Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. In the method, a first mobility management network element or an access network element may acquire the position of a terminal and directly perform terminal position verification on the basis of the position of the terminal, wherein a terminal position verification method, which is suitable for various terminals such as IoT devices, is provided; and by means of the method, a cell identifier can be indicated to the first mobility management network element or a second mobility management network element in a timely manner on the basis of a terminal position verification result, thereby facilitating an improvement in the efficiency of a terminal accessing a network.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on January 15, 2024, with application number 202410055120.5 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] Third Generation Partnership Project (3 rd Under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the concept of using location services (LCS) to verify the terminal's location (also known as compliance verification, location validation, or verification) is proposed. This method determines whether the terminal is within the service area of ​​the public land mobile network (PLMN) currently serving the terminal. However, there is currently no solution for verifying terminal location in satellite communications scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for providing a solution for terminal location verification.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be executed by a first communication device, which can be, for example, a first mobility management network element, a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the first mobility management network element, an access network element, or a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) in the access network element, etc., and the present application does not limit this. For ease of description, the communication method is described as an example of a first communication device executing the method. The method includes: receiving first information from a second communication device, the first information indicating the location of a terminal, and when the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network (which can be regarded as the terminal location verification is compliant or passed), sending a cell identifier corresponding to the location to the first mobility management device; or, when the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network (which can be regarded as the terminal location verification is not compliant or passed), sending the cell identifier corresponding to the location to the second mobility management device.

[0007] The first communication device is a first mobility management network element, and the second communication device is the terminal. In this case, the first information is optionally carried in a non-access stratum message. The first communication device is an access network element, and the second communication device is a mobility management network element. In this case, the first information is optionally carried in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message. The first mobility management network element can be understood as a mobility management network element in the first public land mobile network that provides services to the terminal. The second mobility management network element can be understood as a mobility management network element in the second public land mobile network that provides services to the terminal. The service range permitted by a public land mobile network can also be referred to as the service range of a public land mobile network, the operating range permitted by a public land mobile network, the operating range of a public land mobile network, or the signal coverage range of a public land mobile network. The service range not permitted by a public land mobile network can also be referred to as exceeding the service range of a public land mobile network, the operating range not permitted by a public land mobile network, or exceeding (or not within) the signal coverage range of a public land mobile network, without specific limitation. The cell identifier indicates the identifier of the cell corresponding to the terminal's location. The cell identifier can be the identifier corresponding to a physical cell or a logical cell, without limitation. Furthermore, as standards continue to evolve, the term "mobility management network element," "access network element," or "public land mobile network" may have other names, without specific limitation.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, the first mobility management network element can obtain the location of the terminal from the terminal, and based on the compliance of the terminal location verification, adaptively send a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element or the second mobility management network element, providing a method for terminal location verification. In addition, the cell identifier can be fed back to the mobility management network element in a timely manner, so that the mobility management network element can timely register or serve the terminal based on the cell identifier, which is conducive to improving the efficiency of registering or serving the terminal, and can also promptly correct the registration of terminals with non-compliant location verification to a compliant network. Optionally, the first mobility management network element can obtain the location of the terminal through a non-access layer message, or the access network network element can obtain the location of the terminal from the first mobility management network element. The encryption reliability of the non-access layer message is high, so the security of the terminal's location can be improved.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining whether the location of the terminal is within a service range permitted by the first public land mobile network. This can be alternatively described as: determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, or is not within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network (or can be described as being outside the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network).

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first information further indicates: the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network; or the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

[0011] In the case where the first communication device determines whether the location of the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, the first information does not need to indicate whether the location of the terminal is not within or is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network. Alternatively, in the case where the first information indicates that the location of the terminal is not within or is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, the first communication device may not need to determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network. Alternatively, in the case where the first information indicates that the location of the terminal is not within or is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, the first communication device may also determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network. In this way, it is equivalent to verifying twice whether the location of the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, which is beneficial to the reliability of the terminal location verification result.

[0012] In this way, the first communication device does not need to determine whether the terminal's location is within the permitted service range of the first public land mobile network, which relatively reduces the processing workload of the first communication device. Furthermore, the first information can indicate the terminal's location and whether the terminal's location is within the permitted service range of the first public land mobile network, which can relatively reduce the number of interactions between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0013] In one possible implementation, when the location of the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network, the method further includes: sending second information to the terminal, the second information indicating that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first public land mobile network; and / or, sending third information to the terminal, the third information indicating one of the following: the terminal enters an idle state; or the terminal enters an inactive state.

[0014] If the first communication device is a first mobility management network element, the first communication device may send the second information and / or the third information to the terminal through the access network element.

[0015] In this way, when the terminal location verification is not compliant, the terminal can be notified of the non-compliance in a timely manner, and / or the terminal can be controlled to access the idle state or inactive state to save terminal power and avoid the terminal attempting to communicate invalidly with the first mobility management network element, wasting resources.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the terminal's location is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location. This makes the implementation applicable to terminal location verification for IoT devices and other terminals, and has good applicability.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. This method can be executed by a first mobility management network element, or by a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the first mobility management network element, and this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the communication method is described as an example of a first mobility management network element executing the method. The method includes: receiving fourth information from a terminal, the fourth information indicating the location of the terminal, and sending first information to an access network element, the first information indicating the location of the terminal.

[0018] In one possible implementation, before sending the first information to the access network element, the method further includes: determining that a first condition is met, the first condition including at least one of the following: determining that the type of the terminal is the first type; determining that the access type used by the terminal is satellite access; determining that the access network element supports terminal location verification; or, the access network element is deployed on the first satellite.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the location of the terminal is a GNSS location of the terminal.

[0020] On the third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a location compliance proxy network element, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the location compliance proxy network element, etc., and this application does not limit this. With the continuous evolution of the standard, the location compliance proxy network element may have other names, and this is not specifically limited. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method executed by the location compliance proxy network element is used as an example for illustration. The method includes: receiving a first message from a terminal, the first message is used to request registration or service of the terminal; if the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, sending a second message to the first mobility management network element, the second message requesting registration or service of the terminal; or, if the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, sending a third message to the terminal, the third message is used to indicate rejection of registration or service.

[0021] A first public land mobile network currently serves the terminal, and the first mobility management network element belongs to the first public land mobility network. The compliance agent network element may be deployed on a first satellite, for example, the current serving satellite of the terminal, or the satellite that will serve the terminal next time, without specific limitation. The satellite that will serve the terminal next time can be understood as a satellite that will serve the terminal in the future, for example, a satellite that served the terminal during the first time period, or a satellite that will serve the terminal at the terminal's next location, etc. The start (or starting) time of the first time period may be the current time.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, the location-compliant network element deployed on the first satellite can perform terminal location verification without relying on the core network network element to perform terminal location verification, so that the terminal location verification can still be performed when the feeder link corresponding to the terminal is abnormal.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the first mobility management network element, the fourth information being used to trigger the location compliance agent network element to perform terminal location verification, the first mobility management network element belonging to the first public land mobile network and currently serving the terminal.

[0024] In this way, the location compliance proxy network element is equivalent to performing terminal location verification based on the authorization or triggering of the first mobility management network element, so that the location compliance proxy network element or the first mobility management network element can perform terminal location verification based on specific circumstances, which is conducive to improving the flexibility of terminal location verification.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner, the fourth information includes an identifier of the terminal; or the fourth information includes an identifier of the terminal and an identifier of the first public land mobile network.

[0026] In this way, the location compliance agent can identify the terminal for terminal location verification based on the fourth information, and can also identify the public land mobile network currently serving the terminal, thereby facilitating terminal location verification.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from an access network element, where the fifth information indicates the first location of the terminal; and determining, based on the fifth information, that the terminal is located in a preset area.

[0028] The preset area may be, for example, a national border area or a provincial border area, etc., which is not limited thereto. The preset area may be pre-stored, pre-configured, or pre-defined in the location compliance agent network element.

[0029] In this way, the location compliance agent network element can determine that the terminal is located in a preset area, perform terminal location verification, avoid multiple terminal location verifications, reduce unnecessary terminal location verifications, and minimize the processing volume of the location compliance agent network element while ensuring terminal location compliance.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending sixth information to the access network element, where the sixth information further indicates one of the following: deleting (or releasing) the context information of the terminal; the terminal entering an inactive state; or the terminal entering an idle state.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending seventh information to a first positioning network element, the seventh information being used to request the location of the terminal, the first positioning network element being deployed on a first satellite; receiving eighth information from the first positioning network element, the eighth information indicating a second location of the terminal; and determining, based on the second location, whether the terminal is located within a service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

[0032] In this way, the location compliance proxy network element can directly obtain the second location of the terminal based on the first positioning network element on the first satellite, and perform terminal location verification based on the second location, providing a way to obtain the location of the terminal, and determining the second location does not require relying on the core network network element, reducing the interaction between the location compliance proxy network element and the core network element.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving ninth information from an access network element, the ninth information indicating a third location of the terminal; and determining whether the terminal is located within a service range allowed by the first public land mobile network based on the third location.

[0034] In this way, the location compliance agent network element obtains the third location of the terminal from the access network network element, and performs terminal location verification based on the third location, providing a way to obtain the location of the terminal, and determining the second location does not require relying on the core network network element, reducing the interaction between the location compliance agent network element and the core network element.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving key information from the first mobility management network element; and decrypting the ninth information based on the key information to obtain the third location of the terminal.

[0036] In this way, the ninth information can carry the encrypted third location, and while ensuring that the location compliance agent network element obtains the third location of the terminal, the security of the third location can also be guaranteed.

[0037] In a possible implementation, when the terminal is located within a service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, a cell identifier corresponding to the third location is sent to the first mobility management network element.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the second position or the third position is a GNSS position of the terminal.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving tenth information, the tenth information being used to trigger stopping terminal location verification; and stopping terminal location verification based on the tenth information. Optionally, the tenth information may carry an identifier of the terminal to facilitate explicit stopping of the terminal location verification. The tenth information may be received from the first mobility management network element.

[0040] In this way, the location compliance proxy network element can stop the terminal location verification, so that the location compliance proxy network element can relatively flexibly perform the terminal location verification or not perform the terminal location verification.

[0041] In the fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first mobility management network element, or can be a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the first mobility management network element, etc., and this application does not limit this. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method is executed by a location compliance agent network element as an example. The method includes: determining to provide a store-and-forward service for the terminal, the terminal supports the store-and-forward function, or the terminal has signed a store-and-forward service; sending a fourth message to the location compliance agent network element, the fourth message is used to trigger the location compliance agent network element to perform terminal location verification, and the location compliance agent network element is deployed on the first satellite.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second information from the location compliance proxy network element, where the second information requests registration or service of the terminal.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving an eleventh message from the terminal, the eleventh message triggering the deregistration of the terminal or the release of the session corresponding to the terminal; and sending a tenth message to the location compliance proxy network element based on the eleventh message, the tenth message being used to trigger the stopping of the terminal location verification.

[0044] In a possible implementation manner, the first satellite is a current serving satellite of the terminal; or, the first satellite is a satellite that will provide service to the terminal next time.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending key information of the terminal to the location compliance proxy network element.

[0046] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by an access network element, or can be a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the access network element, etc., and the present application does not limit this. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method is executed by an access network element as an example. The method includes: receiving sixth information from a location compliance agent network element, wherein the sixth information indicates one of the following: deleting the context information of the terminal, the terminal entering an inactive state, or the terminal entering an idle state, and the location compliance agent network element is deployed on the first satellite; according to the sixth information, deleting the context information of the terminal, instructing the terminal to enter an inactive state, or instructing the terminal to enter an idle state.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving first information from the terminal, the first information being used to request registration or service of the terminal; and sending the first information to the location compliance proxy network element.

[0048] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending ninth information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the fifth information indicates the third location of the terminal.

[0049] In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by an access network element, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the access network element, etc., and the present application does not limit this. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method is executed by an access network element as an example. The method includes: receiving first information from a location compliance agent element, the first information indicates the location of the terminal, and the location compliance agent elements are all deployed on the first satellite; if the terminal is within the service range of the first public land mobile network, then according to the first information, sending second information to the first mobility management device, wherein the second information indicates a cell identifier, the first mobility management device belongs to the first public land mobile network, and currently serves the terminal; or, if the terminal is not within the service range of the first public land mobile network, sending third information to the terminal, wherein the third information is used to indicate the rejection of registration or service of the terminal; wherein the first public land mobile network currently serves the terminal.

[0050] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network element deployed on the first satellite can perform terminal location verification without relying on the core network element to perform terminal location verification, so that when the feeder link corresponding to the terminal is abnormal, the terminal location verification can still be performed.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from the terminal, the fourth information carrying the location of the terminal; and sending fifth information to the location compliance agent network element based on the fourth information, the fifth information indicating the location of the terminal.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range of the first public land mobile network; or, receiving sixth information from the location compliance agent network element, the sixth information indicating that the location of the terminal is within the service range of the first public land mobile network, or is not within the service range of the first public land mobile network.

[0053] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending seventh information to the terminal, where the seventh information indicates that the terminal is not located within a service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending eighth information to the terminal, where the eighth information indicates one of the following: the terminal enters an inactive state; or the terminal enters an idle state.

[0055] In a possible implementation manner, the first satellite is a current serving satellite of the terminal; or, the first satellite is a satellite that will provide service to the terminal next time.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the position of the terminal is a Global Satellite Navigation System (GNSS) position of the terminal.

[0057] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a location compliance agent network element, or can be a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the location compliance agent network element, etc., and the present application does not limit this. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method is executed by a location compliance agent network element as an example. The method includes: receiving fifth information from an access network network element, the fifth information carries the location of the terminal, and the access network network element is deployed on a first satellite; receiving key information of the terminal from a first mobility management network element; decrypting the fifth information according to the key information to obtain the location of the terminal; sending first information to the access network network element, and the first information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0058] In a possible implementation manner, the first satellite is a current serving satellite of the terminal; or, the first satellite is a satellite that will provide service to the terminal next time.

[0059] In a possible implementation manner, the fifth information is carried in a non-access stratum message.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the location of the terminal is a GNSS location of the terminal.

[0061] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a first mobility management network element, or can be a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the first mobility management network element, etc., and this application does not limit this. For ease of description, the communication method executed by the first mobility management network element is used as an example for illustration. The method includes: obtaining key information of the terminal; sending the key information of the terminal to a location compliance agent network element, and the location compliance agent network element is deployed on the first satellite.

[0062] In a possible implementation manner, the first satellite is a current serving satellite of the terminal; or, the first satellite is a satellite that will provide service to the terminal next time.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining to provide a store-and-forward service for the terminal; receiving ninth information from the terminal, the ninth information indicating that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function; or, receiving tenth information from a unified data management function, the tenth information indicating that the terminal has signed a store-and-forward service.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending eleventh information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the eleventh information is used to trigger the location compliance proxy network element to perform the terminal location verification.

[0065] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal, or can be a software or hardware module (such as a chip) in the terminal, etc., and the present application does not limit this. For the sake of convenience of description, the communication method is executed by the terminal as an example. The method includes: sending ninth information to the first mobility management network element, the ninth information indicating that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function; sending fourth information to the access network network element, the fourth information carrying the location of the terminal.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving third information from an access network element, wherein the third information is used to indicate rejection of registration or service of the terminal.

[0067] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving seventh information from an access network element, where the seventh information indicates that the terminal is not located within a service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving eighth information from an access network element, where the eighth information indicates one of the following: the terminal enters an inactive state; or the terminal enters an idle state.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the location of the terminal is a GNSS location of the terminal.

[0070] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the first communication device in the above-mentioned first aspect, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the first communication device, or a device having the functions of the first communication device in the first aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0071] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive first information from the second communication device; when the terminal's location is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send the cell identifier corresponding to the location to the first mobility management device; or, when the terminal's location is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send the cell identifier corresponding to the location to the second mobility management device.

[0072] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0073] In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the first mobility management network element in the second aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the first mobility management network element, or a device having the functions of the first mobility management network element in the second aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the second aspect above or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0074] For example, the transceiver module is configured to receive third information from the terminal, where the third information indicates the location of the terminal, and send first information to the access network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0075] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0076] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the location compliance proxy network element in the third aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the location compliance proxy network element, or a device having the functions of the location compliance proxy network element in the third aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the third aspect or any possible implementation method above. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0077] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive first information from the terminal, where the first information is used to request registration or service of the terminal; if the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, second information is sent to the first mobility management network element, where the second information requests registration or service of the terminal; or, if the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, third information is sent to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate rejection of registration or service.

[0078] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the third aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0079] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the first mobility management network element in the fourth aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the first mobility management network element, or a device having the functions of the first mobility management network element in the fourth aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the fourth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0080] For example, the processing module is used to determine whether to provide storage and forwarding services for the terminal, the terminal supports the storage and forwarding function, or the terminal has signed a storage and forwarding service contract; the transceiver module is used to send fourth information to the location compliance agent network element, and the fourth information is used to trigger the location compliance agent network element to perform terminal location verification, and the location compliance agent network element is deployed on the first satellite.

[0081] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0082] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the access network element in the fifth aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the access network element, or a device having the functions of the access network element in the fifth aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the fifth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0083] A transceiver module is used to receive sixth information from a location compliance proxy network element, wherein the sixth information indicates one of the following: deleting the context information of the terminal, the terminal entering an inactive state, or the terminal entering an idle state, and the location compliance proxy network element is deployed on the first satellite; a processing module is used to delete the context information of the terminal according to the sixth information, or the transceiver module is used to instruct the terminal to enter an inactive state, or to instruct the terminal to enter an idle state.

[0084] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the fifth aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0085] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the access network element in the sixth aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the access network element, or a device having the functions of the access network element in the sixth aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the sixth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0086] The transceiver module is configured to receive first information from a location compliance proxy network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal, and the location compliance proxy network elements are all deployed on a first satellite; if the terminal is within the service range of the first public land mobile network, send second information to the first mobility management device based on the first information; or, if the terminal is not within the service range of the first public land mobile network, send third information to the terminal.

[0087] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the sixth aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0088] In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the location compliance proxy network element in the seventh aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the location compliance proxy network element, or a device having the functions of the location compliance proxy network element in the seventh aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the seventh aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0089] The transceiver module is used to receive key information of the terminal from the first mobility management network element; decrypt the fifth information according to the key information to obtain the location of the terminal; and send the first information to the access network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0090] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the seventh aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0091] In the seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the first mobility management network element in the eighth aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the first mobility management network element, or a device having the functions of the first mobility management network element in the eighth aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the eighth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device also includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0092] The transceiver module is used to obtain the key information of the terminal; and send the key information of the terminal to the location compliance agent network element, which is deployed on the first satellite.

[0093] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the eighth aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0094] In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a terminal in the ninth aspect above, or a software or hardware module (such as a chip or chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a device having the functions of the terminal in the ninth aspect. The communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the ninth aspect or any possible implementation method. For example, the communication device includes a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device further includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit).

[0095] The transceiver module is used to send ninth information to the first mobility management network element, where the ninth information indicates that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function; and send fourth information to the access network element, where the fourth information carries the location of the terminal.

[0096] The communication device can also execute the method in any possible implementation of the ninth aspect, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0097] In a nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive a signal from a communication device other than the communication device and transmit the signal to the processor, or to transmit the signal from the processor to the communication device other than the communication device, and the processor is configured to implement any one of the methods described in aspects one to nine through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0098] In the specific implementation process, the communication device can be a chip, and the processor can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, and various logic circuits, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation method of the processor.

[0099] In one implementation, the communication device may be a wireless communication device, i.e., a computer device that supports wireless communication functions. Specifically, the wireless communication device may be a terminal device such as a smartphone, or a network device such as a wireless access network device (e.g., a base station).

[0100] In another implementation, the communication device may be a component of a wireless communication device, such as an integrated circuit product such as a system chip or a communication chip. The system chip may also be referred to as a system on chip (SoC), or simply an SoC chip. The communication chip may include a baseband processing chip and a radio frequency processing chip. The baseband processing chip is sometimes also referred to as a modem or baseband chip. The radio frequency processing chip is sometimes also referred to as a radio frequency transceiver or radio frequency chip. In a physical implementation, some or all of the chips in the communication chip may be integrated within the SoC chip. For example, the baseband processing chip is integrated into the SoC chip, while the radio frequency processing chip is not integrated with the SoC chip. The interface circuit may be the radio frequency processing chip in the wireless communication device, and the processor may be the baseband processing chip in the wireless communication device. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor may also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0101] In another embodiment, the communication device may be a chip system, which may be composed of chips or include chips and other discrete devices. The chip system may include, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a CPU, a network processor (NP), a DSP, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0102] In aspect 20, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device. Embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, comprising: a processor; when the communication device is in operation, the processor executes any of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory storing one or more computer programs, and the processor can execute the one or more computer programs to implement any of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9.

[0103] Optionally, the communication device further includes other components, such as an antenna, an input / output module, an interface (such as a communication interface), etc. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0104] In a twenty-first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system. The communication system can implement any of the methods described in aspects one to nine.

[0105] In a possible embodiment, the communication system includes any communication device described in the tenth aspect and any communication device described in the eleventh aspect.

[0106] In another possible embodiment, the communication system includes any communication device described in the twelfth aspect, any communication device described in the thirteenth aspect, and any communication device described in the fourteenth aspect.

[0107] In another possible embodiment, any communication device described in the fifteenth aspect, any communication device described in the sixteenth aspect, any communication device described in the seventeenth aspect, and any communication device described in the eighteenth aspect.

[0108] In the twenty-second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor. Optionally, the chip system may further include an interface (such as a communication interface). The processor can be used to implement any of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs (also referred to as codes, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory so that the device equipped with the chip system executes any of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9. The implementation method of the chip system can refer to the content of the chip system involved in the foregoing text and will not be listed here.

[0109] In a twenty-third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, implements any one of the methods described in aspects one to nine.

[0110] In a twenty-fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product that, when executed on a computer, implements any one of the methods described in aspects one to nine.

[0111] In one possible implementation, the computer program product includes a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute any one of the methods described in aspects 1 to 9.

[0112] In another possible implementation, the computer program product includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute any one of the methods described in the first to ninth aspects.

[0113] Regarding the beneficial effects of any technical solution in the above-mentioned second aspect, fourth aspect, fifth aspect, seventh aspect to twenty-fourth aspect, reference can be made to the beneficial effects discussion of the corresponding technical solution in the first aspect, third aspect or sixth aspect, and the repetitions will not be listed here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0114] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of performing terminal location verification;

[0117] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a discontinuous coverage scenario;

[0118] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] Figures 6 to 13 are schematic diagrams of six communication methods provided in embodiments of the present application;

[0120] 14 to 16 are schematic structural diagrams of three communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0121] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0122] For ease of understanding, some technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are introduced below. These explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the embodiments of the present application.

[0123] 1. A cell can be understood as an area that can provide wireless communication services to terminal devices and is a component unit of a communication network. Alternatively, a cell can be regarded as a division unit of the communication coverage area. An access network element (such as a base station) can correspond to one or more cells, or these one or more cells can be regarded as one or more cells of the access network element. Optionally, a cell is a cell managed by an access network element. For example, the access network element is a base station, and a base station can manage one cell or multiple cells. For example, a cell is a coverage area centered on a base station. For example, when a base station manages multiple cells, the base station can have antennas in multiple directions, and one antenna is used to cover a certain geographical area in the corresponding direction. The geographical area is called a sector. A sector uses one or more wireless carrier frequencies to complete wireless coverage, and a wireless carrier frequency uses a carrier frequency point. The sector and the carrier frequency constitute the minimum service unit for providing access to terminal devices, namely a cell.

[0124] A physical cell can be divided into one or more logical cells, or multiple physical cells can be combined into a logical cell. Alternatively, logical cells can correspond one-to-one to geographic areas. For example, a network operator can divide multiple geographic areas, each of which corresponds to a logical cell. In this case, the logical cells are independent of the physical cells. For example, geographic area A corresponds to logical cell 1. When a satellite moves over geographic area A, devices accessing the area via the satellite are considered to be accessing the area from the corresponding logical cell 1.

[0125] Both logical cells and physical cells can be represented by cell identifiers (cell IDs), such as physical cell identifiers (PCIs). The cell identifiers involved in the embodiments of the present application may be physical cell identifiers or logical cell identifiers, without limitation.

[0126] 2. The PLMN identifier (ID), also known as the PLMN identifier, is used to indicate the PLMN. The PLMN identifier may include, for example, a mobile country code (MCC) and a mobile network code (MNC). The MCC may be uniformly allocated and managed by the ITU and is used to uniquely identify the country to which the mobile user belongs. The MCC may be a specific value. The MNC is used to identify the mobile network to which the mobile customer belongs and may be a 2-3 digit number. In the same country, if there are multiple PLMNs, they can be distinguished by the MNC. In addition to indicating the PLMN, the identifier of the PLMN corresponding to the location of a terminal also reflects the PLMN where the terminal is currently located, that is, the identifier of the PLMN may have the function of indicating the location of the terminal.

[0127] 3. The location of the terminal, which may be the specific (or precise) location of the terminal or the coarse location of the terminal (coarse UE location).

[0128] The specific (or precise) position of the terminal may represent a specific location point of the terminal, or may represent a high-precision location of the terminal. The specific position of the terminal is, for example, the position (or coordinates) of the terminal in a certain coordinate system (such as a world coordinate system or other coordinate systems). When the position of the terminal is the position of the terminal in the world coordinate system, the position of the terminal may be regarded as the geographical location of the terminal, specifically including the longitude and latitude of the terminal, and optionally, the relative height of the terminal. The relative height of the terminal is, for example, the height of the terminal relative to the ground or the horizon.

[0129] The coarse location of a terminal, for example, indicates the terminal's approximate location, but may not specify the terminal's location, or the terminal's coarse location may have significant uncertainty or be less accurate, such as accuracy guaranteed to within 2 km. The coarse location of a terminal is, for example, the terminal's GNSS position, which may also be referred to as GNSS coordinates or the area where the terminal is located.

[0130] The GNSS position includes the longitude and latitude of the terminal (longitude and latitude may be collectively referred to as latitude and longitude). Optionally, the GNSS position also includes the relative altitude of the terminal. For example, the GNSS position of a terminal is (30, 60, 10), which means that the terminal is located at a longitude of 30 degrees (°), a latitude of 60 degrees (°), and an altitude of 10 meters (m).

[0131] The area where the terminal is located can be represented by one of the following methods, for example, or the area where the terminal is located includes one of the following: the PLMN corresponding to the terminal's geographical location, for example, the terminal's location is represented as PLMN1, which means that the terminal's geographical location corresponds to PLMN1; the cell corresponding to the terminal's geographical location, for example, the terminal's location is represented as cell 2, which means that the terminal's geographical location corresponds to cell 2; the index of the synchronization signal corresponding to the terminal's geographical location, for example, the network side sends synchronization signals with different indexes in different areas, then the coarse location corresponding to the terminal can be indicated by indicating the synchronization signal; or, the physical area where the terminal is located, the physical area here can be the same as or different from the geographical area used to map the logical cell in the previous text, and there is no specific limitation on this. Among them, the synchronization signal includes / is replaced by any one or more of the following: synchronization signal (synchronization signal, SS), synchronization signal block (synchronization signal block, SSB), or synchronization signal and PBCH block (synchronization signal block and PBCH block, or, SS / PBCH block, SSB).

[0132] Different network elements or devices may all be able to obtain the terminal's location, but the terminal locations obtained by different network elements or devices may be of the same type, for example, all specific locations of the terminal, or all coarse locations of the terminal, but the terminal locations obtained by different network elements or devices may differ. Alternatively, the terminal locations obtained by different network elements may be of different types, and this is not limited to this. For ease of distinction, the terminal locations obtained by different network elements or devices will be referred to as the terminal's first location, the terminal's second location, the terminal's third location, etc.

[0133] Of course, the location of the terminal may be represented in other ways, and the various embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0134] 4. Terminal identification (ID), used to identify the terminal, such as the permanent and / or temporary identification of the terminal. Permanent identifications include subscription permanent identifiers (SUPI), permanent equipment identifiers (PEI), or generic public subscription identifiers (GPSI). Temporary identifications include subscription concealed identifiers (SUCI) or globally unique temporary identities (GUTI).

[0135] 5. A registration request, also known as a registration request message, is used to request the registration of a terminal, or can be understood as a request to register the terminal with the network so that the network can serve the terminal. A registration request can be used for the initial registration of a terminal. In this case, the registration request can also be referred to as an initial registration request. For example, a terminal can initiate an initial registration request after powering on. Or it can be a request to update the registration of a terminal. In this case, the registration request can also be referred to as a registration update request. For example, a terminal can initiate a registration update request when moving from one country to another. Optionally, the registration request may include an identifier of the terminal, such as SUPI. Optionally, the registration request may also include network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI). NSSAI is used to identify a network slice. For example, the value of NSSAI for a network slice is 0x01000000.

[0136] 6. A service request, also known as a service request message, is used to request a service for a terminal. Specifically, for example, it may be used to establish a session with the terminal, such as a protocol data unit (PDU) session. Optionally, the service request may include information such as the terminal's identifier and / or the type of service requested by the terminal.

[0137] 7. PLMN: The communication network PLMN that provides mobile communication services can be provided by the government or an operator approved by it.

[0138] 8. The permitted service scope of a PLMN can be understood as the service area or operating area that the PLMN can provide, or the signal coverage area of ​​the PLMN, or the service area of ​​the agreed PLMN. The permitted service scope of a PLMN can be described interchangeably as one of the following: permitted service area of ​​the PLMN, service area of ​​the PLMN, service scope of the PLMN, PLMN, permitted operating scope of the PLMN, operating scope of the PLMN, or signal coverage of the PLMN, etc., without specific limitation.

[0139] The first service area may include one or more location areas, each of which is the area covered by a gateway. In other words, the first service area may include one or more areas covered by a gateway. The area covered by a gateway can be understood as a local area covered by the gateway, and a local area can be understood as an area where actual services are provided, or a portion of a theoretically coverable area.

[0140] 9. The terminal is located in the service area allowed by the PLMN or the terminal is not located in the service area allowed by the PLMN.

[0141] The term "a terminal is within the service range permitted by the PLMN" may be alternatively described as one of the following: the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is within the service range (or service area) of the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is within the signal coverage range (signal coverage area) of the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is within the operating range (or operating area) of the PLMN; or the terminal's location (or terminal) is within the operating range (or operating area) permitted by the PLMN, without specific limitations. Similarly, the term "a terminal is not within the service range permitted by the PLMN" may be alternatively described as one of the following: the terminal's location is not within (or exceeds) the service range permitted by the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is not within (or exceeds) the service range (or service area) of the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is not within (or exceeds) the signal coverage range (signal coverage area) of the PLMN; the terminal's location (or terminal) is not within (or exceeds) the operating range (or operating area) of the PLMN; or the terminal's location (or terminal) is not within (or exceeds) the operating range (or operating area) of the PLMN, without specific limitations.

[0142] The terminal being located in the service range permitted by the PLMN may mean that the current location of the terminal actually falls within (or is in) the service range permitted by the PLMN, or that the signal coverage range of the terminal overlaps with the service range permitted by the PLMN, or that the range of overlap between the signal coverage range of the terminal and the service range permitted by the PLMN is greater than or equal to a first preset range, or that the terminal is able to receive signals sent by network elements within the PLMN, or that the geographical area or physical area corresponding to the logical cell corresponding to the terminal overlaps with the service range permitted by the PLMN in a range greater than or equal to a second preset range. There is no limitation on this.

[0143] Similarly, the terminal is not located in the service range permitted by the PLMN, which may be that the current location of the terminal does not fall within (or is in) the service range permitted by the PLMN, or that the signal coverage range of the terminal overlaps with the service range permitted by the PLMN to a range smaller than the first preset range, or that the terminal cannot receive signals sent by network elements within the PLMN, or that the geographical area or physical area corresponding to the logical cell corresponding to the terminal overlaps with the service range permitted by the PLMN to a range smaller than the second preset range, etc., and there is no limitation on this.

[0144] For example, if the service range permitted by a certain PLMN includes the entire area of ​​country C, and the terminal's current location is at a certain location within country C, then the terminal is within the service range permitted by the PLMN. "The terminal is not within the service range permitted by the PLMN" means that the terminal's current location is not within the service range permitted by the PLMN. For example, if the service range permitted by a certain PLMN includes the entire area of ​​country C, and the terminal's current location is at a certain location within country B, then the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the PLMN.

[0145] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0146] In the embodiments of this application, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to define the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, "first information" and "second information" refer to two pieces of information, but do not indicate differences in content, priority, or importance between the two pieces of information.

[0147] In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all indicate that the device will perform a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, do not require the device to perform a judgment action when implemented, and do not imply any other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" are interchangeable, and "when" and "under the circumstances" are interchangeable. "When" and "if" are interchangeable.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication, indirect indication, explicit indication, and implicit indication. When describing a certain indication information as indicating A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A. In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, for example, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information is associated with the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using the order of arrangement of each information agreed in advance (for example, as stipulated by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. In addition, the information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, "sending" and "receiving" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to XX" can be understood as the destination end of the information is XX, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also include indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from YY" can be understood as the source end of the information is YY, which can include direct receiving from YY through the air interface, and also include indirect receiving from YY through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between a network device and a terminal device, or can be carried out within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, a line or an interface.

[0150] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0151] 3GPP proposed the fifth generation mobile communication system (the 5 th Generation system (5GS). 5GS offers high bandwidth, high reliability, and low latency. With the advancement of satellite communication technology, the bandwidth capacity of communication satellites has increased significantly while reducing costs. The convergence of satellite networks and 5G networks is on the rise, and their powerful coverage capabilities will enable 5G networks to reach remote, sparsely populated areas, as well as areas difficult to reach by terrestrial networks, such as oceans and isolated islands.

[0152] 3GPP proposes using satellites as base station radio frequency modules to provide transparent forwarding capabilities, a concept known as a satellite communication system operating in transparent mode. 3GPP also proposes supporting data processing with satellites, meaning they provide non-transparent forwarding capabilities (or regenerative capabilities), a concept known as a satellite communication system operating in regenerative mode.

[0153] For example, Figure 1 illustrates a satellite communication system in regenerative mode. As shown in Figure 1, access network elements (e.g., base stations) in the radio access network (RAN) are deployed on satellites. Terminals access the 5G core network (CN) (abbreviated as 5GC) through the RAN. The RAN deployed on a satellite, also known as an onboard RAN or onboard base station, has regenerative capabilities.

[0154] Alternatively, Figure 2 illustrates another satellite communication system in regenerative mode. As shown in Figure 2, the RAN and user plane function (UPF) are deployed on the satellite. The UPF deployed on the satellite is called an onboard UPF and has user plane data forwarding capabilities.

[0155] The following examples illustrate the implementation of various devices or network elements mentioned above.

[0156] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, sometimes also called user equipment (UE), terminal equipment, access station, UE station, remote station, wireless communication equipment, or user device, etc. It can be a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, or a wireless device built into the above devices (for example, a communication module or a chip system, etc.). The terminal is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc., and can be widely used in various scenarios, such as but not limited to the following scenarios: cellular communication, device-to-device communication (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), machine-to-machine / machine-type communication (M2M / MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, self-driving, remote medical, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots and other scenarios.

[0157] The RAN involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 5G / new radio (NR) mobile communication system, or a future-oriented communication system (or a future evolution communication system). The RAN may also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN). The RAN may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems. The access network element in the RAN may also be referred to as a RAN device, a RAN node, a RAN entity, or an access node.

[0158] In one possible scenario, an access network element may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a future communication system (or a future evolved communication system), a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc. An access network element may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node / host node, or a wireless controller, etc. An access network element may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device, etc. For example, an access network element in V2X technology may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0159] In another possible scenario, the access network element may be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of the base station; or multiple access network elements collaborate to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access, and different access network elements respectively perform part of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network element may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The functions of the CU may be implemented by one entity, or by different entities. For example, the functions of the CU may be further divided, that is, the control plane and the user plane may be separated and implemented by different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (i.e., CU-control plane (CP) entity) and the user plane CU entity (i.e., CU-user plane (UP) entity). The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity may be coupled with the DU to jointly perform the functions of the access network element. The CU and the DU may be separately provided, or may be included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU).

[0160] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called open CU (O-CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. The access network element in the embodiment of the present application may be any unit of CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, RU, and may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0161] The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement: for example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above it (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); the DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC), the media access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below it (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.). For a detailed description of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP or the technical specifications of other applicable communication protocols. The above division of the processing functions of the CU and DU according to the protocol layer is only an example, and can also be divided in other ways, which is not limited by the embodiments of the present application. For example, in one design, the CU or DU can also be divided into parts with partial processing functions of the protocol layer. In one design, part of the functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU.

[0162] 5GC may include one or more core network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF), unified data repository (UDR), authentication server function (AUSF), and location management function (LMF), without specific limitations. The AMF is primarily responsible for access management functions, while the UDM is used to store subscription data and policy data. The AUSF is used to implement user authentication. The LMF is used to locate the terminal.

[0163] In the embodiment of the present application, the function used to implement a certain terminal may be a device, or a device that can support the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system or chip. The device can be installed in the terminal, and there is no limitation on this. In the embodiment of the present application, the network element may be a single device, or it may be a device that integrates multiple devices, or a software or hardware module in the device (such as a chip or chip system, etc.). The network element shown in the embodiment of the present application may also be a logical concept, such as a software module, or a network function corresponding to the service provided by each network element. The network function can be understood as a virtualization function under virtualization implementation, and can also be understood as a network function that provides services under a service-oriented network. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0164] In one possible implementation, in some cases, core network elements may utilize the 3GPP-defined location service (LCS) to perform terminal location verification (also known as terminal location verification, or terminal location verification, etc.) to confirm that the terminal's physical location corresponds to the service scope (or operating scope) allowed by the access PLMN to meet regulatory compliance requirements. For example, the terminal may be located at a national border, and the cell information reported by the RAN does not accurately reflect the UE's location or because the UE's own location reported by the GNSS is not trusted, the core network will call the LCS service to verify the terminal's location.

[0165] Specifically, the access and mobility management network element or the mobility management entity (MME) sends a terminal positioning request to the location management function (LMF) or the evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC). The LMF / E-SMLC calculates the terminal location by exchanging positioning-related messages with the RAN and the terminal, and returns the terminal location to the AME or MME. The AMF / MME relies on the terminal location returned by the LMF / E-SMLC to perform terminal location verification, that is, to determine whether the area represented by the terminal location is within the service range allowed by the current PLMN. If it is found that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the PLMN of the current service terminal, the network will initiate deregistration, that is, the terminal will not be allowed to access the network to meet compliance requirements.

[0166] Among them, LMF / E-SMLC can determine the terminal location through multiple round-trip time (RTT) (abbreviated as Multi-RTT / multi-RTT). The following is an example of the multi-RTT positioning process.

[0167] LMF / E-SMLC measures the signal transmission and reception time between an access network element and a terminal to determine the round-trip signal transmission delay between the terminal and the access network element. Based on this round-trip signal transmission delay, the distance between the terminal and the access network element is calculated, thereby inferring the terminal's location. For example, a circle is formed with the access network element as the center and the distance between the terminal and the access network element as the radius. The intersection of the three circles is the terminal's location. Therefore, this positioning method relies on at least three access network elements.

[0168] Specifically, Multi-RTT combines uplink positioning and downlink positioning, requiring the terminal and multiple access network elements or transmission receive points (TRPs) to send reference signals to each other. LMF / E-SMLC determines the terminal's location based on the time difference between the terminal's received signal and the time difference between the access network element's received signal and the time difference between the access network element's sent signal.

[0169] The positioning process requires both the terminal and the transmitting node (access network element) to measure the arrival time of the signal. For downlink signals, the access network element uses its local clock to record the transmission time t0, and the terminal uses its local clock to measure the arrival time t1 of the downlink signal. For uplink signals, the terminal uses its local clock to record the transmission time t2, and the access network element uses its local clock to measure the arrival time t3 of the uplink signal. The final measured RTT is (t3 - t0) - (t2 - t1). This RTT can be used to estimate the terminal's location.

[0170] In the terrestrial 5GS, the new radio positioning protocol A (NRPPa) messages can be exchanged between the RAN and core network elements (such as LMF) to transmit RAN measurement-related information; NRPPa messages can also be exchanged between the terminal and the LMF to transmit terminal measurement-related information; the LMF can calculate the terminal's position based on the obtained measurement information.

[0171] LMF can send a request to the access network element through NRPPa to request the measurement results of the access network element. The request can carry the requested uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) transmission characteristic information, including the requested UL-SRS transmission number / duration, bandwidth, resource type, requested SRS resource set and the number of each SRS resource set and the carrier frequency of the SRS transmission bandwidth. LMF can send a request to the RAN through NRPPa, carrying TRP measurement request information, including TRP ID, NR cell global identifier (NCGI) of the TRP receiving UL-SRS, terminal-SRS configuration, measurement period, measurement quality and response time, etc.

[0172] The RAN can send uplink information / terminal configuration data to the LMF through NRPPa, such as the terminal's sounding reference signal configuration (SRS configuration), and can also send some auxiliary information, such as the cell global identifier and TRP ID. It can also send measurement results, including the cell ID and TRP ID corresponding to the measurement result, the RAN's Rx-Tx (receive-transmit) time difference and the measurement timestamp.

[0173] The LMF can send a request to the terminal through the LPP protocol, carrying auxiliary data, including the cell global identifier, downlink positioning reference signaling (DL-PRS) configuration of candidate TRPs, etc. The LMF can also request the positioning methods / capabilities supported by the terminal through the LPP.

[0174] The terminal can send measurement results to the LMF through the LPP protocol, including the cell ID and TRP ID corresponding to the measurement results, the terminal's Rx-Tx (receive-transmit) time difference, the measurement timestamp, etc. The terminal can also return the supported positioning methods to the LMF through LPP, such as supporting Multiple-RTT positioning in satellite access scenarios.

[0175] In 4G systems, the NRPPa protocol involved in the above positioning process can be replaced by the Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol (LTE Positioning Protocol, LPP) protocol. LMF can be replaced by E-SMLC.

[0176] The following describes terminal location verification using an example diagram, shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the PLMN currently serving the terminal is PLMN#1. If the terminal is actually within the permitted service range of PLMN#1, the terminal location verification is compliant. If the terminal is not within the permitted service range of PLMN#1, the terminal location verification is not compliant.

[0177] In addition, due to the relative motion of non-geosynchronous satellites such as low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO) relative to the ground, a single satellite may not yet have multiple satellites networked based on inter-satellite links, or may have a constellation with a few sparse inter-satellite links. When the terminal uses satellite access, discontinuous coverage will occur.

[0178] To prevent terminals from continuously searching for signals when there's no satellite coverage, an enhancement has been implemented for this situation. Upon losing satellite coverage, the terminal deactivates the access stratum (AS) function and enters sleep mode. Based on information such as ephemeris received from the RAN and a timer set based on coverage availability information received from the core network, the terminal wakes up when satellite coverage is restored (the terminal stores the AS information). Correspondingly, high-latency communications also support discontinuous coverage scenarios. The MME also considers discontinuous satellite coverage when configuring the cache timer (which sets the storage duration based on the terminal's reachability).

[0179] In reality, a terminal may be located in areas such as the ocean or polar regions. When covered by a satellite, the satellite cannot establish a connection with the ground station, that is, there is no available feeder link. For example, Figure 4 illustrates a scenario with discontinuous coverage. As shown in Figure 4, at time #1, the satellite is located over the ocean and can cover the terminal, but because there is no feeder link, the satellite cannot establish a connection with the 5GC on land through the ground gateway. At time #2, the satellite moves over land and can access the 5GC through the ground gateway. At time #3, the satellite again covers the terminal on the ocean. In this case of discontinuous coverage, if the terminal is to send and receive data, the satellite needs to support store-and-forward. The satellite needs to support caching of uplink and downlink data to achieve tolerance for delays and interruptions. Therefore, 3GPP is discussing support for store-and-forward services in this scenario (i.e., scenarios where the service link and feeder link are not available at the same time) based on the regenerating satellite model.

[0180] Based on the above, the above method of terminal location verification based on LCS service may have the following two problems:

[0181] The first problem is that Internet of Things (IoT) devices may not support LCS services due to hardware capabilities and other reasons, and therefore cannot be used for the above-mentioned terminal location verification. Therefore, how to verify the location of IoT devices in satellite access scenarios is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0182] The second problem is that since LCS services rely on network elements in the core network, and when the feeder link is disconnected, the satellite and the ground station cannot establish a connection, so how to perform terminal position verification in this scenario remains to be solved.

[0183] In order to solve the first problem mentioned above, an embodiment of the present application provides a first communication method, in which a first communication device can obtain first information indicating the location of a terminal from a second communication device, and when the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send a cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal to the first mobility management device; when the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send a cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal to a compliant mobility management network element (such as a second mobility management device). In this way, terminal location verification can be performed directly based on the location of the terminal, providing a mechanism for terminal location verification. Moreover, when the terminal location verification is not compliant, the cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal is sent to the second mobility management network element, so that the second mobility management network element can page the terminal in a timely manner based on the cell identifier, thereby improving the efficiency of registering or serving the terminal.

[0184] In order to solve the second problem mentioned above, an embodiment of the present application provides a second communication method, in which network elements (such as location regulation proxy (LRP) network elements) can be deployed on the satellite, and the location compliance proxy network elements can perform terminal position verification. In this way, there is no need to rely on core network network elements to perform terminal position verification, so that this method can also perform terminal position verification when the feeder link is unavailable.

[0185] In order to solve the second problem mentioned above, the embodiment of the present application also provides a third communication method. In this communication method, an access network network element can be deployed on the satellite, and the access network network element can clearly determine the result of the terminal position verification. For example, the access network network element can directly perform the terminal position verification, or the access network network element can obtain the result of the terminal position verification from the location compliance agent network element. In this way, there is no need to rely on core network network elements to perform terminal position verification, so that this method can also perform terminal position verification when the feeder link is unavailable.

[0186] Any of the aforementioned communication methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to the communication systems described in Figures 1 to 4 . Furthermore, the first communication method may be applied to satellite communication systems in transparent access mode or in regenerative mode, without limitation. Furthermore, any of the aforementioned communication methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to the communication scenario shown in Figure 5 . The communication scenario shown in Figure 5 is described below.

[0187] As shown in Figure 5, this communication scenario includes a terminal, a satellite, and a mobility management network element (e.g., a first mobility management network element or a second mobility management network element). Access network elements can be deployed on the satellite. Optionally, location compliance agent elements and positioning network elements can also be deployed on the satellite.

[0188] The access network element can be used to connect the terminal to the network. The location compliance agent network element can receive uplink messages and / or downlink messages, for example, when the service link and feed are not established at the same time, and forward positioning-related messages. The positioning network element can be used to receive positioning requests and determine the terminal location, for example, by calling NRPPa and LPP messages to obtain the terminal location. The positioning network element can be, for example, the LMF / E-SMLC. The mobility management network element can be used for terminal access to the network, for example, it can be the AMF / MME.

[0189] The location compliance proxy network element is deployed on the satellite, which can be understood as the function for terminal location verification being deployed on the satellite. The location compliance proxy network element may be an independent network element on the satellite, or the function of terminal location verification may be added to an existing network element on the satellite, or the function for terminal location verification may be integrated and set on the first satellite. In the embodiment of the present application, there is no specific limitation on the specific implementation method of the location compliance proxy network element, nor is there a specific limitation on the name of the location compliance proxy network element, that is, the location compliance proxy network element may have other names, and there is no specific limitation on this. A new interface can be added between the location compliance proxy network element and the mobility management network element, and the interface is used for communication between the two. Figure 5 takes the interface as the Np2 or Sp1 interface as an example, and the name of the interface is actually not restricted. The location compliance proxy network element and the access network element can communicate through the N2 or S1 interface, and the name of the interface is not specifically limited. The location compliance proxy network element and the positioning network element can communicate through the NL1 interface or the SLs interface.

[0190] 5 involves a first mobility management network element belonging to a first PLMN, in other words, the first mobility management network element provides services for terminals accessing the first PLMN. A second mobility management network element belongs to a second PLMN, in other words, the second mobility management network element provides services for terminals accessing the second PLMN.

[0191] In one possible implementation, the first communication device mentioned in the first communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be the first mobility management network element involved in Figure 5, and the second communication device may be the terminal involved in Figure 5. Alternatively, the first communication device may be the access network element involved in Figure 5, and the second communication device may be the first mobility management network element involved in Figure 5.

[0192] The above is a detailed introduction to some scenarios to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. In fact, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various similar scenarios, and no specific limitation is made to this.

[0193] The communication scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application, all steps indicated by dotted lines are optional steps. In addition, the access network element involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, the RAN involved in Figure 1, the RAN involved in Figure 2, or the access network element involved in Figure 5; the first mobility management network element involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, the first mobility management network element involved in Figure 5; the second mobility management network element involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, the second mobility management network element involved in Figure 5; the terminal involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, the terminal involved in any of Figures 1 to 4 or 5, the location compliance agent network element involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be the LRP involved in Figure 5, the first satellite involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be, for example, the satellite involved in any of Figures 1 to 5, and the first positioning network element may be, for example, the positioning network element involved in Figure 5. In addition, with the continuous evolution of standards, the names and / or functions of the network elements, information or messages involved in the various embodiments of the present application may change, and there is no limitation on this.

[0194] The following first introduces the first communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0195] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of the first communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The following describes the various steps involved in Figure 6.

[0196] S601: A second communication device sends first information to a first communication device. Accordingly, the first communication device receives the first information from the second communication device. The first information indicates the location of a terminal. Exemplarily, the first information may include N bits, where N is a positive integer, and these N bits may indicate the location of the terminal.

[0197] The content of the terminal's location is different, and accordingly, the way in which the first information indicates the terminal's location (specifically, the way in which N bits indicate the terminal's location) is also different, which are introduced below.

[0198] In the first case, the terminal's location is the terminal's geographic location. The first information includes information about the terminal's geographic location. The details of the terminal's geographic location can be found in the aforementioned geographic location information and are not detailed here. For example, the terminal's geographic location is the terminal's GNSS location. The details of the GNSS location can also be found in the aforementioned GNSS location information.

[0199] For example, the information of the terminal's geographic location may be the latitude and longitude of the terminal's geographic location, and may also include relative altitude, etc. These N bits may carry or carry the latitude and longitude of the terminal's geographic location, and may also include relative altitude, etc. In this way, the terminal's location can be intuitively and precisely indicated.

[0200] Exemplarily, N1 bits out of N bits may be used to carry the longitude of the terminal, and N2 bits out of N bits may be used to carry the latitude of the terminal, N1 and N2 are both positive integers, and the sum of N1 and N2 is less than or equal to N. The N1 bits may be the N1 bits starting from the highest bit, the lowest bit, or the preset bit in the N bits, the N2 bits may be the N2 bits starting after the N1 bit, or may be the N2 bits starting from the highest bit, the lowest bit, or the preset bit in the N bits, and the position of the starting bit of the N1 bits or the N2 bits in the N bits is not limited.

[0201] Optionally, N3 bits of the N bits may be used to carry the relative height of the terminal, where N3 is a positive integer, and the sum of N1, N2, and N3 may be equal to N. The N3 bits may be the N3 bits starting after the N1 bit, or may be the N3 bits starting after the N2 bit, or may be the N3 bits starting from the highest bit, the lowest bit, or the preset bit of the N bits, etc., without limitation.

[0202] For example, if the geographic location of the terminal is (20, 20, 100), the second communication device may use N bits of 10100101001100100, which is equivalent to the first information indicating the location of the terminal. Of these N bits, the first five bits from left to right represent longitude, the sixth to tenth bits from left to right represent latitude, and the sixth to twelfth bits represent the relative altitude of the terminal.

[0203] The second type is that the location of the terminal is the PLMN to which the geographical location of the terminal belongs, and the first information includes an identifier of the PLMN.

[0204] Exemplarily, the N bits in the first information are used to carry the identifier of the PLMN. For example, if the PLMN to which the terminal's geographical location belongs is a first PLMN and the identifier of the first PLMN is 1, then the N bits may carry 1, which is equivalent to indicating the location of the terminal; or, if the PLMN to which the terminal's geographical location belongs is a second PLMN and the identifier of the second PLMN is 2, then the N bits may carry 2, which is equivalent to indicating the location of the terminal.

[0205] The third type is that the terminal location is a cell identifier corresponding to the terminal's geographical location, and the first information includes the cell identifier. The content of the cell identifier can be referred to the content discussed above and will not be listed here.

[0206] For example, the location of the terminal is the cell identifier corresponding to the geographical location of the terminal, and N bits can carry 1, which is equivalent to indicating the location of the terminal.

[0207] In a fourth type, the location of the terminal is a synchronization signal corresponding to the terminal, and the first information may indicate an index of the synchronization signal.

[0208] For example, if the synchronization signal corresponding to the terminal is SSB2, then N bits can carry 2, which is equivalent to indicating the position of the terminal.

[0209] The fifth type is the physical area where the terminal is located (for the sake of distinction, the physical area where the terminal is located mentioned here will be referred to as the first physical area below), then the first information may indicate the number of the physical area where the terminal is located. The N bits in the first information carry the number of the first physical area, which is equivalent to the first information indicating the location of the terminal. The number of the first physical area may be negotiated between the second communication device and the first communication device, or it may be pre-configured or pre-defined by the protocol, such as determined by the protocol, and is not specifically limited. Optionally, the number of the first physical area may be, for example, the administrative area code corresponding to the location of the terminal. By indicating the number of the geographical location of the terminal, it is helpful to save bit overhead.

[0210] For example, the first physical area is numbered 1, and the corresponding geographical location of the terminal belongs to Province A, which means that the terminal is located somewhere in Province A.

[0211] Of course, there may be many ways for the first information to indicate the location of the terminal, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0212] The first communication device and the second communication device are different, so the implementation form of the first information and the way the second communication device sends the first information to the first communication device may be different, which are introduced below.

[0213] A1. The first communication device is an access network element, and the second communication device is a first mobility management element. The first mobility management element is the mobility management element currently serving the terminal. The first mobility management element belongs to a first PLMN, or it can be understood that the first mobility management element is the mobility management element serving the terminal in the first PLMN. Optionally, the first mobility management element can directly send the first information to the access network element. The first information can be a NAS message. The first information can be specifically carried in a registration request or a service request.

[0214] In step A1, the second communication device optionally determines whether the terminal's location is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN. Furthermore, the second communication device further indicates, via the first information, that the terminal is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN or that the terminal is not within the permitted service range of the first PLMN. Thus, upon receiving the first information, the first communication device can determine whether the terminal's location is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN.

[0215] Exemplarily, the second communication device may determine, based on the first information, that the PLMN currently serving the terminal is the first PLMN, or the second communication device may pre-store the PLMN currently serving the terminal as the first PLMN. For example, the second communication device may pre-store the first PLMN currently serving the terminal during the terminal access process, and then the second communication device may directly determine, based on the location of the terminal, whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0216] Among them, determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN can be alternatively described as one of the following: determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, or not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN); determining whether the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN; or, determining whether the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, or not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0217] The specific content of the terminal's location is different, so the second communication device determines whether the terminal's location belongs to the service range allowed by the first PLMN in different ways, which are introduced below.

[0218] B1. The location of the terminal is the geographical location of the terminal.

[0219] Under B1, the second communication device may directly determine whether the geographical location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0220] If the geographical location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, then it indicates that the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. If the geographical location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, then it indicates that the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0221] B2. The location of the terminal is the cell corresponding to the terminal.

[0222] If the cell represents a physical cell, the second communication device may directly determine whether the physical cell corresponding to the terminal is located in the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0223] For example, if all cells corresponding to the terminal are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the center of the cell corresponding to the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the first specific area of ​​the cell corresponding to the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the cell corresponding to the terminal and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is greater than or equal to a second preset range, then the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The first specific area is, for example, the center area of ​​the cell. If none of the cells corresponding to the terminal are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the center of the cell corresponding to the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the first specific area of ​​the cell corresponding to the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the edge area of ​​the cell corresponding to the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the cell corresponding to the terminal and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is less than a second preset range, then the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The ranges of the first specific area, the edge area, and the second preset range can all be preconfigured or predefined in the second communication device, or determined independently by the second communication device, without limitation.

[0224] If the cell represents a logical cell, and the logical cell corresponds to a physical cell, then the second communication device can directly determine whether the physical cell corresponding to the logical cell corresponding to the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. The method for determining whether the physical cell is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN can refer to the content discussed above and will not be listed here.

[0225] If the cell identifier is a logical cell, and the logical cell corresponds to a geographical area, the second communication device may directly determine whether the geographical area is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0226] For example,

[0227] B3. The location of the terminal is the PLMN corresponding to the terminal.

[0228] Under B3, the second communication device may directly determine whether the PLMN to which the geographical location of the terminal belongs is the first PLMN.

[0229] If the PLMN to which the terminal's geographical location belongs is the first PLMN, then the terminal's location is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. If the PLMN to which the terminal's geographical location belongs is not the first PLMN, then the terminal's location is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0230] If all geographic areas are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the geographic area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the second specific area of ​​the geographic area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the geographic area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the geographic area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is greater than or equal to a second preset range, then the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The second specific area is, for example, the center area of ​​the geographic area. If none of the geographic areas are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the center area of ​​the geographic area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the second specific area of ​​the geographic area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the edge area of ​​the geographic area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the geographic area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is less than a second preset range, then the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The second characteristic area, the edge area, and the second preset range can all be preconfigured or predefined in the second communication device, or determined independently by the second communication device, without limitation.

[0231] B4. The position of the terminal is the synchronization signal corresponding to the terminal.

[0232] Under B4, the second communication device may directly determine whether the area corresponding to the synchronization channel (for ease of description, this area will be referred to as the first area hereinafter) is located in the first PLMN.

[0233] If all first areas are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the first area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the third specific area of ​​the first area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the first area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the first area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is greater than or equal to a second preset range, then the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The third specific area is, for example, the center area of ​​the first area. If all first areas are not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the center of the first area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the third specific area of ​​the first area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the edge area of ​​the first area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the first area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is less than a second preset range, then the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The ranges of the third specific area, the edge area, and the second preset range can all be preconfigured or predefined in the second communication device, or determined independently by the second communication device, without limitation.

[0234] B5. The location of the terminal is the physical area corresponding to the terminal.

[0235] Under B5, the second communication device may directly determine whether the PLMN to which the physical area corresponding to the terminal belongs is the first PLMN.

[0236] If all physical areas are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the physical area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the fourth specific area of ​​the physical area is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the physical area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the physical area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is greater than or equal to a second preset range, then the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The fourth specific area is, for example, the center area of ​​the physical area. If none of the physical areas are within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the center of the physical area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the fourth specific area of ​​the physical area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the edge area of ​​the physical area is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or the overlapping area between the physical area and the service range permitted by the first PLMN is less than a second preset range, then the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The ranges of the fourth specific area, the edge area, and the second preset range can all be preconfigured or predefined in the second communication device, or determined independently by the second communication device, without limitation.

[0237] A2. The first communication device is a first mobility management network element, and the second communication device is a terminal.

[0238] The first information may be of a type such as an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message, without specific limitation. The first information may be carried in a registration request or a service request. The contents of the registration request and service request are described above and will not be repeated here. In A2, the terminal may optionally send the first information to the first mobility management network element via the access network element.

[0239] S602: When the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the first communication device sends a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element.

[0240] If the first information indicates that the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or that the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the first communication device may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN after receiving the first information. Alternatively, the first communication device may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the terminal's location. The method for the first communication device to determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN can be referred to above regarding the second communication device determining whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the terminal's location, and any repetitions are omitted.

[0241] In short, the first communication device can determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN or not. If the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the first communication device can send a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element.

[0242] Exemplarily, the first communication device may be preconfigured or predefined with a first correspondence, and the first correspondence includes a correspondence between a geographical area and a cell identifier. In this way, the first communication device may determine the geographical area corresponding to the location of the terminal based on the first correspondence and the location of the terminal, and then determine the cell identifier corresponding to the geographical area, that is, the cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal. The multiple geographical areas corresponding to the multiple cell identifiers may partially overlap, and this is not limited. Alternatively, in the case where the first information indicates the location of the terminal through a cell identifier, the first communication device may directly determine the cell identifier based on the first information.

[0243] The cell identifier is described above and will not be further elaborated here. The cell identifier represents the terminal's location and can be used to identify the terminal's location and to page the terminal. In satellite communication systems, satellites move at high speeds. Therefore, the first communication device promptly transmits the cell identifier to the first mobility management network element. This allows the first mobility management network element to promptly detect the terminal's location, register the terminal, and provide services to the terminal in a more timely manner.

[0244] In addition to sending the cell identifier to the first mobility management network element, if the first information is carried in a registration request or a service request, the first communications device may optionally also forward the registration request or the service request to the first mobility management network element, so that the first mobility management network element can promptly register the terminal or provide services for the terminal. In this case, the first communications device may carry the cell identifier in the registration request or the service request and send it to the first mobility management network element.

[0245] S603: When the terminal is not located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the first communication device sends a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element.

[0246] The second mobility management network element belongs to the PLMN corresponding to the terminal's location, or it can be understood that the second mobility management network element is the mobility management network element serving the terminal in the second PLMN. In other words, the mobility management network element currently serving the terminal is the first mobility management network element, but the PLMN corresponding to the terminal's location may not be the first PLMN to which the first mobility management network element belongs, but may be the second PLMN. In this case, the first communication device can send a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element in the second PLMN. In this way, the second mobility management network element can page the terminal earlier based on the cell identifier and provide services to the terminal, facilitating rapid handover and network access for the terminal.

[0247] The following describes an example of how the first communication device determines the second mobility management network element.

[0248] The first communication device may pre-store a second correspondence, where the second correspondence indicates a correspondence between the second PLMN and the mobility management network element. For example, the second correspondence includes a correspondence between an identifier of the second PLMN and an identifier of the mobility management network element. In this manner, the first communication device may directly determine that the mobility management network element corresponding to the second PLMN is the second mobility management network element, and send the cell identifier to the second mobility management network element.

[0249] In the case where there are multiple mobility management network elements corresponding to the second PLMN, the first communication device may determine the mobility management network element that is closest to the terminal among these multiple mobility management network elements as the second mobility management network element, or determine the mobility management network element that has the best communication quality with the terminal among these multiple mobility management network elements as the second mobility management network element, without any specific limitation.

[0250] In addition to sending the cell identifier to the second mobility management network element, if the first information is carried in a registration request or service request, the first communication device may optionally forward the registration request or service request to the second mobility management network element, so that the second mobility management network element can promptly register the terminal or provide services for the terminal. In this case, the first communication device may optionally carry the cell identifier in the registration request or service request and send it to the second mobility management network element. In this way, there is no need for the terminal to separately initiate a registration or service request to the second mobility management network element, thereby reducing the number of interactions in the communication system.

[0251] S602 and S603 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S602 or step S603 is executed.

[0252] In an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device may send the location of the terminal to the first communication device, so that the first communication device can verify the terminal location by itself, or the first communication device can obtain the terminal location verification result from the first mobility management network element, providing a mechanism that can be applied to various terminal devices such as IoT devices for terminal location verification. In addition, if the terminal location verification is compliant, the first communication device may map the terminal location into a cell identifier and send it to the first mobility management network element, so that the first mobility management network element can quickly register the terminal for terminal service; if the terminal location verification is not compliant, the first communication device may reselect the mobility management network element based on the actual location of the terminal, so that the reselected mobility management network element can quickly register the terminal and serve the terminal, thereby reducing the time it takes for the terminal to switch networks.

[0253] The first communication device and the second communication device are different, and the interaction processes between the various network elements involved are also different. The following describes an example of the interaction between the various network elements, using the schematic diagram of a communication method shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 uses the scenario shown in A1 above (i.e., the first communication device is an access network element, and the second communication device is a first mobility management) as an example. The following describes the various steps illustrated in Figure 7.

[0254] S701: A non-access stratum (NAS) connection is established between a terminal and a first mobility management network element. The first mobility management network element currently serves the terminal and belongs to a first PLMN. The first PLMN currently serves the terminal.

[0255] Exemplarily, the terminal may request the first mobility management network element to send a connection establishment request message. Optionally, the connection request message may carry the terminal identifier. After receiving the connection establishment request message, the first mobility management network element may send a NAS security mode command message to the terminal. The NAS security mode command message includes key information, which is used to encrypt messages between the terminal and the first mobility management network element. Optionally, the NAS security mode command message may also include algorithm information so that the terminal can clearly understand the algorithm used between the terminal and the first mobility management network element, or the algorithm information may also be preconfigured or predefined in the terminal.

[0256] In this way, the terminal can establish a NAS connection with the first mobility management network element through the access network element, facilitating subsequent communication between the terminal and the first mobility management network element based on the NAS connection. Furthermore, if the terminal is an IoT device, such as an NB-IoT device, the terminal may not support AS or AS communication may be insecure. In this case, the terminal can communicate with the first mobility management network element using the established NAS connection.

[0257] If the terminal has established a NAS connection with the first mobility management network element, or has established other communication connections, then there is no need to perform step S701, that is, S701 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in FIG7 .

[0258] S702: The terminal sends fourth information to an access network element. In response, the access network element receives the fourth information from the terminal. The fourth information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0259] The fourth information may be a NAS message or other message, and is not specifically limited to this. For example, the fourth information may be carried in a registration request or a service request. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the fourth information. The manner in which the fourth information indicates the location of the terminal can refer to the content of the first information indicating the location of the terminal discussed in FIG6 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here. The meaning of the terminal location can refer to the content of the terminal location involved in FIG6 above, and is not listed here.

[0260] For example, the terminal measures GNSS signals from the network side (such as an access network element) to obtain the terminal's location, specifically, the terminal's GNSS location. Alternatively, the terminal may pre-store its own location, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the terminal obtains its location.

[0261] When the terminal receives key information from the first mobility management network element, the terminal can also use the key information to encrypt the first information, or can encrypt the information carried by the first information for indicating the location of the terminal to ensure the security of the terminal's location.

[0262] Optionally, in addition to indicating the location of the terminal, the fourth information may also include an identifier of the terminal. Optionally, the fourth information may also include an identifier of the PLMN currently serving the terminal (i.e., an identifier of the first PLMN). The contents of the terminal identifier and the PLMN identifier may refer to the contents of the terminal identifier and the PLMN identifier described above, respectively, and are not listed here.

[0263] S703: The access network element sends fifth information to the first mobility management element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management element receives the fifth information from the access network element. The fifth information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0264] The manner in which the fifth information indicates the location of the terminal can refer to the content of the first information indicating the location of the terminal discussed in FIG. 6 above, and will not be listed here. The fifth information can also be a NAS message. The third information can also be carried in a registration request or service request, which is not limited to this. The content of the registration request and service request can refer to the content of the registration request or service request discussed above, and will not be listed here. In addition to indicating the location of the terminal, the fifth information can also include the terminal's identifier. Optionally, the fifth information can also include the identifier of the PLMN currently serving the terminal (i.e., the identifier of the first PLMN), etc.

[0265] The fifth information and the fourth information may be identical or different. For example, the access network element may perform format conversion or encapsulation on the fourth information to obtain the fifth information, which is not limited to this.

[0266] S704: The first mobility management network element determines whether the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0267] If the third information indicates the identifier of the first PLMN, the first mobility management network element may determine, based on the fifth information, that the PLMN currently serving the terminal is the first PLMN. Alternatively, if the first mobility management network element corresponds to only one PLMN (or exclusively occupies one PLMN), the first mobility management network element may determine on its own that its corresponding PLMN is the first PLMN. Alternatively, the first mobility management network element may pre-store the first PLMN serving the terminal. Furthermore, the first mobility management network element may directly determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. The manner in which the first mobility management network element determines whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN may refer to the content of the second communication device determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN discussed in FIG6 above, and repeated descriptions will be omitted.

[0268] Before the first mobility management network element determines whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, optionally, if the fifth information is encrypted using key information, or the information in the fifth information indicating the location of the terminal is encrypted, then the first mobility management network element can use the key information corresponding to the terminal to decrypt the fifth information and obtain the location of the terminal.

[0269] S705: The first mobility management network element sends first information to the access network element. Correspondingly, the access network element receives the first information from the first mobility management network element.

[0270] The content of the first information can refer to the content of the first information discussed in S601 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here. In this case, the information used to indicate the location of the terminal in the first information can be unencrypted information, so that the access network element can directly obtain the location of the terminal.

[0271] When the third information includes the terminal identifier, the first information may also optionally include the terminal identifier. When the third information also includes the identifier of the PLMN currently serving the terminal (i.e., the identifier of the first PLMN), the first information may also optionally include the identifier of the PLMN currently serving the terminal (i.e., the identifier of the first PLMN), etc.

[0272] When S704 is executed, the first information may further optionally indicate whether the location of the terminal (or the terminal) is within or not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. Thus, the access network element may directly determine, based on the first information, whether the location of the terminal is within or not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0273] [Corrected 18.02.2025 according to Rule 91] The first mobility management network element may directly execute step S705 after obtaining the terminal's location. Alternatively, the first mobility management network element may execute step S705 when the following first condition is met. The first condition includes at least one of the following C1 to C3.

[0274] C1. The terminal type is type 1. For example, type 1 indicates a terminal that is an IoT device, or type 1 indicates a terminal that does not support LCS services, etc., and this is not limited.

[0275] The first type may be preconfigured or predefined in the first mobility management network element, or may be acquired by the first mobility management network element from the terminal, thereby determining whether the type of the terminal is the first type.

[0276] C2. The access type used by the terminal is satellite access. The access type used by the terminal can be an access technology or method supported by the terminal, or the access technology used by the terminal for this access. Satellite access can be understood as the terminal accessing a network (such as the core network) via satellite, or the terminal receiving network services via satellite.

[0277] The access type used by the terminal may be preconfigured or predefined in the first mobility management network element, or may be obtained by the first mobility management network element from the terminal, thereby determining whether the access type of the terminal is satellite access.

[0278] C3. The access network element supports terminal location verification. The access network element supports terminal location verification, which can be understood as the access network element having the capability (or function) of terminal location verification, or the access network element having the capability of assisting terminal location verification.

[0279] Exemplarily, the access network element supporting terminal location verification may be acquired by the first mobility management network element from the access network element.

[0280] The above S704 to S705 can be regarded as the first way for the access network element to clearly determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0281] S706: The access network element determines whether the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0282] The manner in which the access network element determines whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN can refer to the content of whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN in S704, and the content of the first mobility management network element determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0283] The above S705 to S706 are the second way for the access network element to clarify whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN or not.

[0284] In actual implementation, only steps S704-S705 or only steps S705-S706 may be executed. Therefore, one of steps S704 and S706 is optional, and these two steps are indicated by dashed lines in Figure 7. Alternatively, both steps S704 and S706 may be executed, which is equivalent to performing terminal location verification twice, thereby improving the reliability of terminal location verification.

[0285] S707: When the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element.

[0286] When the access network element can determine, based on the first information, that the terminal's location (or the terminal) is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or can independently determine that the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the access network element can map the terminal's location to a cell identifier. The method for determining the cell identifier by the access network element can refer to the method for determining the cell identifier by the first communication device discussed in FIG6 above and will not be further detailed here. Alternatively, when the first information indicates the terminal's location via a cell identifier, the access network element can directly obtain the cell identifier based on the first information. The access network element then transmits the cell identifier to the first mobility management element. The cell identifier can also be carried in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message, without specific limitation. The cell identifier's content can refer to the cell identifier content discussed above and will not be further detailed here. The cell identifier represents the terminal's location and can be used to identify the terminal's location and page the terminal. In satellite communication systems, satellites move at high speeds. Therefore, the access network element promptly transmits the cell identifier to the first mobility management element, enabling the first mobility management element to promptly detect the terminal's location, register the terminal, and provide services to the terminal more promptly.

[0287] S708: If the terminal is not located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends a cell identifier to the second mobility management element. Correspondingly, the second mobility management element receives the cell identifier from the access network element.

[0288] The manner in which the access network element determines the cell identifier may refer to the content discussed above, and the meaning of the cell identifier may also refer to the content discussed above, which will not be repeated here.

[0289] In the case where the access network element can determine based on the first information that the location of the terminal (or the terminal) is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, or can determine on its own that the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, in the case where the location of the terminal (or the terminal) is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, it means that the terminal location verification is not compliant (or fails), so the access network element can determine the PLMN to which the location of the terminal actually corresponds (the second PLMN is taken as an example in the embodiment of the present application). The access network element can send a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element in the second PLMN. The cell identifier can also be carried in the N2 interface message or the S1 interface message, and there is no limitation on this. Among them, the way in which the access network element determines the second mobility management network element can refer to the content of the first communication device determining the second mobility management network element discussed in Figure 6 above, and will not be listed here.

[0290] If the first information is included in the registration request or service request, the access network element may also optionally forward the registration request or service request to the second mobility management network element, so that the second mobility management network element can promptly register the terminal or provide services for the terminal. In this case, the cell identifier may optionally be included in the registration request or service request.

[0291] The above S707 and S708 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S707 or step S708 is executed.

[0292] S709: The access network element sends a second message to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the second message from the access network element. The second message indicates that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. This allows the terminal to clearly understand that its location verification is non-compliant.

[0293] S710: The access network element sends sixth information to the first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives the sixth information from the first mobility management network element. The sixth information indicates deregistering the terminal or releasing the context information of the terminal.

[0294] When the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element may notify the first mobility management network element to deregister the terminal or release (or delete) the context information of the terminal, so that the first mobility management network element can release (or delete) the context information of the terminal, which is equivalent to the first mobility management network element not providing services for the terminal. The context information of the terminal refers to the information stored related to the terminal, such as the session information, key information, or encryption algorithm of the terminal stored by the first mobility management network element. Optionally, the sixth information may include the identifier of the terminal so that the first mobility management network element can clearly identify which terminal is being deregistered.

[0295] S711. The first mobility management network element sends seventh information to the access network element. Accordingly, the access network element receives the seventh information from the first mobility management network element. The sixth information indicates that deregistration is complete. Optionally, the seventh information includes an identifier of the terminal.

[0296] After the first mobility management network element deregisters the terminal, it may also send seventh information to the access network element to notify the terminal deregistration is complete. Optionally, the seventh information may include the terminal identifier so that the access network element can clearly identify the terminal for which deregistration is completed.

[0297] S712: The access network element sends third information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the third information from the access network element. The third information indicates that the terminal enters an idle state or an inactive state.

[0298] The access network element may also notify the terminal to enter an idle state or an inactive state, etc., to prevent the first PLMN from continuing to serve the terminal, or to prevent the terminal from continuing to invalidly attempt to communicate with the first mobility management network element, thereby wasting resources.

[0299] The access network element executes steps S709 and S712. The access network element may also execute one of steps S709 and S712, or execute neither step S709 nor step S712. There is no limitation on this. In short, S709 and S712 are both optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG7 .

[0300] In another possible design, the access network element sends the third information to the terminal, which is equivalent to indicating that the terminal is not located in the service range allowed by the first PLMN. In this case, sending the third information can be regarded as a method of sending the second information (in other words, S712 can be regarded as a method of implementing S709). In this case, there is no need to execute the step S709.

[0301] S709 to S712 are steps that may be executed when the terminal is not located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. Of course, these steps may not be executed, or some of these steps may be executed (for example, executing S709, executing S710 and S711, executing S712, or executing S710 to S712, etc.). In short, S709 to S712 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 7.

[0302] In an embodiment of the present application, the first mobility management network element can reroute the location of the terminal to the access network network element, so that the access network network element can verify the terminal location on its own, or the first mobility management network element can verify the terminal location based on the location of the terminal and notify the access network network element of the terminal location verification result, providing a mechanism that can be applied to various terminal devices such as IoT devices for terminal location verification. In addition, if the terminal location verification is compliant, the access network network element can map the terminal location into a cell identifier and send it to the first mobility management network element, so that the first mobility management network element can quickly register the terminal for terminal service; if the terminal location verification is not compliant, the access network network element can reselect the mobility management network element based on the actual location of the terminal, or directly release the terminal connection and / or notify the first mobility management network element to release the terminal connection, which is conducive to the terminal quickly switching networks.

[0303] The first communication device and the second communication device are different, and the interaction processes between the various network elements involved are also different. The following describes an example of the interaction between the various network elements involved, using the schematic diagram of a communication method shown in Figure 8. Figure 8 uses the scenario shown in A2 above (i.e., the first communication device is a first mobility management device, and the second communication device is a terminal) as an example. The following describes the various steps illustrated in Figure 8.

[0304] S801: A NAS connection is established between the terminal and the first mobility management network element. The contents of establishing the NAS connection can refer to the contents of establishing the NAS connection discussed in S701 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here.

[0305] S802: The terminal sends fourth information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the fourth information from the terminal. The fourth information indicates the location of the terminal. The content of the fourth information and the location of the terminal can be found in the discussion of FIG. 7 , respectively. Any repetitions are omitted.

[0306] S803: The access network element sends first information to the first mobility management element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management element receives the first information from the access network element. The first information indicates the location information of the terminal.

[0307] The first information may be a NAS message. The first information may be carried in, for example, a registration request or a service request. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the fourth information. The contents of the registration request and service request may refer to the registration request and service request discussed above, respectively, and any repetitions are omitted. The first information may also indicate the terminal's identifier. Optionally, the first information also indicates the identifier of the PLMN currently serving the terminal (i.e., the identifier of the first PLMN).

[0308] S804: The first mobility management network element determines whether the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0309] The manner in which the first mobility management network element determines the first PLMN, the content of whether the location of the terminal is within the service scope allowed by the first PLMN, and the manner in which whether the location of the terminal is within the service scope allowed by the first PLMN is determined can be referred to respectively in the aforementioned FIG. 7 , which respectively include the manner in which the first mobility management network element determines the first PLMN, the content of whether the location of the terminal is within the service scope allowed by the first PLMN, and the content of determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service scope allowed by the first PLMN. The repeated parts will not be repeated here.

[0310] S805: The first mobility management network element determines the cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal. S805 may also be equivalent to the first mobility management network element clarifying the cell identifier.

[0311] The content of the cell identifier and the content of the cell identifier corresponding to the terminal position determined by the first mobility management network element can refer to the content of the cell identifier involved in Figure 7 above and the content of the cell identifier corresponding to the terminal position determined by the access network element, and the repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0312] S806: When the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the first mobility management network element registers the terminal or provides services for the terminal according to the cell identifier.

[0313] When the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, it means that the first mobility management network element should serve the terminal. Therefore, when the first information is a registration request, the first mobility management network element registers the terminal according to the cell identifier; or, when the first information is a service request, the first mobility management network element provides corresponding services to the terminal according to the cell identifier.

[0314] S807: If the terminal is not located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the first mobility management network element sends a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the second mobility management network element receives the cell identifier from the first mobility management network element.

[0315] When the location of the terminal (or the terminal) is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, it means that the terminal location verification is not compliant (or fails), so the first mobility management network element can determine the PLMN to which the terminal location actually corresponds (the second PLMN is taken as an example in the embodiment of the present application), and the first mobility management network element can send a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element in the second PLMN. The cell identifier can also be carried in the N2 interface message or the S1 interface message, and there is no limitation on this. The way in which the first mobility management network element determines the second mobility management network element can refer to the second communication device determining the second mobility management network element discussed in Figure 6 above, and will not be listed here.

[0316] In addition to sending the cell identifier to the second mobility management network element, if the fourth information is a registration request or a service request, optionally, the first mobility management network element can also forward the registration request or service request to the second mobility management network element, so that the second mobility management network element can register the terminal in a timely manner or provide services for the terminal.

[0317] The above S806 and S807 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S806 or step S807 is executed.

[0318] S808: The first mobility management network element deregisters the terminal. The manner in which the first mobility management network element deregisters the terminal can refer to the contents of the first mobility management network element deregistering the terminal discussed in FIG6 above, and will not be detailed here.

[0319] S809: The first mobility management network element sends second information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information from the first mobility management network element. The second information indicates that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0320] Exemplarily, the first mobility management network element may send the second information to the terminal via the access network element. The second information may be, for example, a NAS message. If the terminal's location is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the first mobility management network element may also notify the terminal that it is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. This allows the terminal to clearly understand that its location verification is non-compliant.

[0321] S810: The first mobility management network element sends third information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the third information from the first mobility management network element. The third information indicates that the terminal enters an idle state or an inactive state.

[0322] Exemplarily, the first mobility management network element may send third information to the terminal via the access network element. The third information may be, for example, a NAS message. If the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the first mobility management network element may send the third information to the terminal, causing the terminal to not access the first mobility management network element.

[0323] The first mobility management network element may execute steps S809 and S810, or may execute one of steps S809 and S810, or may execute neither S809 nor S810, which is not limited.

[0324] In another possible design, the first mobility management network element sends the third information to the terminal, which is equivalent to indicating that the terminal is not located in the service range allowed by the first PLMN. In this case, sending the third information can be regarded as an implementation method of sending the second information (that is, S810 can be regarded as an implementation method of S809). In this case, there is no need to execute step S809.

[0325] S808 to S810 are steps that may be executed when the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. Of course, these steps may not be executed, or some of these steps may be executed (for example, executing S808, executing S809 and S810, or executing S810, or executing S808 to S810, etc.). In short, S808 to S810 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 8.

[0326] In an embodiment of the present application, the first mobility management network element can independently verify the terminal location based on the terminal's location, providing a mechanism for verifying the location of various terminal devices. Furthermore, if the terminal location verification is compliant, the first mobility management network element can directly map the corresponding cell identifier based on the terminal's location to provide services to the terminal; if the terminal location verification is not compliant, the first mobility management network element can reselect a mobility management network element based on the terminal's actual location, or directly release the terminal's connection and / or notify the first mobility management network element to release the terminal's connection, thereby facilitating the terminal's rapid network switching.

[0327] It should be noted that the access network elements involved in the above-mentioned first communication method (such as the access network elements involved in Figure 6, Figure 7 or Figure 8) can be deployed on the satellite, or not deployed on the satellite, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0328] The following introduces the second communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0329] The second communication method is described below by way of example with reference to a schematic diagram of a communication method shown in Figure 9. The steps shown in Figure 9 are described below.

[0330] S901: A terminal sends first information to a location compliance proxy network element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the first information from the terminal. The first information is used to request registration or service of the terminal.

[0331] The terminal may send the first information directly to the location compliance proxy network element. Alternatively, the terminal may send the first information to the location compliance proxy network element via an access network element. The access network element is deployed on the first satellite. For example, if the terminal sends the first information to the access network element and the access network element determines that the feeder link is disconnected, the first information may be forwarded directly to the location compliance proxy network element. The first information may be a NAS message.

[0332] The first information may be carried in a registration request or a service request. The contents of the registration request and service request can be referenced above, respectively, and are not listed here. Optionally, the first information may carry a terminal identifier. The contents of the terminal identifier can be referenced above, and are not listed here.

[0333] S902: When the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends a second message to the first mobility management network element. In response, the first mobility management network element receives the second message from the location compliance proxy network element. The second message is used to request registration or service of the terminal. Optionally, the second message may also carry an identifier of the terminal.

[0334] The location compliance proxy network element can obtain information from other network elements, which indicates whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. In this way, the location compliance proxy network element can clearly determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. Alternatively, the location compliance proxy network element determines whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the location of the terminal. The method for the location compliance proxy network element to determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN can refer to the method for determining whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN discussed in Figure 6 above. The repeated parts will not be repeated. This involves how the location compliance proxy network element obtains the location of the terminal. The following describes the method for the location compliance proxy network element to obtain the location of the terminal.

[0335] D1. The location compliance proxy network element obtains the second location of the terminal from the first positioning network element. In this way, the location compliance proxy network element determines whether the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN based on the second location.

[0336] D2. The location compliance proxy element obtains a third location of the terminal from the access network element. Based on the third location, the location compliance proxy element determines whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The third location may be, for example, the GNSS location of the terminal.

[0337] The second position and the third position mentioned above both represent the position of the terminal, but the positions come from different network elements. The specific positions indicated by the second position and the third position can be the same type of position of the terminal, such as both are GNSS positions, or different types of positions, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0338] When the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element can directly request the first mobility management network element to register or serve the terminal, so that the first mobility management network element can register the terminal or provide services for the terminal in a compliant and timely manner.

[0339] S903: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends a third message to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the third message from the location compliance proxy network element. The third message indicates rejection of registration or service.

[0340] If the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element may directly provide feedback to the terminal rejecting registration or service, allowing the terminal to promptly detect that its location verification is non-compliant. Optionally, the third information also includes a cause value, which indicates that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0341] The above S902 and S903 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S902 or step S903 is executed.

[0342] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal location verification can be performed directly by the location compliance proxy network element deployed on the first satellite, without the need for the core network network element to perform the terminal location verification, so that the terminal location verification can still be performed in the case of an abnormal feeder link. In addition, after the location compliance proxy network element determines that the terminal location verification is compliant, it can promptly provide feedback to the first mobility management network element, so that the first mobility management network element can quickly register the terminal or register services for the terminal; or after determining that the terminal location verification is not compliant, it can promptly provide feedback to the terminal to facilitate the terminal to promptly execute subsequent steps.

[0343] In the case where the location compliance proxy network element obtains the location of the terminal in different ways, the interaction process between the various network elements involved is also different. The following, combined with the schematic diagram of the communication method shown in Figure 10, illustrates the interaction between the various network elements involved in the situation shown in D1 above (i.e., the location compliance proxy network element obtains the second location of the terminal from the first positioning network element). The following describes the various steps illustrated in Figure 10.

[0344] S1001: A terminal sends twelfth information to a first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives the twelfth information from the terminal. The twelfth information indicates that the terminal supports store-and-forward and / or communication plan.

[0345] The terminal supports store-and-forward, which can be replaced by being described as the function (or capability) of the terminal supporting store-and-forward. It can be understood that the terminal has the ability to cooperate in implementing store-and-forward, rather than that the terminal itself can perform store-and-forward. The communication plan is used to indicate the satellites that serve the terminal at different times. The communication plan includes the identifier of at least one satellite that the terminal expects to use; or, includes one or more sets of location information of the terminal and one or more sets of time information of the terminal. One or more sets of location information is used to indicate the location at which the terminal is expected to use satellite communication, and one or more sets of time information is used to indicate the time corresponding to the expected use of satellite communication by the terminal. Optionally, the type of the twelfth information may be a NAS message. The twelfth information may be carried in a registration request, for example. The content of the registration request may refer to the content of the registration request discussed above, and the repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0346] In another possible implementation, the first mobility management network element may have clearly stated that the terminal supports store-and-forward and / or the terminal's communication plan, or any default terminal supports the store-and-forward function, then there is no need to execute step S1001, that is, S1001 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 10.

[0347] S1002: The first mobility management network element sends fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element. In response, the location compliance proxy network element receives the fourth information from the first mobility management network element. The fourth information is used to trigger terminal location verification. Specifically, the fourth information is used to trigger the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification.

[0348] Exemplarily, the first mobility management network element sends the fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element on the satellite currently serving the terminal (i.e., an example of the first satellite). Alternatively, the first mobility management network element sends the fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element on the satellite that will serve the terminal next time (i.e., an example of the first satellite). The satellite that will serve the terminal next time can be understood as a satellite that serves the terminal within a first time period, where the starting time of the first time period is, for example, the current time, or a satellite that serves the terminal at the next location, where the next location is different from the current location of the terminal. Optionally, the first mobility management network element may determine the satellite that will serve the terminal next time according to the communication plan, thereby using the satellite as the first satellite. For example, the current time is 13 o'clock, and the satellite serving the terminal is satellite A. The first mobility management network element determines, according to the communication plan, that the satellite that will serve the terminal at 16 o'clock is satellite B. Then, the first mobility management network element may determine satellite B as the first satellite.

[0349] Exemplarily, the fourth information may indicate an identifier of the terminal, and the identifier of the terminal indicates a trigger for executing the terminal location verification. Optionally, the fourth information may also indicate an identifier of a first PLMN currently serving the terminal.

[0350] In addition to triggering the execution of terminal location verification, the fourth information may optionally indicate the conditions for stopping the execution of terminal location verification. For example, the fourth information includes the number of times the location compliance proxy network element executes terminal location verification, the time when the execution of terminal location verification stops, or the duration of the execution of terminal location verification. For example, if the fourth information includes that the number of times the location compliance proxy network element executes terminal location verification is 2 times, then the location compliance proxy network element can actively stop the terminal location verification after executing the terminal location verification twice. If the fourth information includes that the duration for the location compliance proxy network element to execute terminal location verification is 3 hours, then the location compliance proxy network element can actively stop the terminal location verification 3 hours after receiving the fourth information.

[0351] In one possible design, the first mobility management network element may send fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element if it determines that the second condition is met. The second condition includes at least one of the following: determining that a store-and-forward service is provided for the terminal, the terminal supports the store-and-forward function, or the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service. Optionally, the second condition may also include the first condition discussed above in FIG. 7 .

[0352] For example, the first mobility management network element determines, based on the communication plan indicated by the twelfth information, that an abnormality has occurred in the feeder link corresponding to the terminal, and further determines that the terminal requires a store-and-forward service, i.e., determines to provide the store-and-forward service to the terminal. For another example, the first mobility management network element determines that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function based on the indication in the twelfth information that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function. For another example, the first mobility management network element may query the unified data storage network element to determine whether the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service, thereby determining that the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service.

[0353] Optionally, before executing S1002 or S1001, the first mobility management network element may establish a connection (such as a NAS connection) with the terminal, and / or the terminal may further establish a session, etc., which is not specifically limited.

[0354] In another possible implementation, the location compliance proxy network element may also pre-store the fourth information, or the location compliance proxy network element may be pre-configured or pre-defined to perform terminal location verification. In these cases, the location compliance proxy network element does not need to execute step S1002, that is, S1002 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 10.

[0355] S1003: The terminal sends first information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the first information from the terminal. The first information is used to request registration or service for the terminal. The access network element may also be deployed on a first satellite, such as the satellite currently serving the terminal or the satellite that will next serve the terminal. The next satellite to serve the terminal can be found in the discussion of S1002 above and is not further detailed here.

[0356] The first information is a NAS message and may also be carried in a registration request or service request. The contents of the registration request or service request are similar to those discussed in FIG. 7 , and any repetitions are omitted. Optionally, the first information may also indicate a first location of the terminal. For example, the first location may be the terminal's GNSS location.

[0357] S1004: The access network element sends the first information to the location compliance proxy element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy element receives the first information from the access network element. The content of the first information can refer to the content of the first information in S1003 above and is not limited thereto.

[0358] The access network element may carry the first information in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message and send it to the location compliance proxy element. The access network element may send the first information to the location compliance proxy element when it determines that the feeder link corresponding to the terminal is abnormal, or when it determines that the first condition is met. The content of the first condition can refer to the content of the first condition discussed in Figure 6 above, and repeated parts are not listed here.

[0359] S1005: The access network element sends fifth information to the location compliance proxy element. In response, the location compliance proxy element receives the fifth information from the terminal. The fifth information indicates the first location of the terminal.

[0360] For example, the access network element may map the first location of the terminal to a cell identifier, and the fifth information may include the cell identifier. Thus, the fifth information indicates the first location of the terminal via the cell identifier. Alternatively, the fifth information may directly include the first location of the terminal, without limitation.

[0361] S1006. The location compliance agent network element determines that the terminal is located in a preset area.

[0362] Illustratively, the location compliance proxy network element may determine whether the terminal is located in a preset area based on the first location. The preset area may be preconfigured or predefined in the location compliance proxy network element. The preset area may be a national border area or a provincial border area, etc., without limitation. The location compliance proxy network element may also perform terminal location verification if it determines that the terminal is located in the preset area.

[0363] In another possible implementation, the location compliance proxy network element may perform terminal location verification upon receiving the fourth information. In this implementation, steps S1005 and S1006 may not be performed, i.e., S1005 and S1006 are optional steps, as indicated by dashed lines in FIG10 .

[0364] S1007: The location compliance proxy network element sends the seventh information to the first positioning network element. In response, the first positioning network element receives the seventh information from the location compliance proxy network element. The seventh information is used to request the terminal's location. The first positioning network element may also be deployed on the first satellite. The details of the first satellite can be found in S1003 above and are not detailed here.

[0365] S1008. The first positioning network element sends eighth information to the location compliance proxy network element. In response, the location compliance proxy network element receives the eighth information from the first positioning network element. The eighth information indicates the second location of the terminal. The specific content of the second location of the terminal can be found in the discussion above regarding the location of the terminal, and will not be detailed here.

[0366] The first positioning network element can determine the second location of the terminal based on LCS positioning technology, such as multi-RTT positioning technology. For example, the first positioning network element can measure the transmission and reception time of signals between the access network element and the terminal. By obtaining the round-trip signal transmission delay between the access network element and the terminal, the first positioning network element can determine the distance between the access network element and the terminal, thereby determining the second location of the terminal. The specific details of the LCS positioning technology can be found in the relevant content of the LCS positioning technology discussed above, and any repetitions are not listed here.

[0367] S1007 to S1008 are a way for the location compliance agent network element to obtain the second location of the terminal. When the location compliance agent network element uses other methods to obtain the second location of the terminal, there is no need to execute steps S1007 to S1008, that is, steps S1007 to S1008 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 10.

[0368] S1009: When the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends second information to the first mobility management network element. In response, the first mobility management network element receives the second information from the location compliance proxy network element. The second information is used to request registration or service of the terminal. In this way, the location compliance proxy network element provides a store-and-forward service for the terminal, enabling the first mobility management network element to promptly identify the terminal requiring registration or service, thereby improving the efficiency of terminal access or service.

[0369] Exemplarily, the location compliance proxy network element may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the second location. If the second location is within (or belongs to) the service range permitted by the first PLMN, it indicates that the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. If the second location is not within (or does not belong to) the service range permitted by the first PLMN, it indicates that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0370] Optionally, the location compliance proxy network element may also map the second location to a cell identifier, carry the cell identifier in the second information, and notify the first mobility management network element. In this way, the first mobility management network element can clearly identify the second location of the terminal and can also page the terminal in a timely manner.

[0371] S1009 may be executed when the feeder link corresponding to the terminal is restored.

[0372] S1010: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends third information to the terminal. In response, the terminal receives the third information from the location compliance proxy network element. The third information indicates that registration or service of the terminal is rejected.

[0373] In this way, the terminal can clearly understand that its registration or service is rejected. Optionally, the third information may also carry a reason value for rejecting the registration or service of the terminal, for example, the reason value is that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0374] S1009 and S1010 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S1009 or step S1010 is executed.

[0375] S1011: When the second location is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends sixth information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the sixth information from the location compliance proxy network element. The sixth information indicates that the terminal's context information is deleted and the terminal enters an inactive state or an idle state.

[0376] The sixth information may be carried in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message, and is not limited thereto. Optionally, the sixth information indicates that the terminal has entered an inactive state or an idle state, which is equivalent to indirectly indicating that the terminal location verification is non-compliant.

[0377] In the case where the sixth information indicates to delete (or release) the context information of the terminal, the access network element may directly delete the context information of the terminal.

[0378] S1012: If the second location is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends thirteenth information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the thirteenth information from the access network element. The thirteenth information instructs the terminal to enter an inactive state or an idle state.

[0379] If the sixth information indicates that the terminal enters the inactive state, the thirteenth information may indicate that the terminal enters the inactive state. If the sixth information indicates that the terminal enters the idle state, the thirteenth information may indicate that the terminal enters the idle state.

[0380] S1011 to S1012 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG10 .

[0381] S1013: The terminal sends eleventh information to the first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives eleventh information from the terminal. The eleventh information triggers deregistration of the terminal or release of a session corresponding to the terminal.

[0382] When the terminal is deregistered, or when the terminal determines that the store-and-forward service has ended, the terminal can send an eleventh message to the first mobility management network element to request deregistration of the terminal or release of the session corresponding to the terminal. In this way, a mechanism is provided for the terminal to actively deregister.

[0383] S1014: The first mobility management network element sends a tenth message to the location compliance proxy network element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the tenth message from the first mobility management network element. The tenth message triggers the termination of the terminal location verification.

[0384] After receiving the tenth information, the location compliance proxy network element may release (or delete) the locally stored information related to the terminal location verification and / or the context information of the terminal. The information related to the terminal location verification may include, for example, the fourth information mentioned above, and the context information of the terminal here may include, for example, the second location of the terminal. The tenth information may be carried in an Np2 interface message or an Sp1 interface message, and there is no limitation on this. Optionally, the tenth information may carry the identifier of the terminal, so that the location compliance proxy network element can clearly identify which terminal location verification needs to be stopped.

[0385] Optionally, the location compliance proxy network element returns a response message to the first mobility management network element, where the response message indicates that the terminal location verification has been stopped.

[0386] S1013 to S1014 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG10 .

[0387] In an embodiment of the present application, in the case of an abnormal feeder link, the location compliance proxy network element can directly perform terminal location verification without the need to rely on the core network network element to perform terminal location verification. In addition, after determining that the terminal location verification is compliant, timely feedback can be provided to the first mobility management network element, so that the first mobility management network element can quickly register the terminal or register services for the terminal; or after determining that the terminal location verification is non-compliant, timely feedback can be provided to the terminal to facilitate the terminal to promptly perform subsequent steps. In addition, in the process of performing terminal location verification, the location compliance proxy network element can use the positioning network element on the first satellite for positioning, so that positioning does not require the help of the core network, and the accurate location of the terminal can still be obtained. In addition, the first mobility management network element can flexibly instruct or cancel the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification, so that the first mobility management network element or the location compliance proxy network element can flexibly perform terminal location verification, thereby improving the flexibility of performing terminal location verification.

[0388] The following describes an example of the interaction between the various network elements involved in the situation shown in D2 (i.e., the location compliance agent network element obtains the second location of the terminal from the access network network element) with reference to the schematic diagram of the communication method shown in Figure 11. The following describes the various steps shown in Figure 11.

[0389] S1101: A terminal sends twelfth information to a first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives the twelfth information from the terminal. The twelfth information indicates that the terminal supports store-and-forward and / or communication plan.

[0390] The contents of the terminal supporting storage and forwarding, the contents of the communication plan and the contents of the twelfth information can be respectively referred to the contents of the terminal supporting storage and forwarding, the contents of the communication plan and the contents of the twelfth information discussed in Figure 10 above, and the repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0391] In another possible implementation, the first mobility management network element may have clearly stated that the terminal supports store-and-forward and / or the terminal's communication plan, or any default terminal supports the store-and-forward function, then there is no need to execute step S1101, that is, S1101 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 11.

[0392] S1102: The first mobility management network element sends fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the fourth information from the first mobility management network element. The fourth information is used to trigger terminal location verification.

[0393] The manner in which the first mobility management network element determines the location compliance proxy network element can refer to the content of the first mobility management network element determining the location compliance proxy network element discussed in FIG. 9 , and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0394] In one possible design, the first mobility management network element may send fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element when determining that the second condition is met. The content of the second condition and the content of the first mobility management network element determining that the second condition is met can refer to the content of the second condition involved in FIG10 and the content of the first mobility management network element determining that the second condition is met, and will not be repeated here.

[0395] Optionally, before executing S1102 or S1101, the first mobility management network element may establish a connection (such as a NAS connection) with the terminal, and / or the terminal may further establish a session, etc., which is not specifically limited.

[0396] In another possible implementation, the location compliance proxy network element may also pre-store the fourth information, or the location compliance proxy network element may be pre-configured or pre-defined to perform terminal location verification. In these cases, the location compliance proxy network element does not need to execute step S1002, that is, S1002 is an optional step, which is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 11.

[0397] S1103: The terminal sends first information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the first information from the terminal. The first information is used to request registration or service for the terminal. The access network element may also be deployed on a first satellite, such as the satellite currently serving the terminal or the satellite that will next serve the terminal. The next satellite to serve the terminal can be found in S1002 above and is not further described here.

[0398] The content of the first information can refer to the content of the first information in Figure 9 above, and will not be repeated here. Optionally, the first information can also indicate a third location of the terminal. The third location can be, for example, the GNSS location of the terminal.

[0399] S1104: The access network element sends the first information to the location compliance proxy element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy element receives the first information from the access network element. The content of the first information can refer to the content of the first information in S1103 above and is not limited thereto.

[0400] The access network element may carry the first information in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message and send it to the location compliance proxy element. The access network element may also send the first information to the location compliance proxy element when it determines that the feeder link corresponding to the terminal is abnormal, or when it determines that the first condition is met. The content of the first condition can refer to the content of the first condition discussed in Figure 7 above, and repeated parts are not listed here.

[0401] S1105. The first mobility management network element sends key information to the location compliance proxy network element. Accordingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the key information from the first mobility management network element. The key information is the key information of the terminal and can be used to decrypt NAS messages, etc. Optionally, the first mobility management network element may also send algorithm information to the location compliance proxy network element, or the location compliance proxy network element may preconfigure or predefine the algorithm information. The first mobility management network element may pre-store the key information or obtain the key information from a unified data storage network element or an authentication service network element, without specific limitation.

[0402] S1106. The terminal sends the fifteenth information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the fifteenth information from the terminal. The fifteenth information indicates the third location of the terminal. The third location of the terminal can be described in detail in the preceding text regarding the location of the terminal and is not detailed here. The third location may be, for example, the GNSS location of the terminal. The fifteenth information may be carried in a NAS message.

[0403] Optionally, the first information and the fifteenth information are both carried in the same message or request, for example, both are carried in a registration request or a service request. The contents of the registration request and the service request can refer to the contents of the registration request and the service request discussed in Figure 6 above.

[0404] S1107: The access network element sends ninth information to the location compliance proxy element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy element receives the ninth information from the access network element. The ninth information indicates the third location of the terminal.

[0405] Optionally, the ninth information and the first information may both be carried in the same message or request, for example, both carried in a NAS message.

[0406] In this way, the location compliance proxy network element can decrypt the ninth information based on the key information, thereby determining the third location of the terminal. In other words, in this case, although the ninth information indicates the location of the terminal, it does so in encrypted form, thus ensuring the security of the terminal's location. Alternatively, the location compliance proxy network element pre-stores the key, or the ninth information does not need to be decrypted. In these cases, step S1105 does not need to be performed, and S1105 is optional.

[0407] Optionally, the access network element may map the terminal's third location to a cell identifier, and the fifth information may include the cell identifier. In this manner, the fifth information indicates the terminal's third location via the cell identifier. Alternatively, the fifth information may directly include the terminal's third location, without limitation. In this case, the third location may be equivalent to the first location mentioned above.

[0408] In a possible implementation, the location compliance agent network element determines that the terminal is located in a preset area.

[0409] For example, the location compliance agent network element may determine whether the terminal is located in a preset area based on the third location. The content of the preset area may refer to the content of the preset area discussed in FIG. 11 .

[0410] S1108: If the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends second information to the first mobility management network element. In response, the first mobility management network element receives the second information from the location compliance proxy network element. The second information is used to request registration or service of the terminal. In this way, the location compliance proxy network element provides a store-and-forward service for the terminal, enabling the first mobility management network element to promptly identify the terminal requiring registration or service, thereby improving the efficiency of terminal access or service.

[0411] Exemplarily, the location compliance proxy network element may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the third location. If the third location is within (or belongs to) the service range permitted by the first PLMN, it indicates that the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. If the third location is not within (or does not belong to) the service range permitted by the first PLMN, it indicates that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0412] Optionally, the location compliance proxy element may also map the third location to a cell identifier, or obtain the cell identifier from the access network element, carry the cell identifier in the second message, and notify the first mobility management element. In this way, the first mobility management element can clearly identify the third location of the terminal and can also page the terminal in a timely manner.

[0413] S1109: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends a third message to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the third message from the location compliance proxy network element. The third message indicates a rejection of registering or serving the terminal.

[0414] In this way, the terminal can clearly understand that its registration or service is rejected. Optionally, the third information may also carry a reason value for rejecting the registration or service of the terminal, for example, the reason value is that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0415] S1108 and S1109 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S1108 or step S1109 is executed.

[0416] S1110: If the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy network element sends sixth information to the access network element. In response, the access network element receives the sixth information from the location compliance proxy network element. The sixth information instructs the terminal to delete context information and enter an inactive state or an idle state.

[0417] The content of the sixth information may refer to the content of the sixth information in FIG10 , and the repeated parts are not listed again. When the sixth information indicates to delete (or release) the context information of the terminal, the access network element may directly delete the context information of the terminal.

[0418] S1111: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends thirteenth information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the thirteenth information from the access network element. The thirteenth information instructs the terminal to enter an inactive state or an idle state.

[0419] If the sixth information indicates that the terminal enters the inactive state, the thirteenth information may indicate that the terminal enters the inactive state. If the sixth information indicates that the terminal enters the idle state, the thirteenth information may indicate that the terminal enters the idle state.

[0420] S1110 to S1111 are steps that may be performed when the second location is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. These steps may also not be performed, that is, S1110 to S1111 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 11.

[0421] S1112: The terminal sends eleventh information to the first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives eleventh information from the terminal. The eleventh information triggers deregistration of the terminal or release of a session corresponding to the terminal.

[0422] When the terminal is deregistered, or when the terminal determines that the store-and-forward service has ended, the terminal can send an eleventh message to the first mobility management network element to request deregistration of the terminal or release of the session corresponding to the terminal. In this way, a mechanism is provided for the terminal to actively deregister.

[0423] S1113: The first mobility management network element sends a tenth message to the location compliance proxy network element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the tenth message from the first mobility management network element. The tenth message triggers the termination of the terminal location verification.

[0424] After receiving the tenth information, the location compliance agent network element may release (or delete) the locally stored terminal location verification-related information and / or the terminal context information. The terminal location verification-related information may include, for example, the fourth information mentioned above, and the terminal context information here may include, for example, the second location of the terminal. The tenth information may be carried in an Np2 interface message or an Sp1 interface message, without limitation. Optionally, the tenth information may carry the terminal identifier.

[0425] Optionally, the location compliance proxy network element returns a response message to the first mobility management network element, where the response message indicates that the terminal location verification has been stopped.

[0426] S1112 to S1113 are optional steps, indicated by dotted lines in FIG11 .

[0427] In an embodiment of the present application, the location compliance proxy network element can perform terminal location verification when the feeder link is abnormal, without the need to rely on the core network network element to perform terminal location verification. In addition, during the process of performing terminal location verification, the access network network element can indicate the third location of the terminal to the location compliance proxy network element, so that the location compliance proxy network element can perform terminal location verification based on the third location. In addition, the location compliance proxy network element can obtain key information from the first mobility management network element to decrypt and obtain the third location of the terminal, thereby ensuring the information security of the terminal when the terminal location verification is implemented. In addition, the first mobility management network element can flexibly instruct or cancel the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification, so that the first mobility management network element or the location compliance proxy network element can flexibly perform terminal location verification, thereby improving the flexibility of performing terminal location verification.

[0428] The third communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced below.

[0429] The third communication method is described below by way of example with reference to a schematic diagram of a communication method shown in Figure 12. The steps shown in Figure 12 are described below.

[0430] S1201: A location compliance agent network element sends first information to an access network element. The first information indicates the location of a terminal.

[0431] The location of the terminal can refer to the content of the location of the terminal discussed above, and the way in which the first information indicates the location of the terminal can also refer to the content of the first information indicating the location of the terminal discussed in Figure 6 above. The repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0432] In one possible implementation, the location-compliant network element determines whether the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. The manner in which the location-compliant network element determines whether the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN can be referenced to the discussion of FIG6 above regarding the second communication device determining whether the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, and any repetitions are omitted. Furthermore, the location-compliant network element further indicates, through the first information, that the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0433] S1202: When the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends second information to the first mobility management element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management element receives the second information from the access network element. The second information indicates a cell identifier.

[0434] If the first information also indicates that the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, or that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the access network element may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the first information. Alternatively, the access network element may independently determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the location of the terminal indicated by the first information. The manner in which the access network element determines whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN can be referred to the discussion of the second communication device determining whether the terminal's location is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN in FIG6 above, and will not be further detailed here.

[0435] The manner in which the access network element determines the cell identifier and the content of the cell identifier can refer to the manner in which the access network element determines the content of the cell identifier and the content of the cell identifier discussed in FIG6 above, and the repeated parts will not be listed again.

[0436] S1203: If the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the access network element sends third information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the third information from the access network element. The third information indicates a refusal to register or serve the terminal. Optionally, the third information may include a reason value for the refusal to register or serve the terminal, such as indicating that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0437] In an embodiment of the present application, the access network network element performs terminal location verification, or clarifies the terminal location verification result based on the location compliance agent network element deployed on the first satellite, without the need to rely on the core network network element to perform terminal location verification, so that the method can be applied to perform terminal location verification when the feeder link is abnormal.

[0438] The following describes the interaction between the various network elements involved in Figure 12 with reference to the method diagram shown in Figure 13. The following describes the various steps shown in Figure 13.

[0439] S1301. The terminal sends ninth information to the first mobility management network element. In response, the first mobility management network element receives the ninth information from the terminal. The ninth information indicates that the terminal supports store-and-forward and / or communication plans. The details of the terminal supporting store-and-forward, the details of the communication plans, and the ninth information can be found in the discussion of FIG. 9 above, respectively, regarding the details of the terminal supporting store-and-forward, the details of the communication plans, and the contents of the twelfth information. Any repetition is omitted.

[0440] S1302: The unified data storage network element sends tenth information to the first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives the tenth information from the unified data storage network element. The tenth information indicates that the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service.

[0441] S1301 and S1302 may be performed as one of the steps, or both of them, or neither of them, which is not limited to this. S1301 and S1302 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG13 .

[0442] S1303: The terminal sends fourth information to the access network element. Accordingly, the access network element receives the fourth information from the terminal. The fourth information indicates the location of the terminal. The location of the terminal may be a GNSS location of the terminal.

[0443] The fourth information may be carried in a NAS message, for example. In addition to carrying the location of the terminal, the fourth information may also request registration or service of the terminal. In other words, the fourth information may be carried in a registration request or a service request.

[0444] S1304: The access network element sends fifth information to the location compliance proxy element. Accordingly, the location compliance proxy element receives the fifth information from the access network element. The fifth information indicates the location of the terminal. Optionally, the access network element carries the fifth information in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message.

[0445] S1303 to S1305 are a way for the location compliance agent network element to obtain the location of the terminal. There is actually no restriction on the way the location compliance agent network element obtains the location of the terminal, that is, S1303 to S1305 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 13.

[0446] S1305: The first mobility management network element sends key information to the location compliance proxy network element. Correspondingly, the location compliance proxy network element receives the key information from the first mobility management network element.

[0447] The method for the first mobility management network element to obtain key information can refer to the content of obtaining key information in Figure 10 above, and repeated parts are not repeated here. The content of the key information can refer to the content of the key information discussed in Figure 10 above, and repeated parts are not repeated here. Optionally, the first mobility management network element may also send algorithm information to the location compliance agent network element. The content of the algorithm information can refer to the content of the algorithm information discussed above, and repeated parts are not repeated here.

[0448] Exemplarily, after receiving the fifth information, the location compliance agent network element may decrypt the fifth information based on the key information to obtain the location of the terminal.

[0449] Optionally, in addition to sending the key information to the location compliance proxy network element, the first mobility management network element may also instruct the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification, so that the location compliance proxy network element promotes the execution of terminal location verification.

[0450] In another possible design, the location compliance proxy network element pre-stores key information, or the fifth information does not need to be decrypted, so there is no need to execute step S1305.

[0451] S1306: The location compliance proxy network element sends first information to the access network element. Correspondingly, the access network element receives the first information from the location compliance proxy network element. The first information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0452] The above S1305 and S1306 can be used as an independent embodiment, providing a mechanism for an access network element to obtain the location of a terminal.

[0453] S1307: The location compliance agent network element determines whether the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0454] The method by which the location compliance proxy element determines whether the terminal is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN can be referred to in the discussion of the second communication device determining whether the terminal is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN in FIG6 , and will not be further detailed here. If the terminal is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy element determines that the terminal is within the permitted service range of the first PLMN. If the terminal is not within the permitted service range of the first PLMN, the location compliance proxy element determines that the terminal is not within the permitted service range of the first PLMN.

[0455] S1308. The location compliance proxy network element sends sixth information to the access network element. Accordingly, the access network element receives the sixth information from the location compliance proxy network element. The sixth information indicates whether the terminal is within or not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN. Specifically, the sixth information indicates whether the terminal is within or not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0456] S1309: The access network element determines whether the terminal is located within the service range allowed by the first PLMN.

[0457] For example, the access network element may determine whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN based on the location of the terminal indicated by the first information. The manner in which the access network element determines whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN may refer to the method for determining whether the terminal is within the service range permitted by the first PLMN by the location compliance agent element as discussed in S1306, and any repetitions are omitted.

[0458] The above S1308 and S1309 are the second way for the access network element to clarify whether the location of the terminal is within or not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN. In the actual implementation process, only steps S1307 and S1308 can be executed, or only step S1309 can be executed. Therefore, one of steps S1307 and S1309 can be an optional step, and these two steps are indicated by dotted lines in Figure 13. Alternatively, when the first information indicates that the location of the terminal (or the terminal) is within or not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, step S1309 can also be executed. In this way, it is equivalent to performing two terminal location verifications, thereby improving the reliability of the verification.

[0459] S1310: When the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends second information to the first mobility management network element. Correspondingly, the first mobility management network element receives the second information from the access network element. The second information indicates a cell identifier.

[0460] The access network element may determine the cell identifier corresponding to the location of the terminal based on the location of the terminal indicated by the first information. The manner in which the access network element determines the cell identifier and the content of the cell identifier may refer to the manner in which the access network element determines the content of the cell identifier and the content of the cell identifier discussed in FIG6 above, and the repeated parts are not listed here.

[0461] S1311: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends third information to the terminal. In response, the terminal receives the third information from the access network element. The third information indicates that registration or service of the terminal is rejected.

[0462] S1310 and S1311 are two possible situations. During a terminal location verification process, either step S1310 or step S1311 is executed.

[0463] S1312: If the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN, the access network element sends seventh information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the seventh information from the access network element. The seventh information indicates that the terminal is not within the service range permitted by the first PLMN.

[0464] S1313: If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first PLMN, the access network element sends eighth information to the terminal. Accordingly, the terminal receives the eighth information from the access network element. The eighth information instructs the terminal to enter an inactive state or an idle state.

[0465] Exemplarily, the eighth information may include an identifier of the terminal, and the identifier of the terminal indicates that the terminal enters an inactive state or an idle state.

[0466] In one possible design, the access network element may further determine a cell identifier corresponding to the terminal's location, determine a second mobility management network element corresponding to the terminal's location, and send the cell identifier to the second mobility management network element. The steps for determining the cell identifier and determining the second mobility management network element may refer to the steps for determining the cell identifier and determining the second mobility management network element discussed in FIG. These steps are not further detailed here.

[0467] S1312 to S1313 are optional steps, which are indicated by dotted lines in FIG13 .

[0468] In embodiments of the present application, the location compliance proxy network element can perform terminal location verification when a feeder link is abnormal, without requiring the core network element to perform terminal location verification. Alternatively, the location compliance proxy network element can obtain the terminal's location and indicate the terminal's location to the access network element, causing the access network element to perform terminal location verification. Furthermore, the location compliance proxy network element can obtain key information from the first mobility management network element to decrypt and obtain the third location of the terminal, thereby ensuring terminal information security while achieving terminal location verification.

[0469] It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0470] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. Please refer to Figure 14, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device. The communication device can be used to implement the functions of the access network element, the first mobility management network element, the location compliance agent network element or the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above-mentioned method embodiment. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be the RAN involved in Figure 1, the RAN involved in Figure 2, the access network element involved in Figure 5, the first mobility management network element involved in Figure 5, the terminal involved in any of Figures 1 to 4 or 5, the LRP involved in Figure 5, etc., and can also be a software module or hardware module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal, an access network element, a first mobility management network element or a location compliance agent network element.

[0471] As shown in Figure 14, the communication device 1400 includes a transceiver module 1410 and a processing module 1420. The communication device 1400 can be used to implement the functions of the access network element, first mobility management network element, location compliance agent network element or terminal involved in any of Figures 6 to 13 above.

[0472] In the first embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the first communication device mentioned in FIG. 6 .

[0473] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to receive the first information. The transceiver module 1410 is further configured to send a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element, or to send a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element.

[0474] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also be used to implement the remaining steps performed by the first communication device in FIG. 6 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0475] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the access network element involved in FIG. 7 above.

[0476] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to receive the first information. The transceiver module 1410 is further configured to send a cell identifier to the first mobility management network element or to send a cell identifier to the second mobility management network element.

[0477] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the access network element involved in FIG. 7 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0478] In another possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 8 above.

[0479] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to receive the first information and send a cell identifier, etc. to the second mobility management network element.

[0480] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG8 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0481] In the second embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the second communication device mentioned in FIG. 6 .

[0482] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send first information to a first communication device.

[0483] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the second communication device involved in FIG6 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0484] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 7 above.

[0485] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send the first information to the access network element. Optionally, the transceiver module 1410 may also be configured to receive a cell identifier from the access network element.

[0486] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 7 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0487] In another possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the access network element involved in FIG. 8 above.

[0488] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send first information to a first mobility management network element.

[0489] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the access network element involved in FIG8 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0490] In the third embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the location compliance proxy network element mentioned in FIG. 9 .

[0491] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive first information, send second information or third information, etc.

[0492] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the location compliance proxy network element involved in FIG9 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0493] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the location compliance proxy network element mentioned in FIG. 10 above.

[0494] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive first information, send second information or third information, etc.

[0495] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the location compliance proxy network element involved in FIG10 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0496] In another possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the location compliance proxy network element mentioned in FIG. 11 above.

[0497] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive first information, send second information or third information, etc.

[0498] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the location compliance proxy network element involved in FIG11 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0499] In the fourth embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 9 above.

[0500] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive second information and the like.

[0501] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG9 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0502] In a possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 10 above.

[0503] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to receive the second information. Optionally, the first mobility management network element sends the fourth information, etc.

[0504] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG10 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0505] In another possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 11 above.

[0506] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to receive the second information. Optionally, the first mobility management network element sends the fourth information or key information.

[0507] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG11 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0508] In the fifth embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the access network element involved in FIG. 12 above.

[0509] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive first information, send second information or third information, etc.

[0510] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the access network element involved in FIG12 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0511] In one possible implementation, the communication device 1400 may implement the functions of the access network element involved in FIG. 13 above.

[0512] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive first information, send second information or third information, etc.

[0513] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the access network element involved in FIG13 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0514] In the sixth embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 13 above.

[0515] Illustratively, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send key information and receive second information, etc., under the control of the processing module 1420 .

[0516] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG13 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0517] In the seventh embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the function of the first mobility management network element involved in FIG. 13 above.

[0518] Illustratively, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send key information and receive second information, etc., under the control of the processing module 1420 .

[0519] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may further implement the remaining steps performed by the first mobility management network element involved in FIG11 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0520] In the eighth embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the location compliance proxy network element mentioned in FIG. 13 .

[0521] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is used to receive key information, and the processing module 1420 is used to decrypt the fifth information to obtain the location of the terminal, and the transceiver module 1410 is used to send the first information to the access network element, etc.

[0522] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the location compliance proxy network element involved in FIG13 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0523] In the ninth embodiment, the communication device 1400 may be used to implement the functions of the terminal involved in FIG. 13 above.

[0524] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 1410 is configured to send ninth information and receive third information, etc., under the control of the processing module 1420 .

[0525] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may also implement the remaining steps performed by the terminal involved in FIG13 , which are not listed one by one here.

[0526] A more detailed description of the above-mentioned transceiver module 1410 and the processing module 1420 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in any of the method embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 13, and will not be repeated here.

[0527] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. Please refer to Figure 15, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device. As shown in Figure 15, the communication device 1500 includes a processor 1510 and an interface circuit 1520. The processor 1510 and the interface circuit 1520 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1520 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1500 may also include a memory 1530 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1510 or storing input data required by the processor 1510 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1510 executes instructions.

[0528] When the communication device 1500 is used to implement any of the methods shown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 13 , the processor 1510 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 1420 , and the interface circuit 1520 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver module 1410 .

[0529] When the communication device is a chip used in a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the base station to the terminal; or the terminal chip sends information to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal to the base station.

[0530] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a network element (such as an access network network element, a location compliance agent network element, or a mobility management network element), the network element module implements the functions of the network element in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The network element module receives information from other modules in the network element (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the terminal to the network element; or, the network element module sends information to other modules in the network element (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the network element to the terminal. The access network network element module here can be a baseband chip of an access network network element, or it can be a DU or other module. The DU here can be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0531] An embodiment of the present application provides another example of a communication device, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being coupled, the at least one memory being used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the communication device performs the method in the above embodiment. Taking the communication device including a processor and a memory as an example, as shown in Figure 16, the communication device 1600 includes a processor 1610 and a memory 1620. The processor 1610 and the memory 1620 are coupled, and the memory 1620 stores instructions. When the instructions stored in the memory 1620 are executed by the processor 1610, the communication device 1600 performs any of the methods in Figures 6 to 13 above.

[0532] It is understood that the processor involved in the various embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. In addition, the memory involved in the various embodiments of the present application may include volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM). The memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD).

[0533] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which can be used to execute any of the methods described in Figures 6 to 13 above.

[0534] For example, if the communication system is used to implement the method described in FIG. 6 above, the communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device. Optionally, the communication system also includes at least one of a terminal and / or a second mobility management network element. The first communication device, the second communication device, the first mobility management network element, and the second mobility management network element can be found in the discussion of FIG. 6 above and are not further detailed here.

[0535] For example, if the communication system is used to implement the method described in FIG. 7 above, the communication system includes an access network element. Optionally, the communication system also includes at least one of a terminal, a first mobility management network element, or a second mobility management network element. The contents of the access network element, the terminal, the first mobility management network element, and the second mobility management network element can be found in the discussion of FIG. 7 above and are not further detailed here.

[0536] Alternatively, if the communication system is used to implement the method described in FIG. 8 above, the communication system includes a first mobility management network element. Optionally, the communication system also includes at least one of a terminal, an access network element, a location compliance proxy element, or a second mobility management network element. The contents of the access network element, the terminal, the first mobility management network element, the location compliance proxy element, and the second mobility management network element can be referred to as discussed in FIG. 8 above and are not further detailed here.

[0537] Alternatively, if the communication system is used to implement the method described in Figures 9, 10, or 11 above, then the communication system includes a location compliance proxy network element. Optionally, the communication system also includes at least one of a terminal, a first mobility management network element, an access network network element, or a second mobility management network element. The contents of the access network network element, the terminal, the first mobility management network element, the location compliance proxy network element, and the second mobility management network element can be referred to as discussed in Figures 9, 10, or 11 above and are not further detailed here.

[0538] Alternatively, if the communication system is used to implement the method described in FIG. 12 or 13 above, then the communication system includes an access network element. Optionally, the communication system also includes at least one of a terminal, a first mobility management network element, a location compliance proxy network element, or a second mobility management network element. The contents of the access network element, the terminal, the first mobility management network element, the location compliance proxy network element, and the second mobility management network element can be referred to as discussed in FIG. 12 or 13 above and are not further detailed here.

[0539] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, comprising: a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is configured to call and execute instructions from the interface, and when the processor executes the instructions, the method described in any one of FIG. 6 to FIG. 13 is implemented.

[0540] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, implements the method described in any one of Figures 6 to 13 above.

[0541] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, implements any one of the methods described in FIG. 6 to FIG. 13 .

[0542] The method steps in each embodiment of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0543] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0544] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0545] It should be understood that the various numbers used in the various embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Receiving first information from a second communication device, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal. Here, the first communication device is a first mobility management network element, the second communication device is the terminal, or the first communication device is an access network element, and the second communication device is the first mobility management network element; If the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, sending the cell identifier corresponding to the location to the first mobility management device; or, If the location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, sending the cell identifier corresponding to the location to a second mobility management device, where the second mobility management device belongs to a second public land mobile network and the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the second public land mobile network; Wherein, the first public land mobile network currently serves the terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further includes: Determining whether the location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information further indicates: The location of the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network; or, The location of the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 - 3, wherein When the first communication device is a first mobility management network element and the second communication device is the terminal, the first information is carried in a non-access stratum message; or, When the first communication device is an access network element and the second communication device is a mobility management network element, the first information is carried in an N2 interface message or an S1 interface message.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending second information to the terminal, where the second information indicates that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the terminal is not within the service range of the first public land mobile network, sending third information to the terminal, where the third information indicates one of the following: The terminal enters the idle state; or, The terminal enters the inactive state.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The location of the terminal is the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location of the terminal.

8. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first mobility management network element, the method includes: Receiving fourth information from the terminal, where the fourth information indicates the location of the terminal; Sending first information to the access network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The method further includes at least one of the following: Determining that the type of the terminal is a first type; Determining that the access type used by the terminal is satellite access; Determining that the access network element supports the terminal location verification; Or, The access network element is deployed on a first satellite.

10. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The location of the terminal is the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location of the terminal.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a location compliance proxy network element, where the location compliance proxy network element is deployed on a first satellite, the method includes: Receive first information from a terminal, where the first information is used to request registration or service for the terminal; If the terminal is within the service range allowed by a first public land mobile network, send second information to a first mobility management network element according to the first information, where the second information requests registration or service for the terminal, the first mobility management network element belongs to the first public land mobile network, and currently serves the terminal; or, If the terminal is not within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate rejection of the registration or the service; Wherein, the first public land mobile network currently serves the terminal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further includes: Receive fourth information from the first mobility management network element, where the fourth information is used to trigger the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification, the first mobility management network element belongs to the first public land mobile network, and currently serves the terminal.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein, The fourth information includes an identifier of the terminal; or, The fourth information includes an identifier of the terminal and an identifier of the first public land mobile network.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, wherein, The first satellite is the service satellite of the terminal currently; or, The first satellite is the satellite that will provide service to the terminal next time.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that The method further includes: Receive fifth information from an access network element, where the fifth information indicates a first location of the terminal; Based on the fifth information, determine that the terminal is located in a preset area.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send sixth information to the access network element, where the sixth information also indicates one of the following: Delete the context information of the terminal; The terminal enters an inactive state; or, The terminal enters an idle state.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send seventh information to a first positioning network element, where the seventh information is used to request the location of the terminal, and the first positioning network element is deployed on the first satellite; Receive eighth information from the first positioning network element, where the eighth information indicates a second location of the terminal; Based on the second location, determine whether the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive ninth information from the access network element, where the ninth information indicates a third location of the terminal; Based on the third location, determine whether the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive key information from the first mobility management network element; Based on the key information, decrypt the ninth information to obtain the third location of the terminal.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: In the case where the terminal is within the service range allowed by the first public land mobile network, send the cell identifier corresponding to the third location to the first mobility management network element.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18-20, characterized in that, The third location is the GNSS location of the terminal.

22. The method according to any one of claims 11-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the tenth information, where the tenth information is used to trigger the termination of the terminal location verification; Stop the terminal location verification according to the tenth information.

23. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first mobility management network element, the method includes: Determine to provide a store-and-forward service for the terminal, where the terminal supports the store-and-forward function, or the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service; Send the fourth information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the fourth information is used to trigger the location compliance proxy network element to perform terminal location verification, and the location compliance proxy network element is deployed on the first satellite.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further includes: Receive the second information from the location compliance proxy network element, where the second information requests to register or serve the terminal.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive the eleventh information from the terminal, where the eleventh information triggers the deregistration of the terminal or the release of the session corresponding to the terminal; According to the eleventh information, send the tenth information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the tenth information is used to trigger the termination of the terminal location verification.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein The first satellite is the current serving satellite of the terminal; or, The first satellite is the satellite that will serve the terminal next time.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23-26, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the key information of the terminal to the location compliance proxy network element.

28. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to an access network element, the access network element is deployed on the first satellite, and the method includes: Receive the sixth information from the location compliance proxy network element, where the sixth information indicates one of the following: deleting the context information of the terminal, the terminal entering the inactive state, or the terminal entering the idle state, and the location compliance proxy network element is deployed on the first satellite; According to the sixth information, delete the context information of the terminal, indicate that the terminal enters the inactive state, or indicate that the terminal enters the idle state.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The method further includes: Receive the first information from the terminal, where the first information is used to request to register or serve the terminal; Send the first information to the location compliance proxy network element.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send the ninth information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the ninth information indicates the third location of the terminal.

31. A communication method, characterized in that Applied to an access network element, the access network element is deployed on the first satellite, and the method includes: Receive the first information from the location compliance proxy network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal, and the location compliance proxy network elements are all deployed on the first satellite; If the terminal is within the service range of the first public land mobile network, then according to the first information, send the second information to the first mobility management device, where the second information indicates the cell identifier, and the first mobility management device belongs to the first public land mobile network and is currently serving the terminal; or, If the terminal is not within the service range of the first public land mobile network, then send the third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to indicate the rejection of the registration or service of the terminal; Wherein, the first public land mobile network is currently serving the terminal.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein The method further includes: Receive fourth information from the terminal, where the fourth information carries the location of the terminal; Based on the fourth information, send fifth information to the location compliance proxy network element, where the fifth information indicates the location of the terminal.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine whether the location of the terminal is within the service area of a first public land mobile network; or, Receive sixth information from the location compliance proxy network element, where the sixth information indicates that the location of the terminal is within the service area of the first public land mobile network, or is not within the service area of the first public land mobile network.

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 - 33, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send seventh information to the terminal, where the seventh information indicates that the terminal is not within the service area allowed by the first public land mobile network.

35. The method according to any one of claims 31-34, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send eighth information to the terminal, where the eighth information indicates one of the following: The terminal enters the inactive state; or, The terminal enters the idle state.

36. The method according to any one of claims 31-35, characterized in that The first satellite is the current serving satellite of the terminal; or, The first satellite is the satellite that will serve the terminal next time.

37. The method according to any one of claims 31-36, characterized in that, The location of the terminal is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location of the terminal.

38. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a location compliance proxy network element deployed on a first satellite, the method includes: Receive fifth information from an access network element, where the fifth information carries the location of the terminal, and the access network element is deployed on the first satellite; Receive the key information of the terminal from a first mobility management network element; Decrypt the fifth information according to the key information to obtain the location of the terminal; Send first information to the access network element, where the first information indicates the location of the terminal.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that The first satellite is the current serving satellite of the terminal; or, The first satellite is the satellite that will serve the terminal next time.

40. The method according to claim 38 or 39, characterized in that The fifth information is carried in a non-access stratum message.

41. The method according to any one of claims 38 to 40, characterized in that, The location of the terminal is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location of the terminal.

42. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first mobility management network element, the method includes: Obtain the key information of the terminal; Send the key information of the terminal to a location compliance proxy network element deployed on a first satellite.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that The first satellite is the current serving satellite of the terminal; or, The first satellite is the satellite that will serve the terminal next time.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine to provide a store-and-forward service for the terminal, and receive ninth information from the terminal, where the ninth information indicates that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function; or, Receive tenth information from a unified data management function, where the tenth information indicates that the terminal has subscribed to the store-and-forward service.

45. The method according to any one of claims 42 - 44, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send an eleventh message to the location compliance proxy network element, where the eleventh message is used to trigger the location compliance proxy network element to perform the terminal location verification.

46. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal, the method includes: Send a ninth message to a first mobility management network element, where the ninth message indicates that the terminal supports the store-and-forward function; Send a fourth message to an access network element, where the fourth message carries the location of the terminal.

47. The method according to claim 46, wherein The method further includes: Receive a third message from the access network element, where the third message is used to indicate rejecting the registration or service of the terminal.

48. The method according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a seventh message from the access network element, where the seventh message indicates that the terminal is not within the service range allowed by a first public land mobile network.

49. The method according to any one of claims 46 - 48, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive an eighth message from the access network element, where the eighth message indicates one of the following: the terminal enters the inactive state; or, the terminal enters the idle state.

50. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-7; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 8-10; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11-22; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 23-27; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 28-30; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 31-37; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 38-41; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 42-45; or, A module for executing the method according to any one of claims 46-49.

51. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor and an interface circuit, where the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-7, the method according to any one of claims 8-10, the method according to any one of claims 11-22, the method according to any one of claims 23-27, the method according to any one of claims 28-30, the method according to any one of claims 31-37, the method according to any one of claims 38-41, the method according to any one of claims 42-45, or the method according to any one of claims 46-49 through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

52. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the instruction is run by the communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7, the method according to any one of claims 8-10, the method according to any one of claims 11-22, the method according to any one of claims 23-27, the method according to any one of claims 28-30, the method according to any one of claims 31-37, the method according to any one of claims 38-41, the method according to any one of claims 42-45, or the method according to any one of claims 46-49.

53. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1-7, the method according to any one of claims 8-10, the method according to any one of claims 11-22, the method according to any one of claims 23-27, the method according to any one of claims 28-30, the method according to any one of claims 31-37, the method according to any one of claims 38-41, the method according to any one of claims 42-45, or the method according to any one of claims 46-49 is implemented.

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