connection establishment or connection recovery process;

[0127] Send an attach suspend resume request, registration suspend resume request, RRC signaling suspend resume indication, or NAS signaling suspend resume indication.

[0128] In this implementation, it is possible to initiate an attachment or registration recovery process in a variety of ways to meet the needs of different scenarios and improve the compatibility of the terminal. For example, for a scenario where the access network device and the first core network element are on a satellite, an attachment suspension recovery request and a registration suspension recovery request can be sent. For a scenario where the access network device is on a satellite and the first core network element is not on a satellite, an RRC connection establishment or connection recovery process can be initiated.

[0129] In some implementations, the attach suspend resume request, registration suspend resume request, RRC signaling suspend resume indication, or NAS signaling suspend resume indication may carry identification information of the terminal, and may also carry an S&F indication, where the S&F indication may indicate at least one of the following:

[0130] Instructs the use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0131] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications.

[0132] Optionally, when a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available, an attachment or registration recovery process is initiated, including:

[0133] When a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available, and the terminal is within the valid attachment or registration recovery period, the attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0134] In this implementation, on the basis of the above implementation, the condition of the terminal attachment or registration recovery validity period is added, so that the attachment or registration recovery is easier to succeed, and avoids the terminal not initiating attachment, registration or NAS signaling or process recovery for a long time, resulting in the network side deleting the relevant information of the UE, resulting in the inability to associate the suspended process, resulting in the failure of registration or NAS signaling or process recovery.

[0135] In an embodiment of the present application, a terminal obtains first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; and the terminal executes a first operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication based on the first information, wherein the first operation includes an attach operation or a register operation. Thus, since the first operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication is executed based on the first information, and the first operation includes an attach operation or a register operation, attachment or registration with the NTN is supported, thereby improving communication performance of the terminal.

[0136] Please refer to FIG5 , which is a flow chart of an NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the method includes the following steps:

[0137] Step 501: A first core network element obtains third information.

[0138] Among them, the above-mentioned first core network element can be MME or other core network elements, such as SGW, PDN, which is not limited.

[0139] The third information obtained by the first core network network element may be the third information sent by the receiving terminal or the access network device, or may include local information obtained by the first core network network element.

[0140] The third information may be obtained by one or more operations.

[0141] The third information may include information related to storage and forwarding communications.

[0142] Step 502: The first core network element performs an attach operation or a registration operation based on the store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the third information.

[0143] The above-mentioned first core network network element performs an attachment operation or a registration operation of a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information. The first core network network element may perform an attachment operation such as attachment suspension or attachment recovery of a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information, or the first core network network element performs a registration operation such as registration suspension or registration recovery of a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information.

[0144] Optionally, the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0145] Indication information, the indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; capability of supporting a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; access by the terminal via an access method of the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0146] Satellite period;

[0147] A first return time, where the first return time refers to the time when the access network device on the satellite returns to access the first core network network element next time;

[0148] An attach request message of a first type, wherein the attach request message of the first type is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0149] A first type of registration request message, wherein the registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0150] The first local configuration information indicates that the terminal accesses via a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0151] The first return time mentioned above can be applicable to a scenario where the access network device is onboard and the first core network element is on the ground. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, implementation methods without scenario descriptions are applicable to all NTN scenarios.

[0152] The above-mentioned first local configuration information may be an implicit indication that the terminal access is through a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication. For example, when the terminal enters a certain area, the first core network network element determines that it has entered a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication, or the configuration of the first core network network element can only be applied to the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication, that is, the above-mentioned indication information is not required to indicate the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0153] Optionally, the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0154] First instruction information, third instruction information;

[0155] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message and is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating the use of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0156] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications.

[0157] The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal to access via the storage and forwarding communication mode of satellite communication.

[0158] Optionally, performing an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes:

[0159] In a case where the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, the attach or registration process of the terminal is suspended, or the session establishment process of the terminal is suspended.

[0160] In the case of suspending the attachment or registration process of the terminal, or suspending the session establishment process of the terminal, the first core network network element may send a relevant message to the terminal or access network device, such as sending an attachment suspension request, a registration suspension request, or a session establishment suspension request, and these requests may carry at least one of the following:

[0161] Satellite period;

[0162] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0163] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0164] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended;

[0165] The validity period of the terminal attachment or registration recovery.

[0166] In the above implementation, since the attachment or registration process of the terminal is suspended, or the session establishment process of the terminal is suspended, this can be well matched to the satellite mobility in the NTN, so that the NTN can better provide attachment or registration services for the terminal.

[0167] Optionally, the above method further includes at least one of the following:

[0168] Sending at least one of the following to the terminal: satellite cycle; time or time window for the next access of the terminal; information of the cell to be accessed by the terminal next time; an indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; and the effective duration of the terminal attachment or registration recovery;

[0169] When the feeder link is available, resuming the suspended attachment or registration process, wherein the resuming the suspended attachment or registration process includes at least one of the following: terminal authentication, acquisition of encryption information, and session establishment process;

[0170] When the feeder link is available or the first return time is reached, resuming the suspended attach or registration process, wherein the resuming the suspended attach or registration process includes sending a first NAS message to the RAN, wherein the first NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attach accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0171] When the service link is available or an attachment recovery indication of the terminal is received, sending a second NAS message to the terminal, where the second NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attachment accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0172] When the service link is available, a registration resumption indication is sent, or a NAS signaling or process suspension resumption indication is sent to the terminal.

[0173] Among them, the above-mentioned resumption of the suspended attachment or registration process can be to resume the suspended attachment or registration process when the first core network element receives a resumption request sent by the terminal or access network device, or it can be determined by the first core network element based on the link situation (available or unavailable) or time (such as the terminal can be connected at 1:00:1:15).

[0174] The multiple processes included in the above-mentioned resumption of the suspended attachment or registration process may be performed in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0175] The sending of the second NAS information to the terminal may be performed in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0176] The above-mentioned attach or registration resumption indication may be an attach or registration resumption request or an attach or registration request.

[0177] In the above implementation, multiple methods can be implemented to resume the suspended attachment or registration process, which can be applied to different scenarios to make the attachment or registration of the terminal more reliable. For example, it can be applied to any of the following scenarios:

[0178] Access network equipment, the first core network element, SGW, and PGW are on the satellite;

[0179] The access network equipment and the first core network element are on the satellite, but the SGW and PGW are not on the satellite;

[0180] On the satellite of the access network equipment, the first core network element, SGW and PGW are not on the satellite.

[0181] It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation method of the first core network network element corresponding to the embodiment shown in Figure 4. Its specific implementation method can refer to the relevant description of the embodiment shown in Figure 4. In order to avoid repetition, this embodiment will not be repeated.

[0182] Please refer to FIG6 , which is a flow chart of an NTN communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the method includes the following steps:

[0183] Step 601: The access network device obtains fourth information;

[0184] Step 602: The access network device performs an attach operation or a registration operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the fourth information.

[0185] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0186] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0187] Second local configuration information, where the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device is in a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0188] The fourth information obtained by the access network device may be sent by the receiving terminal, or may be determined by the access network device based on local information.

[0189] The above-mentioned second local configuration information may be an implicit indication that the terminal access is through a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication. For example, when the terminal enters a certain area, the access network device determines that it has entered a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication, or the configuration of the access network device can only be applied to the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication, that is, the above-mentioned indication information is not required to indicate the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0190] The above-mentioned access network equipment may be on a satellite.

[0191] Optionally, the second indication information is carried in a radio resource control RRC message sent to the radio access network RAN.

[0192] Optionally, the performing of an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes at least one of the following:

[0193] If the service link is unavailable, suspend a third NAS message, where the third NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication reply of the terminal, a security command reply, a security command, an authentication request, an attach accept message, or a registration accept message.

[0194] When the service link is available, forwarding a fourth NAS message to the first core network device, the fourth NAS message including at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication recovery of the terminal, a security command reply, an attach completion message, and a registration completion message;

[0195] When the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, at least one of the following is sent to the terminal:

[0196] Satellite period;

[0197] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0198] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0199] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or NAS signaling is suspended;

[0200] Registration restoration instructions;

[0201] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resume indication.

[0202] It should be noted that all forwarding in the embodiments of the present application can be expressed as sending.

[0203] The suspending of the third NAS message may be performed in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0204] The forwarding of the fourth NAS message to the first core network device may be performed in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0205] The information sent to the terminal may be sent in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0206] The above implementation can be applied to the scenario where the access network device is on the satellite and the first core network element is on the ground. Of course, there is no limitation to this. For example, it can also be applied to the scenario where both the access network device and the first core network element are on the satellite.

[0207] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0208] When the service link is available or the RRC connection is restored or a non-access layer NAS connection recovery indication of the terminal is received, a fifth NAS message is forwarded to the terminal, where the fifth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request sent by the first core network device to the terminal, a security command sent by the first core network device to the terminal, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message.

[0209] The forwarding of the fifth NAS message to the terminal may be performed in one satellite cycle or multiple satellite cycles.

[0210] The above implementation can be applied to the scenario where the access network device is on the satellite and the first core network element is on the ground. Of course, there is no limitation to this. For example, it can also be applied to the scenario where both the access network device and the first core network element are on the satellite.

[0211] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0212] The access network device selects a first core network element that supports a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0213] The above-mentioned access network device selects a first core network network element that supports the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication. It can be that upon receiving an attachment request or registration request from the terminal, a first core network network element that supports the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication is selected, so that the terminal can attach or register in the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0214] The access network device always selects the first core network element on the satellite.

[0215] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0216] When the feeder link is available, a satellite cycle or a second return time is sent to the first core network element, where the second return time refers to the time when the access network device returns to access the first core network element next time.

[0217] The above implementation can be applied to a scenario where the access network device is on a satellite and the first core network element is on the ground.

[0218] It should be noted that this embodiment is an implementation method of the access network device corresponding to the embodiments shown in Figures 4 and 5. Its specific implementation method can refer to the relevant descriptions of the embodiments shown in Figures 4 and 5. In order to avoid repetition, this embodiment will not be repeated.

[0219] The following uses attachment as an example to illustrate the method provided in the embodiments of the present application through multiple embodiments:

[0220] Example 1:

[0221] This embodiment mainly describes the attachment processing of RAN, MME, SGW and PGW on the satellite. The MME provides the UE with the next access time, and the NAS layer triggers the attachment process to resume.

[0222] This embodiment describes the UE attachment process on a satellite by the eNB, MME, SGW, and PGW, as shown in FIG7 , including the following steps:

[0223] Step 0. The UE knows that the network supports or performs S&F communication through the System Information Block (SIB) message.

[0224] Step 1. The UE sends an Attach Request to the eNB via an RRC message. The Attach Request carries a first S&F indication or S&F capability, which indicates to the MME that the UE has S&F communication capability or instructs the UE to use S&F communication. The RRC message carries a second S&F indication, which instructs the eNB to use S&F communication.

[0225] Step 2. The eNB receives the RRC message carrying the attach request from the UE. The eNB selects an MME that supports S&F based on the second S&F indication. The eNB forwards the attach request to the selected MME via an S1-AP message. The S1-AP message may also carry a third S&F indication for instructing the UE to perform S&F communication. The S1-AP message also carries satellite cycle information or the time when the UE will next return to access the satellite.

[0226] Step 3. After receiving the attach request of the UE forwarded by the RAN, the MME determines that the UE performs S&F communication based on the first S&F indication or S&F capability in the attach request, or determines that the UE performs S&F communication based on the third S&F indication carried by the S1-AP message.

[0227] a) The MME sends an Attach Suspend Request to the UE. The Attach Suspend Request indicates that the UE's attach process has been suspended. The MME also retains the relevant content in the UE's Attach Suspend Request and may also include the reason for suspension, such as feeder link unavailable. The Attach Suspend Request also carries the UE's next access time or cell information, identified as cell X, and the UE's Attach Retention Time. The UE's Next Access Time indicates the valid time for the UE's next network access (i.e., if the UE initiates network access outside this time, it is useless; the network side does not have the UE's information and cannot complete the UE's communication), such as (3:00-3:15). This is used by the UE to determine the next time to perform Attach Resume. The Attach Suspend Request may also be a periodic time, such as (3:00-3:15, 6:00-6:15, 9:00-9:15, with a 3-hour interval). The UE Attach Resume Time indicates that the UE must initiate Attach Resume within this time; otherwise, the network side will not guarantee that the UE's attachment information will be retained. The next access time of the UE may be determined based on the satellite cycle information provided by the eNB in ​​step 2 or the time information of the next return to the UE for access, or may be determined based on the configuration information stored in the MME.

[0228] b) In one implementation, in this step, after receiving the UE's attach request forwarded by the RAN, the MME may also send an attach reject message to the UE, with the reason for the rejection being that the attach is suspended. The attach reject message also carries information about the time when the UE will access next and the effective retention time of the UE's attachment. The MME saves the information in the UE's attach request.

[0229] Step 4. Upon receiving the attach suspend request or attach reject message, the UE knows that its attach is suspended. The UE performs at least one of the following:

[0230] a) The UE starts a timer for the next access of the UE. The value of the timer for the next access of the UE may be the time of the next access of the UE received in step 3, or the satellite cycle pre-configured by the UE, or the satellite cycle or UE access time information provided in the SIB message in step 0, or obtained in previous communication. Alternatively, the UE performs the matching of cell X received in step 3.

[0231] b) The UE starts the attachment validity retention timer for the next access of the UE, and the value of the timer is set to the UE attachment validity retention time received in step 3.

[0232] Step 5. When the feeder link is available, the MME obtains the UE's subscription information, authentication information, and security-related parameters from the HSS.

[0233] Step 6. After the UE's next access timer expires or times out or cell X is matched, the UE initiates an attach recovery operation.

[0234] Step 7. The UE sends an Attach Recovery Request carrying the UE ID and the S&F indicator to resume the previously suspended attach procedure. If, in step 3, the UE receives an Attach Reject with a Suspend message, the UE sends an Attach Request carrying the Attach Recovery / S&F indicator to resume the previously suspended attach procedure.

[0235] Step 8. The MME receives the attach recovery request or the attach request carrying the attach recovery / S&F recovery indication, determines that the attach recovery process is performed by the UE, and performs the authentication and security encryption process of the UE.

[0236] Step 9. The MME initiates attach suspend of the UE again. Since the session is not established, the MME sends an attach suspend message to the UE, carrying the suspend reason: the session is not established.

[0237] Step 10. After the UE receives the attach suspend in step 9, the UE again executes the UE start timer for next UE access or the matching of cell X.

[0238] Step 11. When the feeder link is available, the MME initiates session establishment.

[0239] Step 12: When the UE's next access timer expires or cell X is matched, the UE initiates an attach recovery operation.

[0240] Step 13. The UE sends an attach recovery request to trigger the NAS connection.

[0241] Step 14. The MME sends an attach accept message to the UE.

[0242] Step 15. The UE sends an attach complete message to the MME.

[0243] Example 2:

[0244] This embodiment mainly describes the UE attachment process with the eNB and MME on the satellite and the SGW and PGW on the ground. The MME provides the UE with the next access time, and the attach process triggered by the NAS layer is restored.

[0245] The main difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the SGW and PGW are on the ground. The specific process is the same as that of the first embodiment and is not described here in detail. As shown in FIG8 , the main differences include the following:

[0246] Step 3b: The MME starts the timer for the next return to the UE.

[0247] Step 6. UE sends an AS resume request;

[0248] Step 7a: The timer for returning to the UE next time times out;

[0249] Step 7b: The eNB sends an AS recovery indication to the MME.

[0250] Step 9b: The MME starts the timer for the next return to the UE.

[0251] Step 13a: The timer for returning to the UE next time times out;

[0252] Step 13b: The NB sends an AS recovery indication to the MME.

[0253] Example 3:

[0254] This embodiment mainly describes the attachment process of only the RAN on the satellite. The RAN provides the next access time to the UE and suspends attach-related signaling, as shown in Figure 9. The process includes the following steps:

[0255] Step 0-1 is the same as in Example 1.

[0256] Step 2. Since the feeder link is unavailable, the eNB cannot send the UE's attach request to the MME. Therefore, the eNB stores the UE's attach request and sends an RRC message to the UE. The message indicates that the UE's NAS signaling is suspended and also carries a UE next access time. The UE's next access time information indicates the valid time for the UE to access the network next time, such as (3:00-3:15), which can also be a periodic time such as (3:00-3:15, 6:00-6:15, 9:00-9:15, with an interval period of 3 hours).

[0257] Step 3. The UE starts a second timer and sets the second timer according to the time when the UE accesses next time.

[0258] Step 4. When the feeder link is available, the eNB selects an MME that supports S&F based on the second S&F indication. The eNB forwards the attach request to the selected MME via an S1-AP message. The S1-AP message may also carry a third S&F indication, which is used to instruct the UE to perform S&F communication. The S1-AP message also carries satellite cycle information or the next satellite return time.

[0259] Step 5. The MME obtains the UE's subscription, authentication, and security-related parameters.

[0260] Step 6. The MME sends the UE's authentication and security-related signaling and parameters to the eNB, and the eNB stores the authentication and security-related signaling and parameters.

[0261] Step 7. After the second timer of the UE expires, the UE initiates the RRC recovery process.

[0262] Step 8. The UE and eNB establish an RRC connection.

[0263] Step 9. The eNB forwards the authentication and security-related signaling and parameters sent by the MME to the UE.

[0264] Step 10. The UE performs authentication and security-related operations, and sends an authentication and security-related response message and parameters to the eNB. The eNB stores the authentication and security-related response message and parameters, and the UE starts the second timer again.

[0265] Step 11. When the feeder link is available, the eNB sends the UE's authentication and security-related response message and parameters to the MME.

[0266] Step 12. The MME performs session establishment for the UE.

[0267] Step 13. The MME sends the UE's attach accept to the eNB.

[0268] Step 14: The second timer of the UE expires.

[0269] Step 15: UE initiates RRC recovery process

[0270] Step 16. The eNB forwards the UE's attach accept to the UE.

[0271] Example 4:

[0272] This embodiment mainly describes the attach process in which the RAN and MME are on the satellite and the UE knows the next access time. As shown in FIG10 , the process includes the following steps:

[0273] Steps 1-2 are the same as those in Example 1.

[0274] Step 3a. When the service link is unavailable, the UE starts the next access timer or performs a cell matching operation, where the cell matching operation is to match the current cell, identified as cell X.

[0275] Step 3b. Optionally, when the service link is unavailable, the MME starts a next return to UE timer. The timer value may be provided by the eNB in ​​step 2 or determined according to the configured satellite cycle.

[0276] Step 4. When the feeder link is available, the MME obtains the UE's subscription, authentication, and security-related information.

[0277] Step 5. When the UE's next access timer expires or the cell matches cell X.

[0278] Step 6. The UE initiates the AS layer connection recovery process, that is, recovers the RRC connection previously established between the UE and the eNB.

[0279] Step 7. The eNB sends a service link recovery indication to the MME.

[0280] Step 8: After the MME receives the service link restoration indication from the eNB, it performs the authentication and security establishment process with the UE.

[0281] Step 9. When the service link becomes unavailable again, the UE restarts the next access timer or performs cell matching. The cell matching is to match the current cell, identified as cell X. The MME restarts the next return to UE timer. The timer value can be provided by the eNB in ​​step 2 or determined according to the configured satellite period.

[0282] Step 10. When the feeder link is available, the MME initiates the UE session establishment process.

[0283] Steps 11-13: Same as steps 5-7 in Example 1.

[0284] Step 14: MME sends an attach accept message to UE

[0285] Step 15: The UE sends the attach complete message to the MME.

[0286] Embodiment 5:

[0287] This embodiment mainly describes the attach process in which the RAN and MME are on the satellite, the SGW and PGW are on the ground, and the UE knows the next access time.

[0288] As shown in FIG11 , the main steps of this embodiment are the same as those of the fourth embodiment and are not described in detail here.

[0289] Example 6:

[0290] In this embodiment, the RAN is on the satellite, the MME is on the ground, and the UE knows the attach process of the next access time. As shown in Figure 12a, it includes the following steps:

[0291] Step 0 is the same as in Example 1.

[0292] Step 1. The UE sends an attach request to the eNB via an RRC message. The attach request carries a first S&F indication or S&F capability, which indicates to the MME that the UE has S&F communication capability or instructs the UE to use S&F communication. The RRC message carries a second S&F indication, which instructs the eNB to use S&F communication.

[0293] Step 2. Satellite mobile, the service link between the UE and the eNB is unavailable, the UE starts the next access timer, the UE starts the next access timer or performs a cell matching operation, wherein the cell matching is to match the current cell, identified as cell X.

[0294] Step 3. Satellite Mobility: Before the feeder link becomes available, the eNB suspends the UE's attach request. When the feeder link becomes available, the eNB selects an MME that supports S&F communication operations based on the second S&F indication carried in the RRC message. The eNB then sends an S1-AP message to the MME. The S1-AP message carries the UE's attach request and may also carry a third S&F indication, instructing the UE to perform S&F communication. The S1-AP message also carries satellite cycle information or the next return time to the CN, indicating when the eNB will return to the MME.

[0295] Step 4. The MME obtains the UE's subscription, authentication, and security-related parameters.

[0296] Step 5. The MME initiates the authentication and security encryption process and sends an authentication and security encryption command message to the eNB. The eNB suspends the authentication and security encryption command message of the UE.

[0297] Step 6. The UE's next access timer expires or it matches cell X.

[0298] Step 7. The UE performs AS layer access recovery.

[0299] Step 8. The eNB sends the pending UE authentication and security encryption command message to the UE.

[0300] Step 9. The UE replies the UE authentication and security encryption command response to the eNB.

[0301] Step 10. During satellite movement, the service link between the UE and the eNB is unavailable. The UE restarts the next access timer again or performs a cell matching operation. The cell matching operation is to match the current cell, identified as cell X, as in step 2.

[0302] Step 11. Satellite mobile: Before the feeder link becomes available, the eNB suspends the UE's attach request. When the feeder link becomes available, the eNB forwards the UE's authentication and security command response to the MME.

[0303] Step 12. The MME performs session establishment for the UE.

[0304] Step 13. The MME sends the UE's attach accept message to the eNB, and the eNB suspends the UE's attach accept message.

[0305] Step 14: The UE's next access timer expires or it matches cell X.

[0306] Step 15. The UE performs AS layer access recovery.

[0307] Step 16. The eNB forwards the UE's attach accept message to the MME.

[0308] Step 17. The UE sends an attach complete message to the eNB, and the eNB suspends the UE's attach complete message.

[0309] Step 18. Satellite mobile, when the feeder link is available, the eNB forwards the UE's attach complete message to the MME.

[0310] Embodiment seven:

[0311] In this embodiment, the first core network or access network instructs the terminal to resume a suspended attach or NAS process, as shown in FIG12b , including the following steps:

[0312] Steps 1-2 are the same as those in Example 1.

[0313] Step 3: Since the feeder link is unavailable, the MME sends an attach suspend indication to the UE.

[0314] Step 4. The MME obtains the UE's subscription, authentication, and security-related parameters.

[0315] Step 5. When the serving link is available, the MME sends an attach recovery indication to the UE.

[0316] Step 6. The UE sends a response to the MME.

[0317] Step 7. The MME sends downlink pending data or signaling to the UE, such as authentication request, security command, attach accept, etc. At the same time, the UE can also send uplink data or signaling to the MME.

[0318] In the above embodiments, the following can be achieved:

[0319] During the attach process, the UE carries an S&F indication to the network device, indicating that the attach is an S&F attachment. The network device suspends the UE's attach process, indicating that the UE's attach is suspended, and configures a timer for the UE's next access. When the next access time arrives, the UE initiates an attach recovery, completing the UE's attach process through multiple attach recovery attempts.

[0320] The NTN communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by an NTN communication device. In the embodiment of the present application, the NTN communication device executing the NTN communication method is used as an example to illustrate the NTN communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0321] Please refer to FIG. 13 , which is a structural diagram of an NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 13 , the NTN communication device 1300 includes:

[0322] The acquisition module 1301 is configured to acquire first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0323] The execution module 1302 is configured to execute a first operation of the store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information, where the first operation includes an attach operation or a registration operation.

[0324] Optionally, the attach operation includes:

[0325] Sending a first type of attach request message, wherein the attach of the first type of attach request message is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0326] The registration operation includes:

[0327] A first type of registration request message is sent, wherein registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0328] Optionally, the first operation further includes:

[0329] Sending first instruction information;

[0330] sending a second instruction message;

[0331] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message, and the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0332] Instructs the use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0333] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0334] The second indication information is carried in a radio resource control RRC message sent to the RAN, and is used to instruct the terminal to use a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0335] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0336] A receiving module, configured to receive second information sent by a network side, where the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0337] Satellite period;

[0338] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0339] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0340] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended;

[0341] The validity period of the terminal attachment or registration recovery;

[0342] Registration restoration instructions;

[0343] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resume indication.

[0344] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0345] The initiating module is used to initiate an attachment or registration recovery process when a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available.

[0346] Optionally, the initiating an attach or registration recovery process includes at least one of the following:

[0347] Initiate RRC connection establishment or connection recovery process;

[0348] Send an attach suspend resume request, registration suspend resume request, RRC signaling suspend resume indication, or NAS signaling suspend resume indication.

[0349] Optionally, the initiating an attach or registration recovery process when one satellite cycle is satisfied, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available includes:

[0350] When a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available, and the terminal is within the valid attachment or registration recovery period, the attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0351] The above-mentioned NTN communication device can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0352] The NTN communication device in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component within an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or chip. The electronic device can be a terminal or other device other than a terminal. For example, terminals can include, but are not limited to, the types of terminal 11 listed above. Other devices can include servers, network attached storage (NAS), and the like, and are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0353] The information transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0354] Please refer to FIG. 14 , which is a structural diagram of an NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 14 , the NTN communication device 1400 includes:

[0355] An acquisition module 1401 is configured to acquire third information;

[0356] The execution module 1402 is configured to execute an attach operation or a registration operation based on the store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the third information.

[0357] Optionally, the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0358] Indication information, the indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; capability of supporting a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; access by the terminal via an access method of the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0359] Satellite period;

[0360] A first return time, where the first return time refers to the time when the access network device on the satellite returns to access the first core network network element next time;

[0361] An attach request message of a first type, wherein the attach request message of the first type is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0362] A first type of registration request message, wherein the registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0363] The first local configuration information indicates that the terminal accesses via a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0364] Optionally, the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0365] First instruction information, third instruction information;

[0366] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message and is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating the use of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0367] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications.

[0368] The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal to access via the access method of the store and forward communication mode of the satellite communication.

[0369] Optionally, performing an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes:

[0370] In a case where the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, the attach or registration process of the terminal is suspended, or the session establishment process of the terminal is suspended.

[0371] Optionally, the device further includes at least one of the following:

[0372] The first sending module is configured to send at least one of the following to the terminal: a satellite cycle; a time or time window for the next access of the terminal; information about the cell to be accessed by the terminal next time; an indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; and a valid duration for the terminal to attach or register and resume.

[0373] A first recovery module is configured to recover a suspended attachment or registration process when the feeder link is available, wherein recovering the suspended attachment or registration process includes at least one of the following: terminal authentication, acquisition of encryption information, and session establishment process;

[0374] a second resuming module, configured to resume a suspended attach or registration process when the feeder link is available or when the first return time is reached, wherein resuming the suspended attach or registration process comprises sending a first non-access stratum (NAS) message to a radio access network (RAN), wherein the first NAS message comprises at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attach accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0375] a second sending module, configured to send a second NAS message to the terminal when a service link is available or an attachment recovery indication of the terminal is received, where the second NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attachment accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0376] The third sending module is used to send a registration resumption indication, or send a NAS signaling or a process suspension resumption indication to the terminal when the service link is available.

[0377] The above-mentioned NTN communication device can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0378] The information transmission device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a network-side device.

[0379] The information transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment shown in Figure 5 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0380] Please refer to FIG. 15 , which is a structural diagram of an NTN communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 15 , the NTN communication device 1500 includes:

[0381] An acquisition module 1501 is configured to acquire fourth information;

[0382] An execution module 1502 is configured to execute an attach operation or a registration operation of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information;

[0383] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0384] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0385] Second local configuration information, where the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device is in a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0386] Optionally, the second indication information is carried in a radio resource control RRC message sent to the radio access network RAN.

[0387] Optionally, the performing of an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes at least one of the following:

[0388] When the service link is unavailable, suspending a third non-access layer NAS message, where the third NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication reply of the terminal, a security command reply, a security command, an authentication request, an attach accept message, and a registration accept message.

[0389] When the service link is available, forwarding a fourth NAS message to the first core network device, the fourth NAS message including at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication recovery of the terminal, a security command reply, an attach completion message, and a registration completion message;

[0390] When the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, at least one of the following is sent to the terminal:

[0391] Satellite period;

[0392] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0393] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0394] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or NAS signaling is suspended;

[0395] Registration restoration instructions;

[0396] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resume indication.

[0397] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0398] A forwarding module is configured to forward a fifth NAS message to the terminal when a service link is available or an RRC connection is restored or a non-access layer NAS connection recovery indication of the terminal is received, where the fifth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request sent by a first core network device to the terminal, a security command sent by the first core network device to the terminal, an attach accept message, and a registration accept message.

[0399] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0400] The selection module is used to select a first core network element that supports a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0401] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0402] A sending module is used to send a satellite cycle or a second return time to the first core network element when the feeder link is available, where the second return time refers to the time when the access network device returns to access the first core network element next time

[0403] The above-mentioned NTN communication device can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0404] The information transmission device in the embodiment of the present application can be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device can be a network-side device.

[0405] The information transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement the various processes implemented by the method embodiment shown in Figure 6 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0406] Optionally, as shown in FIG16 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1600, comprising a processor 1601 and a memory 1602. Memory 1602 stores a program or instruction executable on the processor 1601. For example, when the communication device 1600 is a terminal, the program or instruction, when executed by the processor 1601, implements the various steps of an embodiment of a communication method for an NTN on the terminal side, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 1600 is a first core network element, the program or instruction, when executed by the processor 1601, implements the various steps of an embodiment of a communication method for an NTN on the first core network element side, and can achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 1600 is an access network device, the program or instruction, when executed by the processor 1601, implements the various steps of an embodiment of a communication method for an NTN on the access network device side, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, these steps are not further described here.

[0407] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communications device comprising a processor and a communications interface, wherein the communications interface is configured to obtain first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: network support for a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications; network execution of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications; and execution of a first operation based on the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications based on the first information, wherein the first operation comprises an attachment operation or a registration operation. This communications device embodiment corresponds to the aforementioned NTN communications method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the aforementioned method embodiment are applicable to this communications device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0408] Specifically, Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal for implementing an embodiment of the present application. The terminal 1700 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1701, a network module 1702, an audio output unit 1703, an input unit 1704, a sensor 1705, a display unit 1706, a user input unit 1707, an interface unit 1708, a memory 1709, and at least some of the components of the processor 1710.

[0409] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal 1700 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) to power various components. The power supply may be logically connected to the processor 1710 via a power management system, thereby enabling the power management system to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption. The terminal structure shown in FIG17 does not limit the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be described in detail here.

[0410] It should be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1704 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 17041 and a microphone 17042, and the graphics processing unit 17041 processes image data of a static picture or video obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in a video capture mode or an image capture mode. The display unit 1706 may include a display panel 17061, and the display panel 17061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1707 includes a touch panel 17071 and at least one of the other input terminals 17072. The touch panel 17071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 17071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input terminals 17072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and an operating stick, which will not be repeated here.

[0411] In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from a network-side terminal, the RF unit 1701 may transmit the data to the processor 1710 for processing. Furthermore, the RF unit 1701 may send uplink data to the network-side terminal. Typically, the RF unit 1701 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low-noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like.

[0412] The memory 1709 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1709 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, applications or instructions required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.). In addition, the memory 1709 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or the memory 1709 may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1709 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0413] Processor 1710 may include one or more processing units. Optionally, processor 1710 integrates an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor primarily handles operations related to the operating system, user interface, and application programs, while the modem processor primarily processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the modem processor may not be integrated into processor 1710.

[0414] The radio frequency unit 1701 is used to obtain first information, wherein the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication; and a first operation of the storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication is performed according to the first information, the first operation including an attachment operation or a registration operation.

[0415] Optionally, the attach operation includes:

[0416] Sending a first type of attach request message, wherein the attach of the first type of attach request message is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0417] The registration operation includes:

[0418] A first type of registration request message is sent, wherein registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0419] Optionally, the first operation further includes:

[0420] Sending first instruction information;

[0421] sending a second instruction message;

[0422] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message, and the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following:

[0423] Instructs the use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0424] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications;

[0425] The second indication information is carried in a radio resource control RRC message sent to the RAN, and is used to instruct the terminal to use a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0426] Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1701 is further configured to:

[0427] Receive second information sent by the network side, where the second information includes at least one of the following:

[0428] Satellite period;

[0429] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0430] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0431] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended;

[0432] The validity period of the terminal attachment or registration recovery;

[0433] Registration restoration instructions;

[0434] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resumption indication.

[0435] Optionally, the radio frequency unit 1701 is further configured to:

[0436] When a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or the service link is detected to be available, an attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0437] Optionally, the initiating an attach or registration recovery process includes at least one of the following:

[0438] Initiate RRC connection establishment or connection recovery process;

[0439] Send an attach suspend resume request, registration suspend resume request, RRC signaling suspend resume indication, or NAS signaling suspend resume indication.

[0440] Optionally, the initiating an attach or registration recovery process when one satellite cycle is satisfied, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available includes:

[0441] When a satellite cycle is met, the time or time window for the next access of the terminal is reached, the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available, and the terminal is within the valid attachment or registration recovery period, the attachment or registration recovery process is initiated.

[0442] The above terminal can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0443] It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the above-mentioned perception measurement result sending method and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0444] The present application also provides an embodiment of a device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method embodiment shown in FIG5 . This device embodiment corresponds to the aforementioned signal measurement method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation method of the aforementioned method embodiment are applicable to this device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0445] An embodiment of the present application also provides a device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to obtain third information; the communication interface or the processor is used to perform an attachment operation or a registration operation of a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information.

[0446] Specifically, the embodiment of the present application further provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG18 , the network-side device 1800 includes a processor 1801, a network interface 1802, and a memory 1803. The network interface 1802 is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

[0447] Specifically, the network side device 1800 of the embodiment of the present application also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1803 and executable on the processor 1801. The processor 1801 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1803 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in FIG14 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be elaborated here.

[0448] Network interface 1802, used to obtain third information;

[0449] The network interface 1802 or the processor 1801 is configured to perform an attach operation or a registration operation based on the store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the third information.

[0450] Optionally, the third information includes at least one of the following:

[0451] Indication information, the indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; capability of supporting a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; access by the terminal via an access method of the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0452] Satellite period;

[0453] A first return time, where the first return time refers to the time when the access network device on the satellite returns to access the first core network network element next time;

[0454] An attach request message of a first type, wherein the attach request message of the first type is an attach type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication;

[0455] A first type of registration request message, wherein the registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store and forward communication mode of satellite communication.

[0456] The first local configuration information indicates that the terminal accesses via a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0457] Optionally, the indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0458] First instruction information, third instruction information;

[0459] The first indication information is carried in the attach request message or the registration request message and is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating the use of a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0460] Indicates the ability to support store and forward communication mode based on satellite communications.

[0461] The third indication information is used to instruct the terminal to access via the access method of the store and forward communication mode of the satellite communication.

[0462] Optionally, performing an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes:

[0463] In a case where the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, the attach or registration process of the terminal is suspended, or the session establishment process of the terminal is suspended.

[0464] Optionally, the network interface 1802 is further configured to:

[0465] Sending at least one of the following to the terminal: satellite cycle; time or time window for the next access of the terminal; information of the cell to be accessed by the terminal next time; an indication that an attach request, registration request, or non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; and the effective duration of the terminal attachment or registration recovery;

[0466] When the feeder link is available, resuming the suspended attachment or registration process, wherein the resuming the suspended attachment or registration process includes at least one of the following: terminal authentication, acquisition of encryption information, and session establishment process;

[0467] When the feeder link is available or the first return time is reached, resuming the suspended attachment or registration process, wherein the resuming the suspended attachment or registration process includes sending a first non-access stratum NAS message to the radio access network RAN, wherein the first NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attachment accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0468] When the service link is available or when an attach or registration resume indication of the terminal is received, sending a second NAS message to the terminal, where the second NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request, a security command, an attach accept message, or a registration accept message of the terminal;

[0469] When the service link is available, a registration resumption indication is sent, or a NAS signaling or process suspension resumption indication is sent to the terminal.

[0470] The above device can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0471] It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the above-mentioned method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0472] The present application also provides an embodiment of a device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method embodiment shown in FIG6 . This device embodiment corresponds to the above-described method for receiving perception measurement results, and each implementation process and implementation method of the above-described method embodiment are applicable to this device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects.

[0473] An embodiment of the present application also provides a device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to obtain fourth information; perform an attachment operation or a registration operation of a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information; wherein the fourth information includes at least one of the following: second indication information, the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication; second local configuration information, the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device uses a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0474] Specifically, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG19 , the network-side device 1900 includes an antenna 1901, a radio frequency device 1902, a baseband device 1903, a processor 1904, and a memory 1905. Antenna 1901 is connected to radio frequency device 1902. In the uplink direction, radio frequency device 1902 receives information via antenna 1901 and sends the received information to baseband device 1903 for processing. In the downlink direction, baseband device 1903 processes the information to be transmitted and sends it to radio frequency device 1902. Radio frequency device 1902 processes the received information and then sends it through antenna 1901.

[0475] The NTN communication method in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 1903 , which includes a baseband processor.

[0476] The baseband device 1903 may include, for example, at least one baseband board, on which multiple chips are arranged, as shown in Figure 19, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 1905 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 1905 and execute the device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

[0477] The device may further include a network interface 1906 , such as a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0478] Specifically, the device 1900 of the embodiment of the present application also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1905 and executable on the processor 1904. The processor 1904 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1905 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in FIG15 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0479] The radio frequency device 1902 is configured to obtain fourth information; and to perform an attach operation or a registration operation based on the store and forward communication mode of satellite communication according to the fourth information;

[0480] The fourth information includes at least one of the following:

[0481] Second indication information, where the second indication information is used to instruct the terminal to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication;

[0482] Second local configuration information, where the second local configuration information indicates that the access network device is in a storage and forwarding communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0483] Optionally, the second indication information is carried in a radio resource control RRC message sent to the radio access network RAN.

[0484] Optionally, the performing of an attach operation or a registration operation based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication includes at least one of the following:

[0485] When the service link is unavailable, suspending a third non-access layer NAS message, where the third NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication reply of the terminal, a security command reply, a security command, an authentication request, an attach accept message, and a registration accept message.

[0486] When the service link is available, forwarding a fourth NAS message to the first core network device, the fourth NAS message including at least one of the following: an attach request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication recovery of the terminal, a security command reply, an attach completion message, and a registration completion message;

[0487] When the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, at least one of the following is sent to the terminal:

[0488] Satellite period;

[0489] The time or time window for the next access of the terminal;

[0490] Information about the cell to be accessed next time by the terminal;

[0491] An indication that an attach request, registration request, or NAS signaling is suspended;

[0492] Registration restoration instructions;

[0493] NAS signaling or procedure suspension resume indication.

[0494] Optionally, the radio frequency device 1902 is further configured to:

[0495] When the service link is available or the RRC connection is restored or a non-access layer NAS connection recovery indication of the terminal is received, a fifth NAS message is forwarded to the terminal, where the fifth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request sent by the first core network device to the terminal, a security command sent by the first core network device to the terminal, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message.

[0496] Optionally, the radio frequency device 1902 is further configured to:

[0497] The access network device selects a first core network element that supports a store and forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

[0498] Optionally, the radio frequency device 1902 is further configured to:

[0499] When the feeder link is available, a satellite cycle or a second return time is sent to the first core network element, where the second return time refers to the time when the access network device returns to access the first core network element next time.

[0500] The above device can improve the communication performance of the terminal.

[0501] It can be understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the above-mentioned method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0502] The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, each process of the above-mentioned NTN communication method embodiment is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it is not repeated here.

[0503] The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transitory readable storage medium.

[0504] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instruction to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned NTN communication method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, these are not described here.

[0505] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0506] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-mentioned NTN communication method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they are not described here.

[0507] An embodiment of the present application further provides a wireless communication system, including: a terminal, an access network device, and a first core network network element; wherein the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the NTN communication method on the terminal side provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first access network device can be used to execute the steps of the NTN communication method on the first access network device side provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the first core network network element can be used to execute the steps of the NTN communication method on the first core network network element side provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0508] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the opposite order according to the functions involved. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0509] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of a computer software product plus a necessary general-purpose hardware platform, or of course, by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0510] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms of implementation methods without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims. These implementation methods are all within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: The terminal obtains first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; The terminal performs a first operation of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information, and the first operation includes an attachment operation or a registration operation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The attachment operation includes: Sending an attachment request message of a first type, and the attachment of the attachment request message of the first type is an attachment type based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication; The registration operation includes: Sending a registration request message of a first type, and the registration of the registration request message of the first type is a registration type based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The first operation further includes: Sending first indication information; Sending second indication information; Wherein, the first indication information is carried in the attachment request message or the registration request message, and the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the following: Indicating the use of a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; Indicating the ability to support a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; The second indication information is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message sent to the RAN and is used to indicate that the terminal uses a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The method further includes: The terminal receives second information sent by the network side, and the second information includes at least one of the following: Satellite cycle; The time or time window for the terminal to access next; Cell information for the terminal to access next; Indication that an attachment request, a registration request, or a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; The effective duration for the terminal attachment or registration recovery; Registration recovery indication; NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The method further includes: In the case of satisfying a satellite cycle, reaching the time or time window for the terminal to access next, matching the cell for the terminal to access next, receiving a registration recovery indication, receiving a NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication, or detecting that the service link is available, initiating an attachment or registration recovery process.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The initiating of the attachment or registration recovery process includes at least one of the following: Initiating an RRC connection establishment or connection recovery process; Sending an attachment suspension recovery request, a registration suspension recovery request, an RRC signaling suspension recovery indication, or a NAS signaling suspension recovery indication.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein The initiating of the attachment or registration recovery process in the case of satisfying a satellite cycle, reaching the time or time window for the terminal to access next, matching the cell for the terminal to access next, receiving a registration recovery indication, receiving a NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication, or detecting that the service link is available includes: In the case of satisfying a satellite cycle, reaching the time or time window for the next access of the terminal, matching the cell for the next access of the terminal, receiving a registration recovery indication, receiving an NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication, or detecting that the service link is available, and being within the effective duration of the terminal attachment or registration recovery, initiate an attachment or registration recovery process.

8. A communication method for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: A first core network element obtains third information; The first core network element performs an attachment operation or a registration operation in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The third information includes at least one of the following: An indication information, which is used to indicate at least one of the following: using a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the ability to support a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the access method of the terminal through the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication; A satellite cycle; A first return time, which refers to the time when the access network device on the satellite returns to access the first core network element next time; A first type of attachment request message, where the attachment of the first type of attachment request message is an attachment type based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication; A first type of registration request message, where the registration of the first type of registration request message is a registration type based on a store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication A first local configuration information, which indicates that the access of the terminal is through a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The indication information includes at least one of the following: A first indication information, a third indication information; Wherein, the first indication information is carried in an attachment request message or a registration request message, and is used to indicate at least one of the following: indicating to use a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; Indicating the ability to support a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; The third indication information is used to indicate that the terminal accesses through the access method of the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, The performing the attachment operation or the registration operation in the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication includes: When the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, suspend the attachment or registration process of the terminal, or suspend the session establishment process of the terminal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The method further includes at least one of the following: Sending at least one of the following to the terminal; a satellite cycle; the time or time window for the next access of the terminal; the cell information for the next access of the terminal; an indication that the attachment request, the registration request, or the non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; the effective duration of the terminal attachment or registration recovery; When the feeder link is available, resume the suspended attachment or registration process, and the resuming the suspended attachment or registration process includes at least one of the following: authentication of the terminal, obtaining encryption information, and session establishment process; When the feeder link is available or when the first return time is reached, resume the suspended attachment or registration process, and the resuming of the suspended attachment or registration process includes sending a first non-access stratum (NAS) message to the radio access network (RAN), where the first NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request of the terminal, a security command, an attachment acceptance message, a registration acceptance message; When the serving link is available or when an attachment or registration resume indication of the terminal is received, send a second NAS message to the terminal, where the second NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request of the terminal, a security command, an attachment acceptance message, a registration acceptance message; When the serving link is available, send a registration resume indication, or send a NAS signaling or a process suspension resume indication to the terminal.

13. A communication method for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), including: The access network device obtains fourth information; The access network device performs an attachment operation or a registration operation in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information; Wherein, the fourth information includes at least one of the following: A second indication information, which is used to indicate that the terminal uses a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; A second local configuration information, which indicates that the access network device is in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The second indication information is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) message sent to the radio access network (RAN).

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The performing of the attachment operation or the registration operation in the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication includes at least one of the following: When the serving link is unavailable, suspend a third NAS message, where the third NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attachment request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication reply of the terminal, a security command reply, a security command, an authentication request, an attachment acceptance message, a registration acceptance message; When the serving link is available, forward a fourth NAS message to a first core network device, where the fourth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attachment request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication resume of the terminal, a security command reply, an attachment completion message, a registration completion message; When the serving link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, send at least one of the following to the terminal: A satellite cycle; The time or time window for the terminal to access next; The cell information for the terminal to access next; An indication that the attachment request, the registration request or the NAS signaling is suspended; A registration resume indication; A NAS signaling or a process suspension resume indication.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein The method further includes: When the serving link is available or the RRC connection is resumed or a non-access stratum (NAS) connection resume indication of the terminal is received, forward a fifth NAS message to the terminal, where the fifth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request sent by the first core network device to the terminal, a security command sent by the first core network device to the terminal, an attachment acceptance message, a registration acceptance message.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein The method further includes: The access network device selects a first core network element that supports the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein The method further includes: When the feeder link is available, sending a satellite cycle or a second return time to the first core network element, where the second return time refers to the time when the access network device next returns to access the first core network element.

19. A communication device for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: An acquisition module, configured to acquire first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: the network supports the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; the network executes the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; An execution module, configured to perform a first operation of the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the first information, where the first operation includes an attachment operation or a registration operation.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein, The attachment operation includes: Sending an attachment request message of a first type, where the attachment of the attachment request message of the first type is an attachment type based on the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication; The registration operation includes: Sending a registration request message of a first type, where the registration of the registration request message of the first type is a registration type based on the store-and-forward communication mode of satellite communication.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, wherein The device further includes: A receiving module, configured to receive second information sent by the network side, where the second information includes at least one of the following: Satellite cycle; The time or time window when the terminal next accesses; The cell information when the terminal next accesses; An indication that an attachment request, a registration request, or a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; The effective duration for the terminal attachment or registration recovery; A registration recovery indication; An NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication.

22. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein The device further includes: An initiation module, configured to initiate an attachment or registration recovery process when a satellite cycle is satisfied, the time or time window when the terminal next accesses is reached, the cell when the terminal next accesses is matched, a registration recovery indication is received, an NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication is received, or a service link is detected to be available.

23. A communication device for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: An acquisition module, configured to acquire third information; An execution module, configured to perform an attachment operation or a registration operation of the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the third information.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, Performing the attachment operation or the registration operation of the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication includes: When the service link is available and the feeder link is unavailable, suspending the attachment or registration process of the terminal, or suspending the session establishment process of the terminal.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein, The device further includes at least one of the following: A first sending module, configured to send at least one of the following to the terminal: satellite cycle; the time or time window when the terminal next accesses; the cell information when the terminal next accesses; an indication that an attachment request, a registration request, or a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is suspended; the effective duration for the terminal attachment or registration recovery; A first recovery module, configured to recover a suspended attachment or registration process when a feeder link is available, where the recovery of the suspended attachment or registration process includes at least one of the following: authentication of a terminal, acquisition of encryption information, and session establishment process; A second recovery module, configured to recover a suspended attachment or registration process when a feeder link is available or when a first return time is reached, where the recovery of the suspended attachment or registration process includes sending a first non-access stratum (NAS) message to a radio access network (RAN), and the first NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request of the terminal, a security command, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message; A second sending module, configured to send second NAS information to the terminal when a service link is available or when an attachment recovery indication of the terminal is received, and the second NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request of the terminal, a security command, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message; A third sending module, configured to send a registration recovery indication when a service link is available, or send an or-NAS signaling or a process suspension recovery indication to the terminal.

26. A communication device for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: An acquisition module, configured to acquire fourth information; An execution module, configured to perform an attachment operation or a registration operation in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication according to the fourth information; Wherein the fourth information includes at least one of the following: A second indication information, configured to indicate that the terminal uses a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication; A second local configuration information, configured to indicate that the access network device is in a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein, The performing of the attachment operation or the registration operation in the store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication includes at least one of the following: Suspending a third NAS message when a service link is unavailable, where the third NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attachment request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication reply of the terminal, a security command reply, a security command, an authentication request, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message; Forwarding a fourth NAS message to a first core network device when a service link is available, where the fourth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an attachment request of the terminal, a registration request of the terminal, an authentication recovery of the terminal, a security command reply, an attachment completion message, and a registration completion message; When a service link is available and a feeder link is unavailable, sending at least one of the following to the terminal: A satellite cycle; The time or time window for the terminal to access next; Cell information for the terminal to access next; An indication that an attachment request, a registration request, or an NAS signaling is suspended; A registration recovery indication; An NAS signaling or process suspension recovery indication.

28. The device according to claim 26 or 27, wherein The device further includes: A forwarding module, configured to forward a fifth NAS message to the terminal when the service link is available, or the RRC connection is restored, or a non-access stratum (NAS) connection restoration indication of the terminal is received, where the fifth NAS message includes at least one of the following: an authentication request sent by a first core network device to the terminal, a security command sent by the first core network device to the terminal, an attachment acceptance message, and a registration acceptance message.

29. The apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein, The apparatus further includes: A selection module, configured to select a first core network element that supports a store-and-forward communication mode based on satellite communication.

30. The apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein, The apparatus further includes: A sending module, configured to send a satellite period or a second return time to the first core network element when a feeder link is available, where the second return time refers to the time when the access network device next returns to access the first core network element.

31. A terminal, including a processor and a memory, where the memory stores a program or instructions that can run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

32. A network-side device, including a processor and a memory, where the memory stores a program or instructions that can run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 8 to 12 are implemented, or when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 13 to 18 are implemented.

33. A readable storage medium, where a program or instructions are stored on the readable storage medium, and when the program or instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented, or the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 8 to 12 are implemented, or the steps of the communication method of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to any one of claims 13 to 18 are implemented.

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