Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: measuring the signal quality of a serving cell; when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, monitoring first information, the first information being related to paging; and / or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, measuring the signal quality of a neighboring cell. According to the present application, a terminal device can be prompted to improve a channel condition or a receiving state, thereby improving the communication performance of the terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410068633.X, filed on January 17, 2024, entitled “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] A paging message is a message used in a communication network to send a call or other important information to user equipment (UE). When the network needs to communicate with a UE, it can send a paging message so that the UE can respond accordingly, such as establishing a call connection. The process of sending a paging message from the network to a UE is called paging.

[0004] When the network sends a paging message to the UE, the paging message may be unreachable, such as the UE cannot receive the paging message. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can remind a terminal device to improve channel conditions or reception status, thereby improving the communication performance of the terminal device, such as improving the performance of the terminal device in receiving paging messages.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: obtaining the signal quality of a serving cell; when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, monitoring first information, the first information being related to paging; and / or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, obtaining the signal quality of a neighboring cell.

[0007] Illustratively, the method described in the first aspect may be applied to a terminal device, such as: the method is executed by the terminal device, or by a device (eg, a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0008] In this communication method, a network device may send first information related to paging to a terminal device. The terminal device may monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell exceeds a second threshold; and obtain the signal quality of a neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell falls below the second threshold. By monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve channel conditions, the terminal device can improve its communication performance in receiving paging messages.

[0009] For example, in a scenario where channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can monitor the first information and respond to the first information, so that the terminal device can be changed from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state.

[0010] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can preferentially reside in the current serving cell to listen to the first information to improve the channel conditions, so as to continue to receive paging in the current serving cell. When the SSB quality of the serving cell is very poor, such as when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold (at this time, it can also be considered that the first information is also unreachable, or even if the terminal device improves the channel conditions, the paging cannot be received), the terminal device starts the neighboring cell measurement to ensure the communication service of the terminal device. When the terminal device continues to receive paging in the current serving cell and does not start the neighboring cell measurement, there will be no subsequent cell reselection process evaluation, which saves the power consumption of the terminal device in performing neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation.

[0011] In other words, when the terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so that there is no need to trigger neighboring area measurement and cell reselection evaluation, and it can give priority to receiving services in the current serving cell, which can save some of the overhead of neighboring area measurement and cell reselection evaluation to a certain extent.

[0012] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is paged in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction and is not located at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, allowing the terminal device to continue to receive normal service in the current serving cell. The terminal device can skip the neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection process.

[0013] In one possible design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, monitoring the first information includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, monitoring the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, it can be considered that the communication quality of the terminal device in the current serving cell is good and can normally receive paging, and the terminal device may neither monitor the first information nor initiate neighboring cell measurement.

[0014] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, the terminal device neither monitors the first information nor starts neighboring cell measurement, thereby saving power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0015] In one possible design, the first threshold and the second threshold are predefined, or preconfigured, or configured.

[0016] In another possible design, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0017] In one possible design, the first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0018] Exemplarily, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the same-frequency measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the first value, and the first value is the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or other defined value; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value of the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the same-frequency measurement start threshold; or Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined based on the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the first value; alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined based on the larger value between the same-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value; alternatively, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined based on the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold, the same-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

[0019] In this design, the size of the first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell. The value of the first threshold is determined according to the neighboring cell priority type, so that the value of the first threshold can be more closely matched with the measurement start threshold involved in the neighboring cell measurement scenario, or the size of the first threshold can be more in line with the requirements of the neighboring cell measurement scenario.

[0020] In one possible design, the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is determined based on a first parameter, and the first parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0021] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold based on the first parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0022] In one possible design, the method also includes: when it is detected that a first condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information and obtaining the signal quality of the neighboring cell; the first condition includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold for a first duration, or the received first information is ignored.

[0023] In this design, the first condition can be considered a fallback condition for the terminal device in the listening state. When it is detected that the first condition is met, monitoring of the first information is stopped and the signal quality of the neighboring cell is measured. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state, promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring, and perform normal neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation to ensure the terminal device's communication performance.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method described in the first aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functionality of the method described in the first aspect, such as a measurement unit, a monitoring unit, etc.

[0025] Among them, the measurement unit is used to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; the monitoring unit is used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, and the first information is related to the paging; the measurement unit is also used to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold.

[0026] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the service cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold.

[0027] In one possible design, the first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0028] In one possible design, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the same-frequency measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the first value, which is the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or other defined value; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value of the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the same-frequency measurement start threshold. ; Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the first value; Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the same-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value; Alternatively, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold, the same-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

[0029] In one possible design, the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is determined based on a first parameter, and the first parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0030] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the first condition is met; the measuring unit is further used to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell after stopping monitoring the first information; the first condition includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold for a first duration, or the received first information is ignored.

[0031] In a third aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, so that when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0033] Illustratively, in the third aspect and the fourth aspect, the processor is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0034] The communication device described in the second to fourth aspects above may be a terminal device, or a device (eg, a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a terminal device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device, the terminal device implements the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0036] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second to fifth aspects provided above can refer to the beneficial effects in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0037] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which includes: obtaining the signal quality of a serving cell; obtaining the signal quality of a neighboring cell; when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold, monitoring first information, the first information being related to paging; and / or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, performing a cell reselection evaluation.

[0038] Exemplarily, the method described in the sixth aspect can be applied to a terminal device, such as: the method is executed by the terminal device, or by a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0039] In this communication method, the network device can send a first information to the terminal device, and the first information is related to paging. After the terminal device obtains the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device can monitor the first information; when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation. By monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve the channel conditions, the terminal device can improve its communication performance of receiving paging messages. For example, in a scenario where the channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can change from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state by monitoring the first information and responding to the first information.

[0040] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can preferentially reside in the current serving cell to listen to the first information to improve the channel conditions, so as to continue to receive paging in the current serving cell. When the SSB quality of the serving cell is very poor, such as when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold (at this time, it can also be considered that the first information is also unreachable, or even if the terminal device improves the channel conditions, the paging cannot be received), the cell reselection evaluation is initiated to ensure the communication service of the terminal device. When the terminal device continues to receive paging in the current serving cell and does not initiate the cell reselection evaluation, the power consumption of the terminal device for performing the cell reselection evaluation is saved.

[0041] In other words, when the terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so that it does not have to trigger the cell reselection evaluation and gives priority to receiving services in the current serving cell, which can save some cell reselection overhead to a certain extent.

[0042] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is paged in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction and is not located at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, thereby allowing the terminal device to continue to receive normal service in the current serving cell. The terminal device may not perform the cell reselection evaluation process.

[0043] In one possible design, monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold includes monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a third threshold and greater than a fourth threshold.

[0044] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, the terminal device neither monitors the first information nor initiates the cell reselection evaluation, thereby saving the power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving the power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0045] In one possible design, the third threshold and the fourth threshold are predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0046] In another possible design, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0047] In one possible design, the third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0048] Exemplarily, when there is a neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the third threshold is determined based on the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold; or, when there is no neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the third threshold is determined based on the second value, and the second value is the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0049] In this design, the size of the third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell. The value of the third threshold is determined according to the priority type of the neighboring cell, which can make the value of the third threshold more consistent with the cell reselection threshold involved in the cell reselection scenario, or make the size of the third threshold more in line with the requirements of the cell reselection scenario.

[0050] In one possible design, the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold is determined based on a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0051] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold based on the second parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0052] In one possible design, the method also includes: when it is detected that the second condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information and performing a cell reselection evaluation; the second condition includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold for a second time period, or the received first information is ignored.

[0053] In this design, the second condition can be considered a fallback condition for the terminal device in the listening state. When it is detected that the second condition is met, monitoring of the first information is stopped and a cell reselection evaluation is performed. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state, disengage from unnecessary monitoring in a timely manner, and perform normal cell reselection evaluation to ensure the terminal device's communication performance.

[0054] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method described in the sixth aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functionality of the method described in the sixth aspect, such as a measurement unit, a monitoring unit, a reselection unit, and the like.

[0055] Among them, the measurement unit is used to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; the measurement unit is also used to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell; the monitoring unit is used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, and the first information is related to the paging; the reselection unit is used to perform a cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold.

[0056] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the service cell is less than a third threshold and greater than a fourth threshold.

[0057] In one possible design, the third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0058] In one possible design, when there is a neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the third threshold is determined according to the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold; or, when there is no neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the third threshold is determined according to the second value, and the second value is the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0059] In one possible design, the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold is determined based on a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0060] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the second condition is met; the reselection unit is further used to perform a cell reselection evaluation after stopping monitoring the first information; the second condition includes at least one of the following: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold for a second time period, or the received first information is ignored.

[0061] In an eighth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, so that when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0062] In the ninth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0063] Illustratively, in the eighth and ninth aspects, the processor is configured to execute the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0064] The communication device described in any one of the above aspects 7 to 9 may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (for example, a chip).

[0065] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a terminal device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device, the terminal device implements the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0066] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the seventh to tenth aspects provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0067] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: obtaining the signal quality of a serving cell; obtaining the signal quality of a neighboring cell; performing a cell reselection evaluation, and monitoring first information, the first information being related to paging.

[0068] Exemplarily, the method described in the eleventh aspect may be applied to a terminal device, such as: the method is executed by the terminal device, or by a device (eg, a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0069] In this communication method, a network device may send first information related to paging to a terminal device. After obtaining the signal quality of the serving cell and neighboring cells, the terminal device may perform a cell reselection assessment. During the cell reselection assessment, the terminal device may monitor the first information. By monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve channel conditions, the terminal device may improve its communication performance for receiving paging messages.

[0070] For example, in a scenario where channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can monitor the first information and respond to the first information, so that the terminal device can be changed from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state.

[0071] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can simultaneously perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first message. When the first message is preferentially monitored, the terminal device can improve channel conditions to continue receiving paging in the current serving cell. This method can monitor the first message without changing the existing cell reselection evaluation process to continue to reside in the current serving cell to receive paging.

[0072] In other words, when the terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction and performs cell reselection evaluation, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to receive services in the current serving cell first.

[0073] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction but is not at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, so that the terminal device can continue to obtain normal services in the current serving cell.

[0074] In one possible design, performing the cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold, performing the cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information. The method also includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, performing the cell reselection evaluation.

[0075] In this design, when the serving cell's signal quality exceeds the fifth threshold, it can be considered that the terminal device cannot receive paging normally even if the channel conditions are improved. For example, the terminal device may be at the edge of the cell but not blocked. When the serving cell's signal quality is less than the fifth threshold, a cell reselection evaluation is performed and the first message is monitored. When the serving cell's signal quality is greater than the fifth threshold, a cell reselection evaluation is performed. This can save the monitoring of the first message that would be performed when the serving cell's signal quality is greater than the fifth threshold, thus saving unnecessary monitoring.

[0076] Optionally, in this design, similar to the conditions for monitoring the first information in the cell reselection evaluation stage, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, if the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, the first information can be monitored in the last serving cell while performing cell selection; if the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, cell selection can be performed without monitoring the first information.

[0077] It should be understood that when a terminal device is in an environment that is unreachable due to obstruction and selects a cell, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to receive services preferentially in the last serving cell.

[0078] In one possible design, the fifth threshold is predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0079] In one possible design, the fifth threshold is determined according to the third value, where the third value is the S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0080] Exemplarily, the value of the fifth threshold may be an S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0081] In one possible design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold, performing a cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than a sixth threshold, performing a cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information. The method further includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, performing a cell reselection evaluation.

[0082] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, the terminal device may not monitor the first information and only perform cell reselection evaluation, thereby saving power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0083] Optionally, in this design, similar to the conditions for monitoring the first information in the cell reselection evaluation stage, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, if the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, the first information can be monitored in the last serving cell while performing cell selection; if the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold or less than the sixth threshold, cell selection can be performed without monitoring the first information.

[0084] Alternatively, in some other possible designs, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, monitoring of the first information can be started when the cell selection is triggered; when the cell selects a suitable cell, or when the received first information is ignored, or when the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold, monitoring of the first information can be stopped.

[0085] In one possible design, the sixth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured. Alternatively, the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0086] In one possible design, the difference between the sixth threshold and the fifth threshold is determined based on a third parameter, and the third parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0087] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold based on the third parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold.

[0088] In one possible design, the method further includes: when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performing cell selection and monitoring the first information.

[0089] In one implementation, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performing cell selection and monitoring the first information includes: when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performing cell selection and monitoring the first information in the last serving cell.

[0090] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation failing to reselect a suitable cell includes: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0091] In one possible design, the method further includes: stopping monitoring the first information when it is detected that a third condition is met. The third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

[0092] In this design, the third condition can be considered a fallback condition for the terminal device in the listening state. When the third condition is detected to be met, the terminal device stops monitoring the first information. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state and promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring to ensure the terminal device's communication performance.

[0093] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method described in the eleventh aspect. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functionality of the method described in the eleventh aspect, such as a measurement unit, a reselection unit, a monitoring unit, and the like.

[0094] Among them, the measurement unit is used to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; the measurement unit is also used to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell; the reselection unit is used to perform cell reselection evaluation; the monitoring unit is used to monitor the first information when the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation, and the first information is related to paging.

[0095] In one possible design, the reselection unit is specifically used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold; the monitoring unit is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation; the reselection unit is also used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold.

[0096] In one possible design, the fifth threshold is determined according to the third value, where the third value is the S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0097] In one possible design, the reselection unit is specifically used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold; the monitoring unit is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, and the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation; the reselection unit is also used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold.

[0098] In one possible design, the difference between the sixth threshold and the fifth threshold is determined based on a third parameter, and the third parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0099] In one possible design, the apparatus further includes: a selection unit, configured to perform cell selection when a cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell; and a monitoring unit, further configured to monitor the first information when the selection unit performs cell selection.

[0100] In one implementation, the monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information in a last serving cell when the selection unit performs cell selection.

[0101] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation failing to reselect a suitable cell includes: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0102] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that a third condition is met; the third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

[0103] In the thirteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, including: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the eleventh aspect or any possible design of the eleventh aspect.

[0104] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, including: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit, and execute the method described in the eleventh aspect or any possible design of the eleventh aspect.

[0105] Illustratively, in the thirteenth aspect and the fourteenth aspect, the processor is configured to execute the method described in the eleventh aspect or any possible design of the eleventh aspect.

[0106] The communication device described in aspects 12 to 14 above may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (e.g., a chip).

[0107] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in the eleventh aspect or any possible design of the eleventh aspect is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a terminal device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device, the terminal device implements the method described in the eleventh aspect or any possible design of the eleventh aspect.

[0108] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the twelfth to fifteenth aspects provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the eleventh aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0109] In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: performing a cell reselection evaluation; when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performing a cell selection, and monitoring a first message, the first message being related to paging.

[0110] Exemplarily, the method described in aspect 16 can be applied to a terminal device, such as: the method is executed by the terminal device, or by a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0111] In this communication method, a network device may send first information related to paging to a terminal device. If the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell during cell reselection evaluation, it may perform cell selection and monitor the first information. By monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve channel conditions, the terminal device may improve its communication performance for receiving paging messages.

[0112] For example, in a scenario where channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can monitor the first information and respond to the first information, so that the terminal device can be changed from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state.

[0113] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can simultaneously perform cell selection and monitor the first message. When the first message is preferentially monitored, the terminal device can improve channel conditions and return to the last serving cell to receive the paging. This method can monitor the first message and return to the last serving cell to receive the paging without changing the existing cell selection process.

[0114] In other words, when the terminal device is in an environment that is unreachable due to obstruction and selects a cell, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to return to the last serving cell to receive service.

[0115] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction but is not at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, so that the terminal device can continue to obtain normal services, such as returning to the last serving cell to receive paging.

[0116] In one implementation, monitoring the first information includes: monitoring the first information in a last serving cell.

[0117] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation failing to reselect a suitable cell includes: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0118] In one possible design, the method further includes: when detecting that a fourth condition is satisfied, stopping monitoring the first information. The fourth condition includes at least one of the following: selecting a suitable cell, or ignoring the received first information, or the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than a seventh threshold.

[0119] In this design, the third condition can be considered a fallback condition for the terminal device in a listening state. When the third condition is detected to be met, the terminal device stops monitoring the first information. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state and promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring to ensure the terminal device's communication performance. For example, when the terminal device detects that the fourth condition is met, it stops monitoring the first information, saving power consumption associated with monitoring the first information, or in other words, saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0120] In one possible design, the seventh threshold is predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0121] In one possible design, the seventh threshold is determined according to the fourth value, where the fourth value is the S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0122] In some examples, the value of the seventh threshold may be a value obtained by reducing the S criterion threshold or other defined value by a certain adjustment value.

[0123] In one possible design, the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined based on a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0124] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value based on the fourth parameter may include: using the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value; or, using the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value; or, using the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value.

[0125] Optionally, when a terminal device in a cell selection and pre-prompt listening state (i.e., a state of listening to the first information) searches for an acceptable cell, the terminal device may ignore it and not reside in the acceptable cell, such as continuing to search for a suitable cell and listening to the first information.

[0126] In a seventeenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method of aspect 16. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functionality of the method of aspect 16, such as a reselection unit, a selection unit, a monitoring unit, and the like.

[0127] Among them, the reselection unit is used to perform cell reselection evaluation; the selection unit is used to perform cell selection when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell; the monitoring unit is used to monitor the first information when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, and the first information is related to paging.

[0128] In one implementation, the monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information in a last serving cell.

[0129] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation failing to reselect a suitable cell includes: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0130] In one possible design, the monitoring unit is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that a fourth condition is met; the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the cell selects a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored, or the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold.

[0131] In one possible design, the seventh threshold is determined according to the fourth value, where the fourth value is the S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0132] In one possible design, the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined based on a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0133] In the eighteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, including: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the sixteenth aspect or any possible design of the sixteenth aspect.

[0134] In the nineteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in the sixteenth aspect or any possible design of the sixteenth aspect.

[0135] Illustratively, in aspect 18 and aspect 19, the processor is configured to execute the method described in aspect 16 or any possible design of aspect 16.

[0136] The communication device described in aspects 17 to 19 above may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (e.g., a chip).

[0137] In a twentieth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in aspect 16 or any possible design of aspect 16 is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a terminal device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the terminal device, the terminal device implements the method described in aspect 16 or any possible design of aspect 16.

[0138] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the seventeenth to twentieth aspects provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the sixteenth aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0139] In a twenty-first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, comprising: sending a paging message; and sending first information, the first information being related to the paging.

[0140] Exemplarily, the method described in aspect 21 can be applied to a network device, such as: the method is executed by the network device, or by a device (e.g., a chip) built into the network device.

[0141] In some possible implementations, the network device may send a first message when the terminal device cannot be paged (the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state). For example, the first message may indicate that the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state, or indicate that the terminal device cannot be paged.

[0142] In some other possible implementations, the network device may also send the first information when paging the terminal device takes a long time. The first information may be related to paging, such as indicating that the paging quality of the terminal device is poor or the paging takes a long time.

[0143] Optionally, the first information may directly indicate that the terminal device is unreachable or has poor paging quality, or may indirectly indicate that the terminal device is unreachable or has poor paging quality.

[0144] In one possible design, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information (e.g., the first signal) is designed to be sufficiently strong. For example, when a conventional paging message cannot be received by the UE, the signal carrying the first information can still be normally received by the UE. For example, under the same channel conditions, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information is superior to that of other signals (e.g., the paging message).

[0145] Optionally, the signal carrying the first information may be an enhanced existing signal, and the first information may be an existing field or a newly added field in the existing signal; or, the signal carrying the first information may be a newly designed signal on an existing channel, and the first information may be a field in the newly designed signal; or, a new channel or a new hardware architecture may be designed to enable the transmission of the signal carrying the first information, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0146] This communication method can use the first message to remind the terminal device to improve channel conditions, thereby improving its communication performance in receiving paging messages. For example, in a scenario where channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can monitor the first message and respond to the first message, thereby changing the terminal device from an unreachable state to a reachable state.

[0147] In aspect 22, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method described in aspect 1 above. The functionality can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functionality of the method described in aspect 1 above, for example, a first sending unit, a second sending unit, etc.

[0148] The first sending unit is used to send a paging message; the second sending unit is used to send first information, and the first information is related to the paging.

[0149] In aspect 23, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, so that when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in aspect 21 or any possible design of aspect 21.

[0150] In aspect 24, the present application also provides a communication device comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in aspect 21 or any possible design of aspect 21.

[0151] Illustratively, in aspect twenty-third and aspect twenty-fourth, the processor is configured to execute the method described in aspect twenty-first or any possible design of aspect twenty-first.

[0152] The communication device described in aspects 22 to 24 above may be a network device or a device built into a network device (e.g., a chip).

[0153] In aspect 25, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in aspect 21 or any possible design of aspect 21 is implemented.

[0154] For example, when computer software instructions run in a network device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the network device, the network device implements the method as described in aspect 21 or any possible design of aspect 21.

[0155] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned aspects 22 to 25 can be referred to the beneficial effects in aspect 21 and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0156] In a twenty-sixth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, comprising: a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be used to send and receive information, or to communicate with other network elements. The processing unit can be used to process data. The device can implement the method as described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the eleventh aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the sixteenth aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the twenty-first aspect and any possible design thereof, through the transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0157] In aspect 27, the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed, can implement the method described in aspect 1 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 6 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 11 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 16 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 21 and any possible design thereof.

[0158] In aspect 28, the present application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuits and the processors are interconnected through lines; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method described in aspect 1 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 6 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 11 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 16 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 21 and any possible design thereof.

[0159] In a twenty-ninth aspect, the present application further provides a communication system, comprising: a network device and a terminal device. The network device performs the method as described in the twenty-first aspect and any possible design thereof; the terminal device performs the method as described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the eleventh aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method as described in the sixteenth aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0160] In aspect 30, the present application also provides a network element or network device that can be used to implement the method described in aspect 21 and any possible design thereof.

[0161] In aspect 31, the present application also provides a terminal device that can be used to implement the method described in aspect 1 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 6 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 11 and any possible design thereof, or the method described in aspect 16 and any possible design thereof.

[0162] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by any one of the above-mentioned aspects 26 to 31 can refer to the beneficial effects described in the first aspect, the sixth aspect, the eleventh aspect, the sixteenth aspect, the twenty-first aspect, etc., and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0163] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0164] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0165] FIG3 shows a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0166] FIG4 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0167] FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of neighboring cell signal quality measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0168] FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of the monitoring threshold and principle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0169] FIG7 shows another schematic flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0170] FIG8 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of cell reselection evaluation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0171] FIG9 shows another schematic diagram of the monitoring threshold and principle provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0172] FIG10 shows another schematic flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0173] FIG11 shows another schematic diagram of the monitoring threshold and principle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0174] FIG12 shows another schematic flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0175] FIG13 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0176] FIG14 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0177] FIG15 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0178] FIG16 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0179] FIG17 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0180] FIG18 shows another structural diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0181] A paging message is a message used in a communication network to send a call or other important information to user equipment (UE). When the network needs to communicate with a UE, it can send a paging message so that the UE can respond accordingly, such as establishing a call connection. The process of sending a paging message from the network to a UE is called paging.

[0182] For example, in the 5G new radio (NR), the UE can have three radio resource control (RRC) states, namely: RRC connected state / active state, RRC idle state, and RRC inactive state. The RRC idle state and the RRC inactive state can be referred to as the RRC non-connected state. The RRC connected state can be described as RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_ACTIVE, the RRC idle state can be described as RRC_IDLE, and the RRC inactive state can be described as RRC_INACTIVE. The RRC inactive state can also be referred to as the RRC inactive state. The network may notify a UE in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to receive a paging message through paging, or the network may send a short message to a UE in an RRC idle state, an RRC inactive state or an RRC connected state through paging to indicate a system information (SI) update or an earthquake and tsunami warning system / commercial mobile alert service (ETWS / CMAS).

[0183] A UE in RRC Idle or RRC Inactive state monitors its own paging occasion (PO) during each paging cycle to determine whether the network has paged it. The UE calculates its own PO location based on its UE identification information and paging-related parameters according to the calculation formula specified in the protocol. Different UEs may calculate the same PO location, meaning that multiple UEs may monitor the same PO.

[0184] When the network sends a paging message to the UE, the paging message may be unreachable, such as the UE cannot receive the paging message.

[0185] For example, when the UE is in a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or non-line of sight (NLOS) environment, such as when the UE is placed in a backpack pocket or under the shade of a tree, the UE may not be able to receive the paging message due to penetration loss, that is, the UE is in a paging message unreachable state.

[0186] Against this background, the present application provides a communication method that can remind a UE to improve channel conditions or reception status, thereby improving the communication performance of the UE, such as improving the performance of the UE in receiving paging messages.

[0187] For example, Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include: a network device 110 and a terminal device 120.

[0188] The network device 110 may be referred to as an access network device, a radio access network (RAN) device, or a next-generation radio access network device. For example, the network device 110 may be a base station, an access point, or a device in an access network that communicates with wireless terminals over the air interface through one or more sectors. Different access network devices may communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[0189] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device 110 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), etc. For example, the network device 110 may include: a base station in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) or LTE, a next generation nodeB (gNB), a next generation evolved nodeB (Ng-eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., a home evolved NodeB, or a home NodeB, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc.

[0190] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some gNB functions, while the DU implements some gNB functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions.

[0191] Terminal device 120 may also be referred to as user equipment (UE). In some examples, terminal device 120 may be an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile terminal (MT), a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, a target terminal, etc., without limitation.

[0192] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device 120 can be a wireless terminal or a wired terminal. A wireless terminal can be a device that provides voice and / or other service data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. For example, the terminal device 120 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G mobile communication system or a terminal in a future evolution network, etc. This application does not limit the specific product form of the terminal device 120.

[0193] Optionally, the communication system shown in Figure 1 can be a WCDMA system, an LTE system, an advanced long term evolution LTE-A (LTE advanced) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a 5G NR system, and other wireless communication systems that use OFDM technology, etc., or it can also be the future sixth generation mobile information technology (the 6th generation mobile communication technology, 6G) network communication system, or other future communication systems. This application does not limit the specific type of the communication system.

[0194] Furthermore, the aforementioned communication system is merely intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. For example, the communication system may further include other devices, such as network control devices, core network devices, or network elements, such as access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements and user plane function (UPF) network elements. The network control device may be an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) system, also known as a network management system.

[0195] In some possible embodiments, the communication system shown in Figure 1 can be implemented based on a non-terrestrial network (NTN). NTN is a general term for networks involving flying objects, including satellite communication networks, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and air-to-ground networks. Key value scenarios include areas with poor land coverage, ocean communications, public safety needs, inter-aircraft communications, railways, etc., aiming to provide users with mobile broadband services.

[0196] HAPS is carried on airborne platforms, mainly including aircraft, balloons and airships, and uses high-altitude platform stations as mobile communication base stations, using the same frequency band as terrestrial mobile networks to provide mobile services. In this example, network device 110 may include a high-altitude platform station.

[0197] Satellite communication networks rely on onboard platforms, primarily including low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO). Depending on the relationship between satellites and base stations, these networks can be categorized as either transparent payload or regenerative payload.

[0198] In a transparent payload architecture, satellites only forward signals and lack data processing capabilities. The gNB (gNB) is located on the ground, and the satellite is connected to the gNB via a ground-based gateway. Signals between the user equipment (UE) and the base station are transmitted via the satellite, while data processing functions remain at the base station. The link between the satellite and the UE is called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the base station is called the feeder link.

[0199] In a regenerative payload architecture, a satellite performs all or part of the base station's functions, meaning it can also perform data processing. This architecture can be categorized into two types: a complete base station located on the satellite, and a base station DU located on the satellite. The link between the satellite / base station and the UE is called a service link.

[0200] Based on the mobility of NTN cells within their ground coverage area, NTN cells can be divided into three categories: earth-fixed, quasi-earth-fixed, and earth-moving. Earth-stationary NTN cells have a fixed coverage area on the ground, providing continuous, fixed-point coverage. GEO satellites provide this type of NTN cell. Quasi-earth-fixed NTN cells have a fixed coverage area on the ground for a period of time, and then move to another area on the ground after a period of time, providing fixed-point coverage. LEO and MEO satellites can provide this type of NTN cell. Earth-moving NTN cells have a sliding coverage area on the ground. LEO and MEO satellites can provide this type of NTN cell.

[0201] For example, FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of the components of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device may be terminal device 120 in the above-mentioned communication system. As shown in FIG2 , the terminal device may include: at least one processor 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 23, and a bus 24.

[0202] The processor 21 is the control center of the terminal device and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 21 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0203] The processor 21 can execute various functions of the terminal device by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 22 and calling data stored in the memory 22. For example, the processor 21 can execute the steps performed by the terminal device in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0204] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 21 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 2 .

[0205] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the terminal device may include multiple processors, such as processor 21 and processor 25 shown in FIG2 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0206] The memory 22 can store the software program of the method steps executed by the terminal device and be controlled by the processor 21 for execution. The memory 22 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these.

[0207] The memory 22 may be independent and connected to the processor 21 via the bus 24. Alternatively, the memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21, which is not limited here.

[0208] Communication interface 23, using any transceiver or other device, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Communication interface 23 can be an Ethernet interface, a radio access network (RAN) interface, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, etc. Communication interface 23 can include a receiving unit to implement a receiving function and a sending unit to implement a sending function.

[0209] Bus 24 can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. This bus can be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG2 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0210] Although the bus 24 is used in FIG. 2 , it is understandable that the bus can be replaced by other forms of connection relationships and is not limited to the bus itself.

[0211] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the composition of the above-mentioned network device (such as a base station) may also refer to that shown in FIG2 , or the network device may also include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG2 , which is not limited here.

[0212] The following is an exemplary description of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The processing described below as being performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. It should also be understood that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0213] For example, in the following description, the steps performed by a network device (such as a base station) may be specifically performed by the network device or a device (such as a chip) built into the network device. The steps performed by a terminal device (such as a UE) may be specifically performed by the terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0214] It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are merely for distinguishing descriptions and are not used to specifically limit a particular feature. That is, the first or second can include more content, rather than being limited to a specific concept. "And / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship. At least one refers to one or more; multiple refers to two or more. The embodiments of the present application may only perform fewer steps than all the steps, or perform more steps, without limitation. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions is used to indicate any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B, and / or C can mean the following: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, and A, B, and C exist at the same time, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0215] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art in the art of this application. The terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0216] Figure 3 shows a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the communication method may include S301-S302.

[0217] S301. The network device sends a paging message to the terminal device.

[0218] For example, as described in the aforementioned embodiments, the network device may send a paging message to the UE so that the UE can respond accordingly to the paging message, such as establishing a call connection. For example, the network device may notify a UE in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to receive a paging message through paging.

[0219] S302. The network device sends first information to the terminal device, where the first information is related to paging.

[0220] For example, when the terminal device is in a state with good channel conditions, the network device can page the terminal device normally. When the terminal device is in a state with poor channel conditions, such as in an NTN scenario, the terminal device is in a low signal-to-noise ratio or non-line-of-sight environment such as a backpack pocket or under the shade of a tree, the terminal device may not be able to receive the paging message due to penetration loss, that is, the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state.

[0221] In some possible implementations, the network device may execute S302 to send a first message to the terminal device when the terminal device cannot be paged (the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state). The first message may be related to paging, such as indicating that the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state or that the terminal device cannot be paged. In other words, the network device may send the first message to the terminal device when it determines that the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state.

[0222] Optionally, the network device or the network side can determine whether the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state by comparing whether the number of paging attempts exceeds the maximum number of paging attempts configured on the network side. For example, when the number of paging attempts exceeds the maximum number of paging attempts configured on the network side, it can be determined that the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state. Alternatively, the network device can also determine whether the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state by other means, for example, when no response to the paging message from the terminal device is received within a preset time period, it is determined that the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state. There is no restriction on the method for determining whether the terminal device is in a paging unreachable state.

[0223] In some other possible implementations, the network device may also execute S302 to send the first information to the terminal device when paging the terminal device takes a long time. The first information may be related to paging, such as indicating that the paging quality of the terminal device is poor or that the paging takes a long time. In other words, the timing of the network device sending the first information to the terminal device may be when it determines the time for the terminal device to respond to the paging or when the time taken to page the terminal device is greater than a certain time. This application does not limit the timing of the network device sending the first information to the terminal device.

[0224] Accordingly, the terminal device can receive the first information.

[0225] After receiving the first information, the terminal device can improve the channel conditions according to the instructions of the first information to normally receive the paging message and improve the communication performance of the UE, such as improving the performance of the UE in receiving the paging message.

[0226] Exemplarily, the terminal device may receive the first information and, after receiving the first information, adjust the channel condition of the terminal device. Optionally, adjusting the channel condition of the terminal device may include: the terminal device proactively adjusting its own hardware and / or software to adjust the channel condition; and / or the user adjusting the posture of the terminal device and / or the external environment to adjust the channel condition.

[0227] For example, the terminal device can adjust the antenna to improve channel conditions. Alternatively, the terminal device can send a prompt message to inform the user that the terminal device paging is unreachable or the paging quality is poor, prompting the user to adjust the terminal device posture to improve channel conditions. For example, the user can take the terminal device out of a backpack pocket or move the terminal device to a location not blocked by trees (such as an open area).

[0228] Among them, the prompt information can include one or more of sound prompts, light prompts, text prompts, etc., which are not limited here.

[0229] Optionally, the first information may be carried in a first signal, and the first signal may also be called a pre-prompt signal, a pre-paging signal, a pre-notification, a pre-reminder signal, etc. There is no restriction on the name of the signal carrying the first information.

[0230] Optionally, the first information may directly indicate that the terminal device is unreachable or has poor paging quality, or may indirectly indicate that the terminal device is unreachable or has poor paging quality.

[0231] In one possible design, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information (e.g., the first signal) is designed to be sufficiently strong. For example, when a conventional paging message cannot be received by the UE, the signal carrying the first information can still be normally received by the UE. For example, under the same channel conditions, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information is superior to that of other signals (e.g., the paging message).

[0232] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the signal carrying the first information may be an enhanced existing signal, and the first information may be an existing field or a newly added field in the existing signal; or, the signal carrying the first information may also be a newly designed signal on an existing channel, and the first information may be a field in the newly designed signal; or, a new channel or a new hardware architecture may also be designed to enable the transmission of the signal carrying the first information, and the present application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0233] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may monitor the first information to receive the first information. For example, the terminal device may initiate a monitoring process to monitor the first information. If the terminal device does not initiate the monitoring process or terminates the monitoring process, it may not receive the first information or respond to the first information. Not responding to the first information may mean ignoring the first information, such as not adjusting the channel conditions of the terminal device.

[0234] The following is an exemplary description of the timing when the terminal device monitors the first information (or the timing when the monitoring process is started) in the embodiment of the present application.

[0235] In some embodiments, the terminal device can obtain / measure the signal quality of the serving cell and determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell. When not monitoring the first information, the terminal device can measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell or obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell.

[0236] For example, Figure 4 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the communication method may include S401-S403. S401-S403 may be executed by a terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0237] S401. Obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0238] For example, mobility management is an important operation in wireless mobile communications. It means changing the service cell of the terminal device through switching (connected state behavior) or cell selection / reselection (non-connected state behavior) when the signal quality of the service cell of the terminal device deteriorates to a certain extent, such as selecting a neighboring cell with better communication quality as the new service cell of the terminal device to ensure that the communication link between the network and the terminal device will not be interrupted due to the movement of the terminal device.

[0239] Radio resource management (RRM) measurements involve a terminal device measuring the communication quality of its serving cell and / or neighboring (non-serving) cells. The handover and cell selection / reselection involved in mobility management operations are based on the signal quality measurements of the serving cell and neighboring cells.

[0240] For example, after a terminal device successfully camps on a cell, the cell can be called a serving cell or a current serving cell. The terminal device obtains the signal quality of the serving cell and neighboring cells (cells adjacent to the serving cell). For example, the signal quality of the serving cell and neighboring cells (cells adjacent to the serving cell) can be measured periodically. If the signal quality of the serving cell is poor, while the signal quality of the neighboring cell is good, the terminal device can actively reselect a cell with a higher priority or better signal quality as the serving cell. This process is called cell reselection.

[0241] For example, when a terminal device is in the RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE) or the RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE), a network device (such as a base station) can broadcast a measurement configuration. The terminal device can perform measurements based on the broadcast measurement configuration and use the measurement results to perform operations such as cell selection / reselection without reporting the measurement results to the network. The measurement process in the idle / inactive state mainly includes the following two steps: 1. Measurement configuration; 2. Measurement execution.

[0242] During the measurement configuration step, a network device (e.g., a base station) may provide the measurement configuration to the terminal device via broadcast. For example, the measurement configuration may be delivered via system information (SI), such as in system information block 2 (SIB2), SIB3, SIB4, SIB5, etc. The measurement configuration may include frequency information, measurement time window configuration, threshold and offset parameters, etc.

[0243] Frequency information is information related to the frequency used by the terminal device for cell reselection, which may include the center frequency and subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the frequency, the band information to which the frequency belongs, the cell list on the frequency, and the reference signal set information to be measured.

[0244] The measurement time window configuration is the measurement time configuration information used by the terminal device when measuring the above frequency point. That is, the terminal device performs frequency point measurements within the time window indicated by the configuration. This configuration can be per-frequency point, that is, different frequencies can correspond to different measurement time window configurations.

[0245] The threshold and offset parameters may include various thresholds and offsets used by the terminal device when performing operations such as deriving measurement results and evaluating cell reselection criteria.

[0246] In the measurement execution step, the terminal device may execute the measurement according to the measurement configuration broadcast by the network device.

[0247] Among them, for neighboring cell measurement, according to the relationship between the measurement frequency and the serving cell frequency, the measurement can be divided into intra-frequency measurement, inter-frequency measurement and inter-RAT measurement. Intra-frequency measurement and inter-frequency measurement refer to intra-RAT measurement, or in other words, the neighboring cell and the serving cell use the same radio access technology (RAT). For example, the neighboring cell and the serving cell both use 5G NR technology. Inter-system measurement means that the neighboring cell and the serving cell use different RATs. For example, the serving cell uses 5G NR technology and the neighboring cell uses LTE technology.

[0248] Exemplarily, the reference signals for measuring the frequency point may include: a synchronization signal block (SSB) and a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). The SSB may also be called a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block).

[0249] Neighboring cell measurements can be categorized as SSB-based or CSI-RS-based, depending on the reference signal type at the frequency point. Connected state measurements can be either SSB-based or CSI-RS-based; idle / inactive state measurements can be SSB-based.

[0250] Combining the classification methods of the above two measurement types, neighboring cell measurement can be specifically divided into: SSB-based same-frequency measurement, SSB-based different-frequency measurement, CSI-RS-based same-frequency measurement, CSI-RS-based different-frequency measurement and different-system measurement.

[0251] It can be understood that if the SSB center frequency of a measurement frequency point is the same as the SSB center frequency of the serving cell, and the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SSBs of the two are also the same, then the frequency point measurement is a same-frequency measurement. If either the SSB center frequency or the SSB subcarrier spacing is different, then the frequency point measurement is a different-frequency measurement.

[0252] When a terminal device performs a serving cell signal quality measurement or a neighboring cell signal quality measurement, it can obtain three types of measurement results: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR). Each type of measurement result can be based on either the SSB or the CSI-RS.

[0253] RSRP is defined as the linear average of the power of resource elements (REs) carrying reference signals within a measurement bandwidth under consideration.

[0254] RSRQ is defined as a ratio: RSRQ = (N * RSRP) / NR carrier RSSI. RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). NR carrier RSSI is the linear average of the total received power observed by the terminal device across N resource blocks (RBs). Sources include co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise, etc. N is the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the NR carrier RSSI measurement. RSRP can be either SS-RSRP or CSI-RSRP.

[0255] SINR is defined as the ratio of the linear average power RSRP of the resource elements (REs) carrying the reference signal to the linear average power of the noise and interference on these REs within the measurement bandwidth under consideration, that is, SINR = RSRP / (Noise+Interference).

[0256] In the embodiment of the present application, S401 refers to the process of the terminal device measuring the signal quality of the serving cell. Whether the terminal device performs the process of measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell can be determined based on the conditions of the signal quality of the serving cell in S402-S403.

[0257] It should be understood that the terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application can be in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. In addition, the terminal device can normally receive SSB and use it for synchronization and measurement.

[0258] S402: When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, monitor first information, where the first information is related to paging.

[0259] S403. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell.

[0260] The second threshold can be understood or defined as a threshold for stopping monitoring the first information. In this embodiment, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, the terminal device can determine whether to start monitoring the first information or whether to measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell based on the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0261] In one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the second threshold may include: at a current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the second threshold; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the second threshold may include: at a current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the second threshold. For example, the current moment may be a moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0262] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment.

[0263] The signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment.

[0264] The length of the period is not limited. For example, if the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, which means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold for a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to a moment that continues for the aforementioned period of time starting from the moment the signal quality of the serving cell is measured. Alternatively, if the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, which means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold for a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0265] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the second threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the second threshold (or the average value being greater than the second threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the second threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the second threshold (or the average value being less than the second threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points. The number of time points is not limited.

[0266] The present application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold or less than the second threshold.

[0267] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the second threshold, either S402 or S403 may be executed, which is not limited here.

[0268] Exemplarily, after the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell, the signal quality of the serving cell may be greater than the second threshold, or may be less than or equal to the second threshold. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, the terminal device may not measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell and monitor the first information, and the first information is related to the paging. The first information, the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information, and the way in which the terminal device responds to the monitored first information, etc. can refer to the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, the terminal device may measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell and not monitor the first information.

[0269] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, S402 and S403 may be in an and / or relationship. For example, after executing S402, the signal quality of the serving cell may change, such as decreasing to less than the second threshold. At this time, the terminal device may execute S403 and stop monitoring the first information when executing S403.

[0270] Exemplarily, when measuring the signal quality of a neighboring cell, it can be determined whether to start neighboring cell measurement based on the signal quality of the serving cell and the priority of the neighboring cell (or reselection priority). For example, FIG5 shows a schematic diagram of the principle of neighboring cell signal quality measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5, the terminal device can first compare the priority of the neighboring cell and the current service, and classify the neighboring cells into the following three situations according to the priority: 1) neighboring cell high priority, that is, the priority of the neighboring cell is higher than the priority of the serving cell; 2) neighboring cells with the same priority, that is, the priority of the neighboring cell is the same as the priority of the serving cell; 3) neighboring cell low priority, that is, the priority of the neighboring cell is lower than the priority of the serving cell. Among them, cells with the same frequency on the same RAT have the same cell priority, while the priorities of cells with different frequencies may be the same or different. For the case of high neighboring cell priority, neighboring cell measurement can be inter-frequency measurement or inter-system measurement. For the case of the same priority of neighboring cells, neighboring cell measurement can be same-frequency measurement, or inter-frequency measurement, or inter-system measurement. For the case of low neighboring cell priority, neighboring cell measurement can be inter-frequency measurement or inter-system measurement.

[0271] For situations where the neighboring cell has a high priority, the terminal device can perform higher-priority inter-frequency measurement or inter-system measurement. For example, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system but different frequencies, or when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to different communication systems and the neighboring cell has a higher priority than the serving cell, the terminal device can start measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell.

[0272] For neighboring cells with the same priority, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system and have the same frequency (i.e., co-frequency), the terminal device can start measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than or equal to the first measurement threshold. The first measurement threshold is also called the co-frequency measurement start threshold.

[0273] In one implementation, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Srxlev", which can represent the received signal level. Srxlev is an indicator of the received signal strength level, usually in dBm. Srxlev is used to evaluate the strength of the received signal, that is, the received power of the wireless signal. The first measurement threshold can be defined as "SintraSearchP". For example, for the case where neighboring cells have the same priority, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system and have the same frequency (i.e., co-frequency), if the serving cell satisfies Srxlev>SintraSearchP, co-frequency measurement is not performed; otherwise, that is, when the serving cell satisfies Srxlev≤SintraSearchP, the terminal device performs co-frequency measurement (i.e., starts neighboring cell measurement).

[0274] In another implementation, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Squal", which can represent the received signal quality. Squal is an indicator of the received signal quality, usually expressed in the form of signal-to-noise ratio or bit error rate. Squal is used to evaluate the quality of the received signal, that is, the reliability and clarity of the signal. This parameter mainly focuses on the quality of the signal, including factors such as signal-to-noise ratio and bit error rate. The first measurement threshold can be defined as "SIntraSearchQ". For example, for the case where neighboring cells have the same priority, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system and have the same frequency (i.e., co-frequency), if the serving cell satisfies Squal>SIntraSearchQ, co-frequency measurement is not performed; otherwise, that is, when the serving cell satisfies Squal≤SIntraSearchQ, the terminal device performs co-frequency measurement (i.e., starts neighboring cell measurement).

[0275] It should be understood that Srxlev and Squal are the signal qualities of the current serving cell, which can be measured by the terminal device and calculated according to the S criterion calculation formula, and are not issued by the network.

[0276] For neighboring cells with the same priority, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system but different frequencies (i.e., inter-frequency), or when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to different communication systems (i.e., inter-system), the terminal device may start measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second measurement threshold. The second measurement threshold may also be referred to as the inter-frequency / inter-system measurement start threshold.

[0277] Similarly, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Srxlev", and the second measurement threshold can be defined as "SnonIntraSearchP". Alternatively, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Squal", and the second measurement threshold can be defined as "SnonIntraSearchQ". For example, for the case where neighboring cells have the same priority, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system and have different frequencies (i.e., different frequencies), or the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to different communication systems (i.e., different systems), if the serving cell satisfies Srxlev>SnonIntraSearchP or Squal>SnonIntraSearchQ, the neighboring cell measurement is not started; otherwise, that is, when the serving cell satisfies Srxlev≤SnonIntraSearchP or Squal≤SnonIntraSearchQ, the terminal device starts the neighboring cell measurement.

[0278] For the case of low priority of the neighboring cell, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system but different frequencies (i.e., inter-frequency), or the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to different communication systems (i.e., inter-system), the terminal device can start measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than or equal to the third measurement threshold. The third measurement threshold can also be the inter-frequency / inter-system measurement start threshold.

[0279] For example, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Srxlev", and the third measurement threshold can be defined as "SnonIntraSearchP". Alternatively, the signal quality of the serving cell can be expressed as "Squal", and the third measurement threshold can be defined as "SnonIntraSearchQ". For the case of low priority of the neighboring cell, when the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to the same communication system and have different frequencies (i.e., different frequencies), or the neighboring cell and the serving cell belong to different communication systems (i.e., different systems), if the serving cell satisfies Srxlev>SnonIntraSearchP or Squal>SnonIntraSearchQ, the neighboring cell measurement is not started; otherwise, that is, when the serving cell satisfies Srxlev≤SnonIntraSearchP or Squal≤SnonIntraSearchQ, the terminal device starts the neighboring cell measurement.

[0280] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, the terminal device measures the signal quality of the neighboring cell, which may include: for neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell, no matter how good the quality of the serving cell is, the measurement must be started unconditionally; for neighboring cells with a priority equal to or less than the serving cell, the terminal device can compare the signal quality of the serving cell with the quality threshold sent down by the network. If it is greater than the threshold, the neighboring cell will not be measured; otherwise, the neighboring cell will be measured.

[0281] This embodiment does not limit the relative sizes of the second threshold, the intra-frequency measurement start threshold, and the inter-frequency / inter-system measurement start threshold.

[0282] Exemplarily, the cell priority (also called reselection priority) mentioned in the above description can be obtained from the system message of the current serving cell, configured by the network side, and sent to the terminal device through cell broadcast. This type of priority is a general cell reselection priority. The cell priority can also be obtained from the RRC release (Release) message, or inherited from other systems. This type of priority is a dedicated cell reselection priority. If the terminal device obtains the dedicated cell reselection priority, the general cell reselection priority can be ignored. However, when the terminal device enters a different RRC state and the validity period of the dedicated cell reselection priority expires, the terminal device can delete the dedicated cell reselection priority.

[0283] Exemplarily, the configuration of the general cell reselection priority includes a cell reselection priority and a cell reselection sub-priority. The terminal device can add the cell reselection priority and the cell reselection sub-priority, and use the added priority as the final cell reselection priority for the allocated frequency point for cell reselection. The cell reselection priority is divided according to the frequency point. That is, cells at the same frequency point on the same RAT (same communication system) have the same cell reselection priority, while the cell reselection priorities at different frequencies may be the same or different.

[0284] Optionally, the cell reselection priority variable (CellReselectionPriority) may have a value range of 0 to 7, with a larger value indicating a higher priority. The cell reselection sub-priority variable (CellReselectionSubPriority) may have a value range of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, etc., with a larger value indicating a higher priority.

[0285] It should be understood that after measuring the signal quality of a neighboring cell, the terminal device may perform a cell reselection evaluation process. Cell reselection evaluation refers to determining whether a neighboring cell meets reselection conditions based on its signal quality and priority, and reselecting to a neighboring cell that meets the reselection conditions (i.e., performing cell reselection) based on the determination result, or not performing cell reselection if the reselection conditions are not met. The cell reselection evaluation process is described below.

[0286] As described above, in the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the network device can send a first information to the terminal device, and the first information is related to paging. The terminal device can monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold; and obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold. The terminal device can improve its communication performance of receiving paging messages by monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve the channel conditions. For example, in a scenario where the channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can change from an originally paging-unreachable state to a paging-reachable state by monitoring the first information and responding to the first information.

[0287] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can preferentially reside in the current serving cell to listen to the first information to improve the channel conditions, so as to continue to receive paging in the current serving cell. When the SSB quality of the serving cell is very poor, such as when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold (at this time, it can also be considered that the first information is also unreachable, or even if the terminal device improves the channel conditions, the paging cannot be received), the terminal device starts the neighboring cell measurement to ensure the communication service of the terminal device. When the terminal device continues to receive paging in the current serving cell and does not start the neighboring cell measurement, there will be no subsequent cell reselection evaluation process, which saves the power consumption of the terminal device in performing neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation.

[0288] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction, and has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, thereby not having to trigger neighboring area measurement and cell reselection evaluation, and giving priority to receiving services in the current serving cell, which can save some of the overhead of neighboring area measurement and cell reselection evaluation to a certain extent.

[0289] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is paged in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction and is not located at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, thereby allowing the terminal device to continue to receive normal service in the current serving cell. The terminal device can skip the neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation process.

[0290] In one possible design, the monitoring of the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold as described in the aforementioned embodiment may include: monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold.

[0291] For example, in this design, a first threshold can be set for initiating monitoring of the first information. The terminal device can monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold and greater than a second threshold. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, it can be considered that the communication quality of the terminal device in the current serving cell is good and can normally receive paging. The terminal device can neither monitor the first information nor initiate neighboring cell measurement.

[0292] Similar to the method of determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than or less than the second threshold in the aforementioned embodiment, illustratively, in one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold, which may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold; the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, which may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0293] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured and the aforementioned period of time continues. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0294] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the first threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the first threshold (or the average value being greater than the first threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the first threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the first threshold (or the average value being less than the first threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points. The number of time points is not limited.

[0295] The present application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold or less than the first threshold.

[0296] Optionally, the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than or less than the second threshold may be the same as the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than or less than the first threshold. For example, the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than or less than the second threshold and whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than or less than the first threshold may be used based on the current moment's signal quality.

[0297] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the first threshold, the terminal device may monitor the first information, or may execute according to the logic that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, such as neither monitoring the first information nor starting neighboring cell measurement.

[0298] In other words, in this design, the start condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the service cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, and the stop / end condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the service cell is less than the second threshold, or greater than the first threshold.

[0299] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold, the terminal device neither monitors the first information nor starts neighboring cell measurement, thereby saving power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0300] It should be understood that in this design, the actions performed by the terminal device may include: monitoring the first information and performing neighboring cell measurements. Whether the terminal device performs cell reselection evaluation is based on neighboring cell measurements and is not discussed here for the time being. In this communication method, when the terminal device monitors the first information, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold (for the case of being equal, see the description above); when the terminal device performs neighboring cell measurements, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold.

[0301] In one possible design, the first threshold and the second threshold are predefined, or preconfigured, or configured.

[0302] For example, in one implementation, the sizes of the first threshold and the second threshold may be preconfigured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and may be changed through software or hardware.

[0303] For example, in another implementation, the sizes of the first threshold and the second threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0304] For another example, in another implementation, the sizes of the first threshold and the second threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0305] For example, in another implementation, the values ​​of the first and second thresholds do not require configuration of other devices and can be predefined (recorded / written in advance) in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the first and second thresholds can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0306] This application does not limit the implementation of the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0307] In another possible design, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0308] For example, in one implementation, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold may be preconfigured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and may be modified through software or hardware.

[0309] For example, in another implementation, the size of the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0310] For another example, in another implementation, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0311] For example, in another implementation, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold do not require other device configurations and can be predefined (recorded / written in advance) in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or can be understood as not being modifiable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0312] The present application does not limit the implementation of the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0313] It is understandable that when the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold are predefined, preconfigured, or configured, the terminal device can determine the second threshold based on the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0314] Optionally, in some embodiments, the size of the first threshold and the second threshold, or the size of the first threshold and the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold, can be set based on network-side rules, and there is no restriction on the setting rules.

[0315] In some other embodiments, the size of the first threshold may be related to the priority of the neighboring cell. In other words, the size of the first threshold may be determined according to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0316] It can be understood that, as described in the above embodiments, the priority of the neighboring area may be higher than the priority of the serving cell, or may be the same as or lower than the priority of the serving cell. For the serving cell, the priority of the neighboring area may include the following situations: 1) There are only neighboring areas with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 2) There are only neighboring areas with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 3) There are only neighboring areas with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 4) There are only neighboring areas with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring areas with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 5) There are only neighboring areas with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring areas with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 6) There are only neighboring areas with the same priority as the serving cell and neighboring areas with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring areas; 7) The neighboring areas include neighboring areas with a lower priority than the serving cell, neighboring areas with the same priority as the serving cell, and neighboring areas with a higher priority than the serving cell.

[0317] In one possible design, when there are only neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell, that is, for case 1), the first threshold is determined according to the hetero-frequency or hetero-system measurement start threshold.

[0318] Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, that is, for case 2), the first threshold is determined according to the same-frequency measurement start threshold.

[0319] Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell, that is, for case 3), the first threshold is determined according to the first value, which is the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or other defined value.

[0320] Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, that is, for the fourth case, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value of the heterofrequency or heterosystem measurement start threshold and the same-frequency measurement start threshold.

[0321] Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell, that is, for case 5), the first threshold is determined based on the larger value of the hetero-frequency or hetero-system measurement start threshold and the first value.

[0322] Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell and neighboring cells with higher priority than the serving cell, that is, for case 6), the first threshold is determined based on the larger value of the same-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value.

[0323] Alternatively, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, that is, for case 7), the first threshold is determined based on the larger value of the heterofrequency or heterosystem measurement start threshold, the same-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

[0324] Illustratively, Table 1 shows an example of a value of the first threshold.

[0325] Table 1

[0326] As shown in Table 1, when only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold. Alternatively, when only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be the intra-frequency measurement start threshold. Alternatively, when only neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be the first value, which is the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or another defined value. Alternatively, when only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the intra-frequency measurement start threshold. Alternatively, when only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell exist among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be the larger value between the first value and the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold. Alternatively, when the neighboring cells only have neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell, the value of the first threshold may be the larger value between the intra-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value. Alternatively, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell, the value of the first threshold may be the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold, the intra-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

[0327] In some other examples, the value of the first threshold may also be a value obtained by adjusting based on the above Table 1. For example, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold. Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the value of the first threshold may be a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the same-frequency measurement start threshold. Other situations are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0328] In some other possible designs, the size of the first threshold may be related to the priority of the neighboring cell in other ways. This application does not limit the specific relationship between the neighboring cell priority and the first threshold.

[0329] In this embodiment, the size of the first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring area, and the value of the first threshold is determined according to the neighboring area priority type, so that the value of the first threshold can be more matched with the measurement start threshold involved in the neighboring area measurement scenario, or the size of the first threshold can be more in line with the requirements of the neighboring area measurement scenario.

[0330] Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold may be determined based on a first parameter. The first parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain obtained by adjusting channel conditions; or a difference in signal quality between the first information and the paging message; or, a maximum receivable signal quality.

[0331] As described in the aforementioned embodiments, the terminal device can actively adjust its own hardware and / or software to adjust the channel conditions, and / or the user can adjust the posture of the terminal device and / or the external environment to adjust the channel conditions. The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions can refer to: the difference between the signal quality of the paging message received by the terminal device after adjusting the channel conditions and the signal quality of the paging message received before adjusting the channel conditions. In other words, the signal quality gain refers to the signal quality that can be improved by the terminal device adjusting the channel conditions.

[0332] In addition, as also described in the aforementioned embodiment, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information (such as the first signal) is designed to be sufficiently strong, such that when a conventional paging message cannot be received by the UE, the signal carrying the first information can still be received normally by the UE. Alternatively, under the same channel conditions, the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information is better than that of other signals (such as a paging message). The signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message may refer to the difference between the signal quality of the signal carrying the first information and the signal quality of the conventional paging message.

[0333] The maximum signal quality that can be received may refer to the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive, as specified in the terminal device's capability information. For example, if the standard defines that a terminal device should be capable of receiving a signal quality of MAX, and the signal quality of a traditional paging message is K, then the first parameter may be the maximum signal quality MAX that the terminal device can receive.

[0334] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold based on the first parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold.

[0335] In the above embodiments, the terminal device may not monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the first threshold; or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, it may not monitor the first information and perform neighboring cell measurement. Optionally, in some embodiments, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, the terminal device may exit the monitoring process (i.e., stop monitoring the first information) and perform neighboring cell measurement if it detects that the first condition is met during the monitoring of the first information, so as to ensure the normal neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation of the terminal device in a timely manner, thereby ensuring the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0336] For example, the communication method further includes: when detecting that the first condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information and obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell. It is understandable that this step can be implemented during the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information.

[0337] The first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration of time during which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, or the received first information is ignored. This application does not impose any restrictions on the length of the first duration.

[0338] For example, after a terminal device whose paging is unreachable monitors a first message sent by a network device (such as a satellite base station), it can adjust the channel condition by itself or prompt the user to adjust the channel condition. When the duration of time during which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, it can be considered that the terminal device cannot adjust to a good channel condition even after receiving the first message. The terminal device can promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring to perform normal neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation.

[0339] For example, when the terminal device is located at the edge of a cell, the signal quality of the serving cell may be less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, but the terminal device cannot adjust to good channel conditions even after receiving the first information. The duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, and the terminal device stops monitoring the first information and measures the signal quality of the neighboring cell. This allows the terminal device to promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring at the cost of some reselection delays and perform normal neighboring cell measurements and cell reselection evaluations.

[0340] Exemplarily, when the terminal device prompts the user to adjust the channel conditions, the user may actively choose to ignore the first information, or the user may not respond to the first information for a long time. In this case, the first information may be considered to be ignored. For example, after receiving the first information, the terminal device may issue a sound prompt to prompt the user to adjust the channel conditions. If the user actively turns off the sound prompt, or the user has not responded and the sound prompt automatically turns off after a certain period of time, the first information may be considered to be ignored. When the first information is ignored, it may also be considered that the terminal device may not be able to adjust to good channel conditions. The terminal device can stop monitoring the first information and measure the signal quality of the neighboring area, promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring, and perform normal neighboring area measurement and cell reselection evaluation.

[0341] It should be noted that this application does not impose any restrictions on the first condition mentioned above.

[0342] In this embodiment, the first condition can be considered as a fallback condition when the terminal device is in a listening state. When it is detected that the first condition is met, monitoring of the first information is stopped and the signal quality of the neighboring cell is measured. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state, promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring, and perform normal neighboring cell measurement and cell reselection evaluation to ensure the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0343] For example, FIG6 shows the monitoring threshold and principle diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the first threshold is greater than the second threshold. There is an adjustment value between the first threshold and the second threshold. The adjustment value can refer to the aforementioned embodiment and can be determined based on the first parameter. The signal quality of the service cell measured by the terminal device can have three possibilities: 1) It is within the range shown by point A in FIG6 , that is, it is greater than the first threshold; 2) It is within the range shown by point B in FIG6 , that is, it is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold; 3) It is within the range shown by point C in FIG6 , that is, it is less than the second threshold. Among them, the case where the signal quality of the service cell is equal to the first threshold can refer to the case where it is greater than the first threshold or the case where it is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold; the case where the signal quality of the service cell is equal to the second threshold can refer to the case where it is less than the second threshold or the case where it is less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, and no further details will be given.

[0344] When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point A in Figure 6, that is, greater than the first threshold, the terminal device may not trigger the start of neighboring cell measurement, nor monitor the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point B in Figure 6, that is, less than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, the terminal device may not trigger the start of neighboring cell measurement, but start monitoring the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point C in Figure 6, that is, less than the second threshold, the terminal device may normally trigger the start of neighboring cell measurement and stop monitoring the first information.

[0345] Among them, when the signal quality of the service cell is within the range shown by point B in Figure 6, when the terminal device detects that the first condition (see the aforementioned embodiment) is met, it can also stop monitoring the first information and normally trigger the start of neighboring cell measurement.

[0346] The above embodiments describe a process in which a terminal device obtains the signal quality of a serving cell, determines whether to monitor first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and performs neighboring cell signal quality acquisition / measurement when not monitoring the first information. In some other embodiments, the terminal device may obtain / measure the signal quality of the serving cell and perform neighboring cell signal quality acquisition / measurement. After completing the neighboring cell signal quality acquisition / measurement, the terminal device may determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and perform a cell reselection evaluation when not monitoring the first information.

[0347] For example, Figure 7 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the communication method may include S701-S703. S701-S703 may be executed by a terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device.

[0348] S701. Obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0349] S701 refers to the process of the terminal device measuring the signal quality of the serving cell. S701 can refer to the above-mentioned S401 and will not be described in detail.

[0350] The embodiment shown in FIG7 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG4 in that, in the embodiment shown in FIG4 , whether the terminal device performs the process of measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell can be determined based on the conditions regarding the signal quality of the serving cell in S402-S403. In the embodiment shown in FIG7 , after the terminal device performs S702 to measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell, whether the cell reselection evaluation process is performed can be determined based on the conditions regarding the signal quality of the serving cell in S703-S704.

[0351] It should be understood that the terminal device described in the embodiments of the present application can be in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. In addition, the terminal device can normally receive SSB and use it for synchronization and measurement.

[0352] For example, after executing S701, the terminal device may execute S702.

[0353] S702. Obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell.

[0354] For example, the specific implementation of measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell in S702 can also refer to the process of measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the aforementioned embodiment. For example, the principle of the neighboring cell signal quality measurement shown in FIG5 can be referred to. When the terminal device measures the signal quality of the neighboring cell, it can determine whether to trigger the neighboring cell measurement based on the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell priority, and measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the neighboring cell measurement is triggered. The neighboring cell measurement process will not be described in detail here.

[0355] It should be understood that when, in S702, it is determined not to perform signal quality measurement of any neighboring cell based on the neighboring cell priority and the signal quality of the serving cell, subsequent steps (such as S703 and S704) are no longer performed. The process shown in Figure 7 only applies to the case where the signal quality of at least one neighboring cell is measured in S702.

[0356] S703: When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold, monitor first information, where the first information is related to paging.

[0357] S704. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation.

[0358] The fourth threshold can be understood or defined as a threshold for stopping monitoring of the first information. In this embodiment, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the terminal device can determine whether to start monitoring of the first information or whether to perform cell reselection evaluation based on the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0359] Similar to the manner of determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first threshold (and / or the second threshold) in the aforementioned embodiment, in one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fourth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fourth threshold; and the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fourth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fourth threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0360] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured and the aforementioned period of time begins. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0361] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fourth threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fourth threshold (or the average being greater than the fourth threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fourth threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fourth threshold (or the average being less than the fourth threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points. The number of time points is not limited.

[0362] This application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold or less than the fourth threshold.

[0363] Optionally, the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the fourth threshold can be the same as the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first threshold (and / or the second threshold) in the aforementioned embodiment. For example, based on the signal quality of the serving cell at the current moment, it can be determined whether it is greater than or less than the fourth threshold, whether it is greater than or less than the second threshold, and whether it is greater than or less than the first threshold.

[0364] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the fourth threshold, either S703 or S704 may be executed, which is not limited here.

[0365] Exemplarily, after the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the signal quality of the serving cell may be greater than the fourth threshold, or may be less than or equal to the fourth threshold. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device may not perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information, and the first information is related to paging. The first information, the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information, and the way in which the terminal device responds to the monitored first information, etc. can be referred to the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, the terminal device may perform cell reselection evaluation and not monitor the first information.

[0366] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, S703 and S704 may be in an and / or relationship. For example, after executing S703, the signal quality of the serving cell may change, such as decreasing to less than the fourth threshold. At this time, the terminal device may execute S704 and stop monitoring the first information when executing S704.

[0367] Exemplarily, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, a cell reselection evaluation is performed, which may include: judging whether the neighboring cell meets the reselection conditions (cell reselection measurement rules) based on the signal quality and priority of the neighboring cell, and reselecting to the neighboring cell that meets the reselection conditions (i.e., performing cell reselection) based on the judgment result, or not performing cell reselection when the reselection conditions are not met. For example, Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the principle of cell reselection evaluation provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the terminal device can first compare the priority of the neighboring cell and the current service, and classify the neighboring cells into the following three situations according to the priority: 1) neighboring cell high priority, i.e., the priority of the neighboring cell is higher than the priority of the serving cell; 2) neighboring cell same priority, i.e., the priority of the neighboring cell is the same as the priority of the serving cell; 3) neighboring cell low priority, i.e., the priority of the neighboring cell is lower than the priority of the serving cell. Among them, cells at the same frequency on the same RAT have the same cell priority, while the priorities of cells at different frequencies may be the same or different.

[0368] For the case of high priority neighboring cells, when the high priority neighboring cells satisfy Squal>ThreshX,HighQ or Srxlev>ThreshX,HighP within the time interval, and the terminal device resides in the current serving cell for more than 1 second (or the preset residence time, the preset residence time can also be other values, such as 2 seconds), the cell reselection of the high priority neighboring cells can be performed. Among them, when the high priority neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of a higher priority NR frequency point, the time interval can be TreselectionNR; when the high priority neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of a different system frequency point, the time interval can be TreselectionRAT. The time interval can be called the first preset time, and ThreshX,HighQ and ThreshX,HighP can be called the first reselection threshold.

[0369] If multiple neighboring cells meet the conditions simultaneously, the terminal device can select the neighboring cell with the highest signal quality level Rn (Rn = Qmeas,n - Qoffset - Qoffsettemp) for cell reselection. Among them, Qmeas,n is the RSRP of the neighboring cell, Qoffset is the offset, and Qoffsettemp is the temporary offset.

[0370] For example, ThreshX,HighP and ThreshX,HighQ are the cell reselection thresholds for high-priority neighbor cells. Cell reselection is allowed only when the signal quality of a high-priority neighbor cell exceeds these thresholds. X represents frequency, and each frequency has a corresponding threshold. This variable for high-priority neighbor cells of different frequencies is stored in SIB4, while this variable for high-priority neighbor cells of different systems is stored in SIB5.

[0371] For the case of neighboring cells with the same priority, the R criterion can be used. If the quality of the neighboring cell meets the S criterion (i.e., Srxlev>0 and Squal>0), by calculating the cell signal quality level (such as Rn mentioned above), and then sorting according to the cell signal quality level, select the cell with the largest or close to the largest cell signal quality level; finally, among these cells, select the cell with the largest number of beams whose beam signal quality meets the requirements as the best cell, and the cell is said to meet the cell reselection criterion. If the selected best cell continues to meet the cell reselection criterion during the time interval TreselectionNR, and the terminal device resides in the current serving cell for more than 1s (or the preset residence time, the preset residence time can also be other values, such as 2 seconds), the terminal device initiates cell reselection to the neighboring cell.

[0372] For the case of a neighboring cell with a lower priority, when the serving cell satisfies Squal < ThreshServing,LowQ and the neighboring cell satisfies Squal > ThreshX,LowQ within a time interval, or when the serving cell satisfies Srxlev < ThreshServing,LowP and the neighboring cell satisfies Srxlev > ThreshX,LowP within a time interval, and the terminal device has resided in the current serving cell for more than 1 s (or a preset residence duration, which can also be other values, such as 2 seconds), the terminal device initiates cell reselection to that neighboring cell. Here, when the neighboring cell with a lower priority is a neighboring cell of a lower-priority NR frequency band, the time interval can be TreselectionNR; when the neighboring cell with a lower priority is a neighboring cell of a different-system frequency band, the time interval can be TreselectionRAT. Here, the time interval can be referred to as the second preset time, and ThreshX,HighQ and ThreshX,HighP can be referred to as the second reselection threshold, and ThreshServing,LowP and ThreshServing,LowQ can be referred to as the third reselection threshold.

[0373] Exemplarily, ThreshServing,LowP and ThreshServing,LowQ are the cell reselection thresholds of the serving cell, ThreshX,LowP and ThreshX,LowQ are the cell reselection thresholds of the neighboring cell with a lower priority, X represents frequency, and each frequency has a corresponding threshold. This variable for the neighboring cell with a lower priority of a different frequency is in SIB4, and this variable for the neighboring cell with a lower priority of a different system is in SIB5.

[0374] Optionally, in the cell reselection process shown in FIG. 8, if multiple cells with different priorities satisfy the cell reselection criteria, reselection to a neighboring cell with a higher priority should be prioritized over reselection to a neighboring cell with a lower priority.

[0375] It should be noted that the cell reselection evaluation described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 refers to the terminal device determining whether the cell reselection conditions are met according to the process shown in FIG. 8 and performing cell reselection according to the determination result (or reselecting to a cell that meets the cell reselection conditions according to the determination result), and does not limit that the terminal device will definitely reselect to a new cell.

[0376] This embodiment does not limit the relative magnitudes of the fourth threshold and the cell reselection threshold.

[0377] It should be understood that after performing a cell reselection evaluation, the terminal device may reselect a new cell or continue to reside in the current serving cell. Alternatively, there may be a situation where there are no other cells to reside in and the current serving cell does not meet the residency conditions. In this case, the terminal device can perform cell selection and select a suitable cell or an acceptable cell to reside in. The details will not be repeated here. Alternatively, the cell selection process can be found in the following description.

[0378] As described above, in the communication method provided by this embodiment, the network device can send the first information to the terminal device, and the first information is related to paging. After the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device can monitor the first information; when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation. By monitoring the first information and responding to the first information to improve the channel conditions, the terminal device can improve its communication performance of receiving paging messages. For example, in a scenario where the channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can change from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state by monitoring the first information and responding to the first information.

[0379] In addition, in this communication method, when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can preferentially reside in the current serving cell to listen to the first information to improve the channel conditions, so as to continue to receive paging in the current serving cell. When the SSB quality of the serving cell is very poor, such as when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold (at this time, it can also be considered that the first information is also unreachable, or even if the terminal device improves the channel conditions, the paging cannot be received), the cell reselection evaluation is initiated to ensure the communication service of the terminal device. When the terminal device continues to receive paging in the current serving cell and does not initiate the cell reselection evaluation, the power consumption of the terminal device for performing the cell reselection evaluation is saved.

[0380] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, thereby not having to trigger a cell reselection evaluation and giving priority to receiving services in the current serving cell, which can save some of the cell reselection evaluation overhead to a certain extent.

[0381] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is paged in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction and is not located at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, thereby allowing the terminal device to continue to receive normal service in the current serving cell. The terminal device may not perform the cell reselection evaluation process.

[0382] In one possible design, the monitoring of the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold as described in the aforementioned embodiment may include: monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold.

[0383] For example, in this design, a third threshold can be set for initiating monitoring of the first information. The terminal device can monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than a fourth threshold. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, it can be considered that the communication quality of the terminal device in the current serving cell is good and can normally receive paging. The terminal device can neither monitor the first information nor initiate cell reselection evaluation.

[0384] Similar to the method of determining the relative magnitude relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first threshold, the second threshold, and the fourth threshold in the aforementioned embodiment, in one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold; and the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the third threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the third threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0385] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured and the aforementioned period of time has continued. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0386] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the third threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the third threshold (or the average value being greater than the third threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold (or the average value being less than the third threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points. The number of time points is not limited.

[0387] This application does not limit the method used to determine whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold or less than the third threshold.

[0388] Optionally, the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the third threshold can be the same as the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first threshold (or the second threshold, the fourth threshold, etc.) in the aforementioned embodiment. For example, based on the signal quality of the serving cell at the current moment, it can be determined whether it is greater than or less than the third threshold, whether it is greater than or less than the fourth threshold, whether it is greater than or less than the second threshold, and whether it is greater than or less than the first threshold.

[0389] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the third threshold, the terminal device may monitor the first information, or may execute according to the logic that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, such as neither monitoring the first information nor initiating cell reselection evaluation.

[0390] In other words, in this design, the start condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the service cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, and the stop / end condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the service cell is less than the fourth threshold, or greater than the third threshold.

[0391] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, the terminal device neither monitors the first information nor initiates the cell reselection evaluation, thereby saving the power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving the power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0392] It should be understood that in this design, after the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the actions performed may include: monitoring the first information and performing cell reselection evaluation. In this communication method, when the terminal device monitors the first information, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold (for the case of being equal, see the description above); when the terminal device performs cell reselection evaluation, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold.

[0393] In one possible design, the third threshold and the fourth threshold are predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0394] For example, in one implementation, the sizes of the third threshold and the fourth threshold can be pre-configured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and can be changed through software or hardware.

[0395] For example, in another implementation, the sizes of the third threshold and the fourth threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0396] For another example, in another implementation, the sizes of the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0397] For example, in another implementation, the values ​​of the third and fourth thresholds do not require additional device configuration and can be predefined (pre-recorded / written) in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the third and fourth thresholds can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0398] This application does not limit the implementation of the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0399] In another possible design, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0400] For example, in one implementation, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be preconfigured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and may be modified through software or hardware.

[0401] For example, in another implementation, the size of the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0402] For another example, in another implementation, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0403] For example, in another implementation, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold do not require additional device configuration and can be predefined (recorded / written in advance) in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0404] This application does not limit the implementation of the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0405] It can be understood that when the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold are predefined, preconfigured, or configured, the terminal device can determine the fourth threshold based on the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0406] Optionally, in some embodiments, the sizes of the third threshold and the fourth threshold, or the sizes of the third threshold and the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold, can be set based on network-side rules, and no limitation is imposed on the setting rules.

[0407] In some other embodiments, the size of the third threshold may be related to the priority of the neighboring cell. In other words, the size of the third threshold may be determined according to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0408] It can be understood that, as described in the above embodiments, the priority of the neighboring cell may be higher than the priority of the serving cell, or may be the same as or lower than the priority of the serving cell.

[0409] In one possible design, the situation of the neighboring cells of the serving cell can be divided into two categories according to the type of priority. In the first category, there are neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells of the serving cell; in the second category, there are no neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells of the serving cell. For the first category, that is, when there are neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold can be determined based on the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold. For the second category, that is, when there are no neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold can be determined based on the second value, which can be the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0410] Illustratively, Table 2 shows an example of a value of the third threshold.

[0411] Table 2

[0412] In Table 2, the low-priority neighbor cell reselection threshold refers to the cell reselection threshold of the serving cell for the case of low-priority neighbor cells in the cell reselection principle shown in FIG. 8 , such as ThreshServing, LowP or ThreshServing, LowQ.

[0413] As shown in Table 2, when there is a neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the value of the third threshold can be the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold. When there is no neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell, the value of the third threshold can be the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0414] In some other examples, the value of the third threshold may also be a value obtained by adjusting based on Table 4 above. For example, when there is a neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the value of the third threshold may be a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold. Alternatively, when there is no neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the value of the third threshold may be a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0415] In some other possible designs, the size of the third threshold may be related to the priority of the neighboring cell in other ways. This application does not limit the specific relationship between the neighboring cell priority and the third threshold.

[0416] In this embodiment, the size of the third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell, and the value of the third threshold is determined according to the priority type of the neighboring cell, so that the value of the third threshold can be more matched with the cell reselection threshold involved in the cell reselection scenario, or the size of the third threshold can be more in line with the requirements of the cell reselection scenario.

[0417] Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold may be determined based on a second parameter. The second parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain obtained by adjusting channel conditions; or a difference in signal quality between the first information and the paging message; or, a maximum receivable signal quality.

[0418] The implementation of the second parameter is similar to that of the first parameter. You can refer to the first parameter and will not repeat it here.

[0419] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold based on the second parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold.

[0420] In the above embodiments, after the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the third threshold, the terminal device may not monitor the first information and not perform cell reselection evaluation; or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, the terminal device may not monitor the first information and perform cell reselection evaluation; or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device monitors the first information and does not trigger cell reselection evaluation. Optionally, in some embodiments, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device may exit the monitoring process (i.e., stop monitoring the first information) and perform cell reselection evaluation if it detects that the second condition is met during the process of monitoring the first information, so as to ensure the normal cell reselection evaluation of the terminal device in a timely manner, thereby ensuring the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0421] For example, the communication method further includes: when it is detected that the second condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information and performing cell reselection evaluation. It is understandable that this step can be implemented during the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information.

[0422] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the duration of the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold reaches a second duration, or the received first information is ignored. This application does not impose any restrictions on the length of the second duration.

[0423] For example, after a terminal device whose paging is unreachable monitors a first message sent by a network device (such as a satellite base station), it can adjust the channel conditions by itself or prompt the user to adjust the channel conditions. When the duration of the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the third threshold reaches a second duration, it can be considered that the terminal device cannot adjust to a good channel condition even after receiving the first message. The terminal device can promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring to perform normal cell reselection evaluation.

[0424] For example, when the terminal device is located at the edge of a cell, the signal quality of the serving cell may be less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, but the terminal device cannot adjust to good channel conditions even after receiving the first information. The duration of time during which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold reaches the second duration, and the terminal device stops monitoring the first information and performs a cell reselection evaluation. This can achieve timely disengagement from unnecessary monitoring at the cost of some cell reselection evaluation delays and perform normal cell reselection evaluations.

[0425] For example, the case where the first information is ignored can be referred to the above embodiment and will not be described in detail here. When the first information is ignored, it can also be considered that the terminal device may not be able to adjust to a good channel condition. The terminal device can stop monitoring the first information and perform a cell reselection evaluation to promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring and perform a normal cell reselection evaluation.

[0426] It should be noted that this application does not impose any restrictions on the second condition mentioned above.

[0427] In this embodiment, the second condition can be considered as a fallback condition when the terminal device is in a listening state. When it is detected that the second condition is met, monitoring of the first information is stopped and a cell reselection evaluation is performed. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state, disengage from unnecessary monitoring in a timely manner, and perform a normal cell reselection evaluation to ensure the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0428] For example, FIG9 shows another schematic diagram of the monitoring threshold and principle provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the third threshold is greater than the fourth threshold. There is an adjustment value between the third threshold and the fourth threshold. The adjustment value can be determined according to the second parameter, as described in the previous embodiment. After the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the signal quality of the serving cell can have three possibilities: 1) It is within the range shown by point A in FIG9 , that is, it is greater than the third threshold; 2) It is within the range shown by point B in FIG9 , that is, it is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold; 3) It is within the range shown by point C in FIG9 , that is, it is less than the fourth threshold. Among them, the case where the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the third threshold can refer to the case where it is greater than the third threshold or the case where it is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold; the case where the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the fourth threshold can refer to the case where it is less than the fourth threshold or the case where it is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, and no further details will be given.

[0429] When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point A in FIG9 , that is, greater than the third threshold, the terminal device may not trigger the cell reselection evaluation and may not monitor the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point B in FIG9 , that is, less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, the terminal device may not trigger the cell reselection evaluation and start monitoring the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point C in FIG9 , that is, less than the fourth threshold, the terminal device may trigger the cell reselection evaluation normally and stop monitoring the first information.

[0430] Among them, when the signal quality of the service cell is within the range shown by point B in Figure 9, when the terminal device detects that the second condition (see the aforementioned embodiment) is met, it can also stop monitoring the first information and trigger the cell reselection evaluation normally.

[0431] For example, in one possible scenario, the terminal device may be in the central area of ​​the current service area, but is blocked and in a paging unreachable state. Compared with reselecting to a neighboring cell, the service quality of the terminal device in the current service cell should be higher than that in the neighboring cell after improving the reception status according to the communication method provided in this application. In addition, due to obstruction, the signal in the neighboring cell may not be sufficient for the terminal device to reselect. This application gives priority to using the first information as a prompt to remind the terminal device to improve the reception status and try to stay in the current service cell.

[0432] The above embodiments respectively introduce two schemes for the terminal device to monitor the first information. The first is a scheme in which the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell after obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, and performs a scheme for obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell when not monitoring the first information. The second is a scheme in which the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell after obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, and performs a scheme for cell reselection evaluation when not monitoring the first information. In some other embodiments, the terminal device can obtain / measure the signal quality of the serving cell and obtain / measure the signal quality of the neighboring cell. After completing the acquisition / measurement of the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation while monitoring the first information. Among them, performing the cell reselection evaluation may include: judging whether the neighboring cell meets the reselection conditions (cell reselection measurement rules) according to the signal quality and priority of the neighboring cell, and reselecting to the neighboring cell that meets the reselection conditions (i.e., performing cell reselection) according to the judgment result, or not performing cell reselection when the reselection conditions are not met.

[0433] For example, Figure 10 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the communication method may include S1001-S1003. S1001-S1003 can be performed by a terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device. It should be understood that the terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application can be in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. In addition, the terminal device can normally receive SSB and use it for synchronization and measurement.

[0434] S1001. Obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0435] S1002. Obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell.

[0436] For S1001 - S1002 , reference may be made to the signal quality measurement process of the serving cell and the neighboring cell in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

[0437] S1003. Perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor first information, where the first information is related to paging.

[0438] For example, the process of cell reselection evaluation can be referred to in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be described in detail here. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, when the terminal device performs cell reselection evaluation, it can also simultaneously enable monitoring of the first information. The first information, the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information, and the manner in which the terminal device responds to the monitored first information can be referred to in the aforementioned embodiment and will not be described in detail here.

[0439] In other words, in the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the start condition for monitoring the first information may be whether a cell reselection evaluation is triggered. The terminal device may perform the cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information simultaneously.

[0440] It is understandable that when the terminal device is performing cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information, when the terminal device adjusts the channel conditions after monitoring the first information so that the channel conditions are improved, the terminal device may exit the cell reselection evaluation process and return to the serving cell to reside. Alternatively, the terminal device may reselect a new cell to reside in. Alternatively, there may be a situation where there are no other cells to reside in and the current serving cell does not meet the residency conditions. At this time, the terminal device can perform cell selection and select a suitable cell or an acceptable cell to reside in.

[0441] Exemplarily, a suitable cell can be called a "Suitable Cell". If the cell meets the following conditions, the cell is considered to be a Suitable Cell: 1) the public land mobile network (PLMN) of the cell is part of the selected PLMN or the registered PLMN or the PLMN in the equivalent PLMN list; 2) the cell selection criteria are met; 3) according to the latest information provided by the network attached storage (NAS): the cell is not prohibited, the cell is part of at least one tracking area (TA), and the tracking area does not belong to the "tracking area prohibited roaming" list that meets the above-mentioned PLMN.

[0442] An acceptable cell is a cell in which a terminal device can reside to obtain limited services, such as initiating emergency calls and receiving ETWS and CMAS notifications. An acceptable cell meets the minimum requirements for initiating emergency calls and receiving ETWS and CMAS notifications in an NR network: the cell is not barred and meets the cell selection criteria.

[0443] When the terminal device is normally stationed in the serving cell, it is in the normal station state (which can be defined as the Camped Normally state). The Camped Normally state can be applicable to terminal devices in the RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states. When the terminal device is in the Camped Normally state, it can perform the following tasks: monitor the cell paging channel according to the information broadcast in SIB1; monitor the P-RNTI-encrypted Short Message transmitted on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); monitor relevant system information; perform necessary measurements for the cell reselection evaluation procedure; perform the cell reselection evaluation procedure on the following occasions / triggers: 1) UE internal trigger to meet the performance specified in 3GPP TS 38.133; 2) when the information used for the cell reselection evaluation procedure on the broadcast control channel (BCCH) is modified.

[0444] When the terminal device fails to reselect a Suitable Cell during cell reselection evaluation, it can switch from the Camped Normally state to the Any Cell Selection state (which can be defined as the Any Cell Selection state). When the terminal device is in the Any Cell Selection state, it can perform cell selection. When the cell selection can select a Suitable Cell, the terminal device can reside in the Suitable Cell and switch from the Any Cell Selection state to the Camped Normally state. When the cell selection does not select a Suitable Cell, the terminal device can select an Acceptable Cell to reside in and switch from the Any Cell Selection state to the Camped on Any Cell state (which can be defined as the Camped on Any Cell state).

[0445] The Any Cell Selection state applies to the RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states. In this state, the terminal device shall perform a cell selection process to find a suitable cell. If the cell selection process fails to find a suitable cell after a complete scan of all RATs and all frequency bands supported by the terminal device, the terminal device shall attempt to find an acceptable cell of any PLMN to camp on, trying all RATs supported by the terminal device and prioritizing the search for high-quality cells. Terminal devices that are not camped on any cell shall remain in the Any Cell Selection state.

[0446] When the terminal device resides in an Acceptable Cell, it can be in the RRC_IDLE state. The terminal device can perform the following tasks in the Any Cell Selection state: monitor the P-RNTI-scrambled Short Messages transmitted on the PDCCH; monitor relevant system information; perform necessary measurements for the cell reselection evaluation procedure; execute the cell reselection evaluation procedure in the following occasions / triggers: 1) UE internal trigger to meet the performance specified in 3GPP TS 38.133; 2) when the information used for the cell reselection evaluation procedure on the BCCH is modified; regularly attempt to find a suitable cell, trying all frequencies of all RATs supported by the UE. If a suitable cell is found, the UE will move to the Camped Normally state.

[0447] Optionally, when the terminal device has no other cell to reside in and the current serving cell does not meet the residency conditions, it can continue to monitor the first information when performing cell selection.

[0448] For example, the method may include: the terminal device performs cell reselection evaluation, and when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performs cell selection and monitors the first information.

[0449] In one implementation, when a cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, the terminal device may perform cell selection and monitor the first information in the last serving cell.

[0450] For example, when the terminal device performs cell selection, it is no longer resident in the serving cell. The serving cell becomes the last resident cell, or can be called the last serving cell (last serving cell) or the last serving cell. The terminal device can record the last resident cell and monitor the first information of the last resident cell (last serving cell).

[0451] Exemplarily, the failure of the cell reselection evaluation to reselect a suitable cell can be defined as: the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell after a period of cell reselection evaluation. For example, the failure of the cell reselection evaluation to reselect a suitable cell includes: the terminal device performs search and measurement within a third time period and does not find any new suitable cell,

[0452] The third duration may be 10 seconds or another duration, and there is no restriction on the size of the third duration. Taking the aforementioned period (third duration) of 10 seconds as an example, if the UE in the RRC_IDLE state searches and measures using the intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-system cell information indicated in the system message within 10 seconds and does not find any new suitable cell, the UE may initiate a cell selection process for the selected PLMN.

[0453] In some other implementations, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, the terminal device can perform cell selection and monitor the first information in other cells. The other cells can be nearby cells with better quality, acceptable cells, etc.

[0454] The last serving cell or other cell that monitors the first information may be referred to as a monitoring cell. This application does not impose any limitation on the specific implementation of the monitoring cell.

[0455] As described above, in the communication method provided by this embodiment, the network device can send the first information to the terminal device, and the first information is related to paging. After obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation; when performing the cell reselection evaluation, it can listen to the first information. By listening to the first information and responding to the first information to improve the channel conditions, the terminal device can improve its communication performance of receiving paging messages. For example, in a scenario where the channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can change from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state by listening to the first information and responding to the first information.

[0456] In addition, in this communication method, the terminal device can simultaneously perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information when the SSB quality of the serving cell is poor; when the first information is preferentially monitored, the terminal device can improve the channel conditions to continue receiving paging in the current serving cell. This method can monitor the first information without changing the existing cell reselection evaluation process and cell selection process, so as to continue to reside in the current serving cell to receive paging, or return to the last serving cell to receive paging. For example, when the terminal device is performing cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information, if the terminal device has not reselected a new cell to reside in, after monitoring the first information, the channel conditions are adjusted so that the channel conditions are improved, and the terminal device can continue to reside in the current serving cell to receive paging; if the terminal device has no other cell to reside in and the current serving cell does not meet the residency conditions, when performing cell selection, after monitoring the first information, the channel conditions are adjusted so that the channel conditions are improved, and the terminal device can return to the last serving cell to receive paging.

[0457] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction and performs a cell reselection evaluation, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to receive services preferentially in the current serving cell or the last serving cell.

[0458] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction but is not at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, so that the terminal device can continue to obtain normal services in the current serving cell or the last serving cell.

[0459] In one possible design, the performing of cell reselection evaluation and monitoring of the first information in the aforementioned embodiment may include: when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold, performing the cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information. The method further includes: when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, performing the cell reselection evaluation.

[0460] The fifth threshold can be understood or defined as the threshold for initiating monitoring of the first information. For example, when the terminal device is performing cell reselection evaluation, the signal quality of the serving cell may be greater than the fifth threshold, or may be less than or equal to the fifth threshold. In this embodiment, when the terminal device is performing cell reselection, it may determine whether to enable monitoring of the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell. For example, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, monitoring of the first information is enabled.

[0461] Similar to the method of determining the relative magnitude relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to fourth thresholds in the aforementioned embodiment, in one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fifth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fifth threshold; and the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fifth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fifth threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0462] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured and the aforementioned period of time begins. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0463] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fifth threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the fifth threshold (or the average value being greater than the fifth threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points; and the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fifth threshold may include: the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the fifth threshold (or the average value being less than the fifth threshold) at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points. There is no limit on the number of time points.

[0464] This application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold or less than the fifth threshold.

[0465] Optionally, the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the fifth threshold may be the same as the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to fourth thresholds in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0466] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the fifth threshold, cell reselection evaluation may be performed and the first information may be monitored, or only cell reselection evaluation may be performed without monitoring the first information, which is not limited here.

[0467] It should be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, the signal quality of the serving cell may change during the process of the terminal device performing cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information, such as increasing to greater than the fifth threshold. At this time, the terminal device can stop monitoring the first information and only perform cell reselection evaluation.

[0468] This embodiment does not limit the size of the fifth threshold.

[0469] In this embodiment, if the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, it can be considered that the terminal device cannot normally receive paging even if the channel conditions are improved. For example, the terminal device may be at the edge of the cell but not blocked. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, a cell reselection evaluation is performed and the first information is monitored. When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, a cell reselection evaluation is performed. This can save the monitoring of the first information that would be performed when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, thus saving unnecessary monitoring.

[0470] Optionally, in this embodiment, similar to the conditions for monitoring the first information in the cell reselection evaluation stage, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, if the signal quality of the monitored cell (such as the last serving cell) is less than the fifth threshold, the first information can be monitored in the monitored cell (such as the last serving cell) while the cell selection is being performed; if the signal quality of the monitored cell (such as the last serving cell) is greater than the fifth threshold, the cell selection can be performed without monitoring the first information.

[0471] It should be understood that when a terminal device is in an environment that is unreachable due to obstruction and selects a cell, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to receive services preferentially in the last serving cell.

[0472] In one possible design, the fifth threshold is predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0473] For example, in one implementation, the size of the fifth threshold may be pre-configured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and may be modified through software or hardware.

[0474] For example, in another implementation, the size of the fifth threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0475] For another example, in another implementation, the size of the fifth threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0476] For example, in another implementation, the fifth threshold value does not require additional device configuration and can be predefined (pre-recorded / written) in the terminal device's hardware and / or software, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the fifth threshold value can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0477] This application does not limit the implementation method of the fifth threshold.

[0478] Optionally, in some embodiments, the size of the fifth threshold may be set based on network-side rules, and no limitation is imposed on the setting rules herein.

[0479] In some other embodiments, the fifth threshold may be determined according to a third value, where the third value may be an S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0480] In some examples, the value of the fifth threshold may be an S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0481] In some other examples, the value of the fifth threshold may be a value obtained by adjusting the third value. For example, the value of the fifth threshold may be a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0482] In one possible design, the steps of performing a cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold described in the preceding embodiment may include: performing a cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than a sixth threshold. The method further includes: performing a cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold.

[0483] Similar to the method of determining the relative magnitude relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to fifth thresholds, etc. in the aforementioned embodiment, in one possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the sixth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the sixth threshold; and the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the sixth threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the sixth threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0484] In another possible design, the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold, which means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured and the aforementioned period of time has continued. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold, which means that the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0485] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the sixth threshold may include: at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points, the signal quality of the serving cell being greater than the sixth threshold (or the average value being greater than the sixth threshold); the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the sixth threshold may include: at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points, the signal quality of the serving cell being less than the sixth threshold (or the average value being less than the sixth threshold). The number of time points is not limited.

[0486] This application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the sixth threshold or less than the sixth threshold.

[0487] Optionally, the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the sixth threshold may be the same as the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to fifth thresholds in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0488] Optionally, when the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the sixth threshold, cell reselection evaluation may be performed and the first information may be monitored, or only cell reselection evaluation may be performed without monitoring the first information, which is not limited here.

[0489] For example, in this design, a sixth threshold can be set for stopping monitoring of the first message. The terminal device can monitor the first message when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold. When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, it can be considered that the first message is also unreachable, or even if the terminal device improves the channel conditions and still cannot receive the paging, the terminal device can stop monitoring the first message and only perform cell reselection evaluation, thereby saving power consumption of monitoring the first message.

[0490] In other words, in this design, a stop condition for monitoring the first information can be set based on the sixth threshold, for example, a stop / end condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold.

[0491] In this design, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, the terminal device may not monitor the first information and only perform cell reselection evaluation, thereby saving power consumption of monitoring the first information, or saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0492] It should be understood that in this design, after the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the actions performed may include: monitoring the first information and cell reselection evaluation. In this communication method, when the terminal device monitors the first information and performs cell reselection evaluation simultaneously, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold (for the case of being equal, see the description above); when the terminal device only performs cell reselection evaluation, the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold or greater than the fifth threshold.

[0493] Optionally, in this design, similar to the conditions for monitoring the first information in the cell reselection evaluation stage, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, if the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, the first information can be monitored in the last serving cell while performing cell selection; if the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold or less than the sixth threshold, cell selection can be performed without monitoring the first information.

[0494] Alternatively, in some other possible designs, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell and cell selection is performed, the start and stop conditions for monitoring the first information during the cell selection phase may also refer to those described in the following embodiments. For example, monitoring the first information may be started when cell selection is triggered; monitoring the first information may be stopped when a suitable cell is selected, or when the received first information is ignored, or when the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold. For details, please refer to the following description and will not be described in detail here.

[0495] In one possible design, the sixth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured. Alternatively, the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold may be predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0496] For example, in one implementation, the size of the sixth threshold can be preconfigured in the terminal device's hardware and / or software, such as being recorded / written in advance and changeable via software or hardware. Alternatively, the size of the difference between the fifth and sixth thresholds can be preconfigured in the terminal device's hardware and / or software.

[0497] For another example, in another implementation, the size of the sixth threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing the terminal device's own hardware and / or software. Alternatively, the size of the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message.

[0498] For another example, in another implementation, the sixth threshold may be configured to the terminal device by another device (e.g., another terminal device) via PC5-RRC signaling. Alternatively, the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold may be configured to the terminal device by another device (e.g., another terminal device) via PC5-RRC signaling.

[0499] For example, in another implementation, the sixth threshold value does not require additional device configuration and can be predefined (pre-recorded / written) in the terminal device's hardware and / or software, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the sixth threshold value can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol. Alternatively, the difference between the fifth and sixth threshold values ​​can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0500] This application does not limit the implementation of the sixth threshold, or the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold.

[0501] It can be understood that when the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold is predefined, preconfigured, or configured, the terminal device can determine the sixth threshold based on the fifth threshold and the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold.

[0502] Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold may be determined based on a third parameter. The third parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain obtained by adjusting channel conditions; or a difference in signal quality between the first information and the paging message; or a maximum receivable signal quality.

[0503] The implementation of the third parameter is similar to that of the first parameter or the second parameter. You can refer to the first parameter and will not repeat it here.

[0504] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold based on the third parameter may include: taking the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold; or, taking the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold; or, taking the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the fifth threshold and the sixth threshold.

[0505] In the above embodiments, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information. Alternatively, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold or less than the sixth threshold; and perform a cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold. Optionally, in some embodiments, during the process of performing a cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information, if the terminal device detects that the third condition is met, it can also exit the monitoring process (i.e., stop monitoring the first information) to ensure the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0506] For example, the communication method further includes: when it is detected that the third condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information. It is understandable that this step can be implemented during the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information.

[0507] The third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

[0508] Exemplarily, the specific meaning of cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell can be found in the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be described in detail here. For example, cell reselection to a suitable cell means that in the cell reselection evaluation process, a neighboring cell that meets the reselection conditions is determined, and cell reselection is performed, and the neighboring cell is reselected. The situation where the first information is ignored can also be found in the aforementioned embodiments, which will not be described in detail here. When the first information is ignored, it can also be considered that the terminal device may not be able to adjust to good channel conditions, and the terminal device can stop monitoring the first information and promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring.

[0509] It should be noted that this application does not impose any restrictions on the third condition mentioned above.

[0510] In this embodiment, the third condition can be considered as a fallback condition when the terminal device is in a listening state. When it is detected that the third condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information can enable the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state and disengage from unnecessary monitoring in a timely manner to ensure the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0511] For example, FIG11 shows another schematic diagram of the monitoring threshold and principle provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the fifth threshold is greater than the sixth threshold. The fifth threshold and the sixth threshold differ by an adjustment value. The adjustment value can be determined according to the third parameter, as described in the previous embodiment. After the terminal device measures the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, it can perform a cell reselection evaluation. When the terminal device performs a cell reselection evaluation, the signal quality of the serving cell can have three possibilities: 1) It is within the range shown by point A in FIG11 , that is, it is greater than the fifth threshold; 2) It is within the range shown by point B in FIG11 , that is, it is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold; 3) It is within the range shown by point C in FIG11 , that is, it is less than the sixth threshold. Among them, the case where the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the fifth threshold can refer to the case where it is greater than the fifth threshold or the case where it is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold; the case where the signal quality of the serving cell is equal to the sixth threshold can refer to the case where it is less than the sixth threshold or the case where it is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, and no further details will be given.

[0512] When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point A in Figure 11, that is, greater than the fifth threshold, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation and stop monitoring the first information. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point B in Figure 11, that is, less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information at the same time. When the signal quality of the serving cell is within the range shown by point C in Figure 11, that is, less than the sixth threshold, the terminal device can perform a cell reselection evaluation and stop monitoring the first information.

[0513] Among them, when the signal quality of the service cell is within the range shown by point B in Figure 11, when the terminal device detects that the third condition (see the aforementioned embodiment) is met, it can also stop monitoring the first information.

[0514] For example, in one possible scenario, the terminal device may be in the central area of ​​the current service area, but is blocked and in a paging unreachable state. Compared with reselecting to a neighboring cell, the service quality of the terminal device in the current service cell should be higher than that in the neighboring cell after improving the reception status according to the communication method provided in this application. In addition, due to obstruction, the signal in the neighboring cell may not be sufficient for the terminal device to reselect. This application gives priority to using the first information as a prompt to remind the terminal device to improve the reception status and try to stay in the current service cell.

[0515] The above embodiments respectively introduce three schemes for the terminal device to monitor the first information. The first is a scheme in which the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell after obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, and performs a scheme for obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell when not monitoring the first information. The second is a scheme in which the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell after obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, and performs a scheme for cell reselection evaluation when not monitoring the first information. The third is a scheme in which the terminal device performs a cell reselection evaluation and monitors the first information at the same time after obtaining / measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell. In some other embodiments, the terminal device may perform a cell reselection evaluation after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, but when it fails to reselect a suitable cell, it performs cell selection and monitors the first information, and the first information is related to paging.

[0516] For example, FIG12 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12, the communication method may include S1201-S1202. S1201-S1202 may be performed by a terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device. It should be understood that the terminal device described in the embodiment of the present application may be in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. In addition, the terminal device may receive SSB normally and use it for synchronization and measurement.

[0517] S1201. Perform cell reselection evaluation.

[0518] Exemplarily, the terminal device may measure the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell before executing S1201. S1201 may include: judging whether the neighboring cell meets the reselection conditions based on the signal quality and priority of the neighboring cell, and reselecting to the neighboring cell that meets the reselection conditions (i.e., performing cell reselection) based on the judgment result, or not performing cell reselection when the reselection conditions are not met, for example, performing cell selection when a suitable cell cannot be reselected. For the signal quality measurement process of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, and the specific process of the cell reselection evaluation, please refer to the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0519] As described in the above embodiment, the cell reselection in S1201 can have the following results: the cell is reselected to a suitable cell; or, when the cell reselection fails to reselect a suitable cell, cell selection is performed. In this embodiment, the process shown in Figure 12 can be applied to the case where cell selection is performed when the cell reselection fails to reselect a suitable cell.

[0520] S1202. When the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, perform cell selection and monitor first information, where the first information is related to paging.

[0521] Exemplarily, the failure of the cell reselection evaluation to reselect a suitable cell can be defined as: the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell after a period of cell reselection evaluation. For example, the failure of the cell reselection evaluation to reselect a suitable cell includes: the terminal device performs search and measurement within a third time period and does not find any new suitable cell,

[0522] The third duration may be 10 seconds or another duration, and there is no restriction on the size of the third duration. Taking the aforementioned period (third duration) of 10 seconds as an example, if the UE in the RRC_IDLE state searches and measures using the intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-system cell information indicated in the system message within 10 seconds and does not find any new suitable cell, the UE may initiate a cell selection process for the selected PLMN.

[0523] For example, when the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell during cell reselection, it can also simultaneously start monitoring the first information when performing cell selection. The first information, the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information, and the manner in which the terminal device responds to the monitored first information can be referred to in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be described in detail.

[0524] The process of cell selection can be referred to the embodiment related to FIG10 , and will not be described in detail here.

[0525] In other words, in the embodiment shown in Figure 12, the start condition for monitoring the first information may be whether cell selection is triggered. The terminal device may perform cell selection and monitor the first information simultaneously.

[0526] It is understandable that during the process of selecting a cell and monitoring the first information, when the terminal device adjusts the channel conditions after monitoring the first information so that the channel conditions are improved, the terminal device may exit the cell selection process and return to the last serving cell to reside. Alternatively, the terminal device may select a suitable cell to reside in. Alternatively, the terminal device may select an acceptable cell to reside in.

[0527] In one implementation, when a cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, the terminal device may perform cell selection and monitor the first information in the last serving cell.

[0528] For example, when the terminal device performs cell selection, it is no longer resident in the serving cell. The serving cell becomes the last resident cell, or can be called the last serving cell (last serving cell) or the last serving cell. The terminal device can record the last resident cell and monitor the first information of the last resident cell (last serving cell).

[0529] For example, the UE performs cell reselection evaluation but fails to reselect or camp on any suitable cell, that is, is in the any cell selection state, and will perform cell selection and monitor the first information on the last serving cell.

[0530] In some other implementations, when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, the terminal device can perform cell selection and monitor the first information in other cells. The other cells can be nearby cells with better quality, acceptable cells, etc.

[0531] The last serving cell or other cell that monitors the first information may be referred to as a monitoring cell. This application does not impose any limitation on the specific implementation of the monitoring cell.

[0532] As described above, in the communication method provided by this embodiment, the network device can send a first information to the terminal device, and the first information is related to paging. When the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell in the cell reselection evaluation, it can perform cell selection and listen to the first information. By listening to the first information and responding to the first information to improve the channel conditions, the terminal device can improve its communication performance of receiving paging messages. For example, in a scenario where the channel conditions are poor due to obstruction, the terminal device can change from an originally paging unreachable state to a paging reachable state by listening to the first information and responding to the first information.

[0533] In addition, in this communication method, the terminal device can simultaneously select a cell and monitor the first message when the serving cell's SSB quality is poor. When the first message is preferentially monitored, the terminal device can improve channel conditions and return to the last serving cell to receive a paging call. This method enables monitoring the first message to return to the last serving cell to receive a paging call without changing the existing cell selection process.

[0534] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device is in an environment that is inaccessible due to obstruction and selects a cell, it has the opportunity to adjust or improve its own channel conditions by receiving the first information from the network side, so as to return to the cell where it last resided to receive services.

[0535] For example, in an NTN scenario, when a terminal device is in an environment where the channel conditions of the current serving cell are poor due to obstruction but is not at the cell edge, the satellite base station can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through a stronger pre-prompt signal, so that the terminal device can continue to obtain normal services, such as returning to the last serving cell to receive paging.

[0536] In the embodiment shown in FIG12 , when the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell during the cell reselection evaluation, the terminal device may perform cell selection and monitor the first information of the last serving cell. Optionally, in some embodiments, during the process of performing cell selection and monitoring the first information, if the terminal device detects that the fourth condition is met, the terminal device may exit the monitoring process (i.e., stop monitoring the first information) to ensure the communication performance of the terminal device.

[0537] For example, the communication method further includes: when it is detected that the fourth condition is met, stopping monitoring the first information. It is understandable that this step can be implemented during the process of the terminal device monitoring the first information.

[0538] Among them, the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the cell selects a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored, or the signal quality of the monitored cell (such as the last serving cell, hereinafter taking the monitoring of the first information in the last serving cell as an example) is less than the seventh threshold.

[0539] For example, the specific meaning of selecting a suitable cell can be found in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here. The case where the first information is ignored can also be found in the aforementioned embodiments and will not be repeated here. When the first information is ignored, it can also be considered that the terminal device may not be able to adjust to a good channel condition. The terminal device can stop monitoring the first information and promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring.

[0540] Optionally, when the signal quality of the last serving cell is equal to the seventh threshold, the terminal device may stop monitoring the first message or continue monitoring the first message, without limitation. The seventh threshold may serve as the threshold for stopping monitoring the first message. When the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold, the terminal device may determine that the first message is also unreachable, or when the terminal device cannot receive a paging call even if the channel conditions are improved, and the terminal device may stop monitoring the first message, thereby saving power consumption in monitoring the first message.

[0541] In other words, in this embodiment, a stop condition for monitoring the first information may be set based on the seventh threshold, for example, the stop / end condition for monitoring the first information is that the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold.

[0542] Similar to the method of determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to sixth thresholds in the aforementioned embodiment, in one possible design, the signal quality of the last serving cell being less than the seventh threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the last serving cell being less than the seventh threshold; the signal quality of the last serving cell being greater than the seventh threshold may include: at the current moment, the signal quality of the last serving cell being greater than the seventh threshold. For example, the current moment may be the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0543] In another possible design, the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment; the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold, which may include: the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold within a period of time before or after the current moment. The length of the period of time is not limited. Taking the example that the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold, which means that the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold within a period of time before the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment after the aforementioned period of time begins from the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured. Alternatively, taking the example that the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold, which means that the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold within a period of time after the current moment, the current moment may refer to the moment when the signal quality of the serving cell is measured.

[0544] In some other possible designs, the signal quality of the last serving cell being greater than the seventh threshold may include: at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points, the signal quality of the last serving cell being greater than the seventh threshold (or the average value being greater than the seventh threshold); the signal quality of the last serving cell being less than the seventh threshold may include: at multiple consecutive or unconnected time points, the signal quality of the last serving cell being less than the seventh threshold (or the average value being less than the seventh threshold). The number of time points is not limited.

[0545] The present application does not limit the method for determining whether the signal quality of the last serving cell is greater than the seventh threshold or less than the seventh threshold.

[0546] Optionally, the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the last serving cell and the seventh threshold may be the same as the method for determining the relative size relationship between the signal quality of the serving cell and the first to sixth thresholds in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0547] In this embodiment, the third condition can be considered a fallback condition for the terminal device in a listening state. When the third condition is detected to be met, the terminal device stops monitoring the first information. This allows the terminal device to consider the fallback condition in the listening state and promptly disengage from unnecessary monitoring to ensure the terminal device's communication performance. For example, when the terminal device detects that the fourth condition is met, it stops monitoring the first information, thereby saving power consumption in monitoring the first information, or in other words, saving power consumption caused by unnecessary monitoring.

[0548] It should be understood that in this communication method, when the terminal device monitors the first information and selects a cell simultaneously, the terminal device fails to reselect a suitable cell during cell reselection.

[0549] It should be noted that this application does not impose any restrictions on the fourth condition mentioned above.

[0550] In one possible design, the seventh threshold is predefined, preconfigured, or configured.

[0551] For example, in one implementation, the size of the seventh threshold may be pre-configured in the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself, such as recorded / written in advance, and may be modified through software or hardware.

[0552] For example, in another implementation, the size of the seventh threshold can be configured to the terminal device by a network device (such as a base station) through a system information block (SIB) message, or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a master information block (MIB) message, such as recording / writing into the hardware and / or software of the terminal device itself.

[0553] For another example, in another implementation, the size of the seventh threshold may be configured to the terminal device by other devices (such as other terminal devices) through PC5-RRC signaling.

[0554] For example, in another implementation, the seventh threshold value does not require additional device configuration and can be predefined (pre-recorded / written) in the terminal device's hardware and / or software, or can be understood as being unchangeable by the network device or other terminal devices. In other words, the seventh threshold value can be predefined in the terminal device through a standard or protocol.

[0555] This application does not limit the implementation method of the seventh threshold.

[0556] Optionally, in some embodiments, the size of the seventh threshold may be set based on network-side rules, and no limitation is imposed on the setting rules.

[0557] In some other embodiments, the seventh threshold may be determined according to the fourth value, where the fourth value may be an S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0558] In some examples, the value of the seventh threshold may be a value obtained by reducing the S criterion threshold or other defined value by a certain adjustment value.

[0559] In some other examples, the value of the seventh threshold may also be the fourth value or a value greater than the fourth value, which is not limited here.

[0560] Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the seventh threshold may be less than the fourth value, and the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined based on a fourth parameter. The fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain obtained by adjusting channel conditions; or a difference in signal quality between the first information and the paging message; or a maximum receivable signal quality.

[0561] The implementation of the fourth parameter is similar to that of the first parameter, the second parameter, or the third parameter. For example, you can refer to the first parameter and will not repeat it here.

[0562] Exemplarily, the method of determining the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value based on the fourth parameter may include: using the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions (or a value close to the signal quality gain) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value; or, using the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message (or a value close to the signal quality difference) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value; or, using the difference between the maximum signal quality that the terminal device can receive and the signal quality of the traditional paging message (or a value close to the difference between the maximum signal quality and the signal quality of the traditional paging message) as the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value.

[0563] Optionally, in this embodiment, when a terminal device in a cell selection and pre-prompt listening state (i.e., a state of listening to the first information) searches for an acceptable cell, the terminal device may ignore it and not reside in this acceptable cell, such as continuing to search for a suitable cell and listening to the first information.

[0564] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application can provide at least four schemes for monitoring the first information. After measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and when not monitoring the first information, performs a scheme for measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell. This scheme can be called Scheme 1. After measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the terminal device determines whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and when not monitoring the first information, performs a scheme for cell reselection evaluation. This scheme can be called Scheme 2. After measuring the signal quality of the serving cell and the neighboring cell, the terminal device performs a cell reselection evaluation and monitors the first information at the same time. This scheme can be called Scheme 3. The terminal device performs a cell reselection evaluation, and when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, performs cell selection, and monitors the first information of the last serving cell. This scheme can be called Scheme 4.

[0565] In Scheme 1 to Scheme 4, each scheme can prompt the terminal device to improve the channel conditions through the first information in the scenario where the channel conditions of the terminal device are poor due to obstruction, so that the terminal device that was originally unreachable by paging becomes reachable by paging, or the terminal device can continue to reside in the current service cell or the last service cell to receive services.

[0566] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the embodiments involved in some of the above solutions 1 to 4 can be combined to implement more embodiments.

[0567] For example, the embodiments involved in the above-mentioned scheme 1 and the embodiments involved in scheme 2 can be implemented in combination. For example, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, the terminal device can determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and perform neighboring cell signal quality measurement when not monitoring the first information; after measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the terminal device can also determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and perform cell reselection evaluation when not monitoring the first information.

[0568] For another example, the embodiments involved in Scheme 1 and Scheme 3 above may be implemented in combination. For example, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, the terminal device may determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and perform neighboring cell signal quality measurement when not monitoring the first information. After measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the terminal device may perform a cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information at the same time.

[0569] For another example, the embodiments involved in Scheme 1 and Scheme 4 above can be implemented in combination. For example, after measuring the signal quality of the serving cell, the terminal device can determine whether to monitor the first information based on the signal quality of the serving cell, and perform neighboring cell signal quality measurement when not monitoring the first information; after measuring the signal quality of the neighboring cell, the terminal device performs a cell reselection evaluation. When the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, the terminal device performs a cell selection and monitors the first information of the last serving cell.

[0570] Similarly, the embodiments involved in the above scheme 2 and the embodiments involved in scheme 4 can also be implemented in combination, or the embodiments involved in the above scheme 1, the embodiments involved in scheme 2 and 3, and the embodiments involved in scheme 4 can also be implemented in combination, etc. This application will not list them one by one here.

[0571] Optionally, the solution (such as one or a combination of some of the above solutions 1 to 4) adopted by the terminal device to monitor the first information can be pre-configured or defined, or can be indicated by the network device to the terminal device.

[0572] For example, in some embodiments, the method may further include: the terminal device receiving instruction information from a network device (such as a base station), the instruction information being used to instruct the terminal device to monitor the first information using a target solution. The target solution may be one or a combination of some of the above solutions 1 to 4.

[0573] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device may resend a paging message after sending the first message or during a gap between sending the first message. The terminal device may monitor the paging message after adjusting the channel conditions. The network device may stop sending the first message if it has not received a response from the terminal device after paging the terminal device or resending the paging message for a certain period of time.

[0574] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device performs cell reselection or cell selection, the serving cell previously resided in can be referred to as the old cell, or the source cell, or the last resided cell. The cell where the terminal device newly resides after cell reselection or cell selection can be referred to as the new cell, or the target cell, or the new resided cell.

[0575] It should be understood that in the above embodiments, the terminal device and / or the network device may perform some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be executed in different orders presented in each embodiment, and it is possible that not all the operations in the embodiments of the present application are to be executed. Moreover, the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the steps do not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0576] It can be understood that for each network element involved in the above embodiments, such as the terminal device, the network device, etc., in order to implement the above functions, it includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function.

[0577] For example, an embodiment of the present application may provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above terminal device. The communication device may be the terminal device or a device (such as a chip) built into the terminal device. FIG. 13 shows a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication device may include: a measurement unit 1301 and a monitoring unit 1302.

[0578] The measurement unit 1301 is used to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0579] The monitoring unit 1302 is used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, and the first information is related to paging.

[0580] The measurement unit 1301 is further used to obtain the signal quality of a neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold.

[0581] In a possible design, the monitoring unit 1302 is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a first threshold and greater than the second threshold.

[0582] In a possible design, the first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0583] In one possible design, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the same-frequency measurement start threshold; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a higher priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to a first value, which is the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or other defined value; or, when there are only neighboring cells with a lower priority than the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value of the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the same-frequency measurement start threshold; or When the neighboring cells only include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the first value; or, when the neighboring cells only include neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the same-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value; or, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a lower priority than the service cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the service cell, and neighboring cells with a higher priority than the service cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold, the same-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

[0584] In one possible design, the difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is determined based on a first parameter, and the first parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0585] In one possible design, the monitoring unit 1302 is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it is detected that the first condition is met; the measuring unit 1301 is further used to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring area after stopping monitoring the first information.

[0586] The first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, or the received first information is ignored.

[0587] Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG13 may further include a sending unit to implement a sending function, and a receiving unit to implement a receiving function.

[0588] For another example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (e.g., a chip). Figure 14 shows another schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 14, the communication device may include: a measurement unit 1401, a monitoring unit 1402, and a reselection unit 1403.

[0589] The measuring unit 1401 is configured to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0590] The measuring unit 1401 is further configured to obtain the signal quality of a neighboring cell.

[0591] The monitoring unit 1402 is configured to monitor first information related to paging when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold.

[0592] The reselection unit 1403 is configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold.

[0593] In one possible design, the monitoring unit 1402 is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the service cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold.

[0594] In one possible design, the third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

[0595] In one possible design, when there is a neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to the low-priority neighboring cell reselection threshold; or, when there is no neighboring cell with a lower priority than the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to a second value, and the second value is the S criterion threshold or other defined value.

[0596] In one possible design, the difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold is determined based on a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0597] In one possible design, the monitoring unit 1402 is further used to stop monitoring the first information when it is detected that the second condition is met; the reselection unit 1403 is further used to perform cell reselection evaluation after stopping monitoring the first information.

[0598] The second condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold reaches a second duration, or the received first information is ignored.

[0599] Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG14 may further include a sending unit to implement a sending function, and a receiving unit to implement a receiving function.

[0600] For another example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (e.g., a chip). Figure 15 shows another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 15, the communication device may include: a measurement unit 1501, a reselection unit 1502, and a monitoring unit 1503.

[0601] The measuring unit 1501 is configured to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell.

[0602] The measuring unit 1501 is further configured to obtain the signal quality of a neighboring cell.

[0603] The reselection unit 1502 is configured to perform cell reselection evaluation.

[0604] The monitoring unit 1503 is configured to monitor first information when the reselection unit 1502 performs cell reselection evaluation, where the first information is related to paging.

[0605] In one possible design, the reselection unit 1502 is specifically used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold; the monitoring unit 1503 is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and the reselection unit 1502 performs cell reselection evaluation; the reselection unit 1502 is also used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold.

[0606] In one possible design, the fifth threshold is determined according to a third value, where the third value is an S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0607] In one possible design, the reselection unit 1502 is specifically used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold; the monitoring unit 1503 is specifically used to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, and the reselection unit 1502 performs cell reselection evaluation; the reselection unit 1502 is also used to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold.

[0608] In one possible design, the difference between the sixth threshold and the fifth threshold is determined based on a third parameter, and the third parameter includes at least one of the following: a signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or a signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0609] Figure 16 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 16, based on Figure 15, the communication device may further include: a selection unit 1504, configured to perform cell selection when the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell.

[0610] The monitoring unit 1503 is further configured to monitor the first information when the selection unit 1504 performs cell selection.

[0611] In one implementation, the monitoring unit 1503 is specifically configured to monitor the first information in the last serving cell when the selecting unit 1504 performs cell selection.

[0612] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect a suitable cell, including: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0613] In one possible design, the monitoring unit 1503 is also used to stop monitoring the first information when it is detected that a third condition is met; the third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

[0614] Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG. 15 or FIG. 16 may further include a sending unit to implement a sending function, and a receiving unit to implement a receiving function.

[0615] For another example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above-mentioned terminal device. The communication device may be a terminal device or a device built into the terminal device (e.g., a chip). Figure 17 shows another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 17, the communication device may include: a reselection unit 1701, a selection unit 1702, and a monitoring unit 1703.

[0616] The reselection unit 1701 is used to perform cell reselection evaluation.

[0617] The selection unit 1702 is configured to perform cell selection when a suitable cell cannot be reselected during cell reselection evaluation.

[0618] The monitoring unit 1703 is configured to monitor first information related to paging when a suitable cell cannot be reselected in the cell reselection evaluation and cell selection is performed.

[0619] In one implementation, the monitoring unit 1703 is specifically configured to monitor the first information in the last serving cell.

[0620] Exemplarily, the cell reselection evaluation failing to reselect a suitable cell includes: performing search and measurement within a third time period and failing to find any new suitable cell.

[0621] In one possible design, the monitoring unit 1703 is also used to stop monitoring the first information when it is detected that a fourth condition is met; the fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the cell selects a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored, or the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than the seventh threshold.

[0622] In one possible design, the seventh threshold is determined according to a fourth value, where the fourth value is an S criterion threshold or another defined value.

[0623] In one possible design, the difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined based on a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel conditions; or the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or the maximum signal quality that can be received.

[0624] Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG17 may further include a sending unit to implement a sending function, and a receiving unit to implement a receiving function.

[0625] For another example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the aforementioned network device. The communication device may be a network device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the network device. Figure 18 shows another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 18, the communication device may include: a first transmitting unit 1801 and a second transmitting unit 1802.

[0626] The first sending unit 1801 is configured to send a paging message.

[0627] The second sending unit 1802 is configured to send first information, where the first information is related to paging.

[0628] Optionally, the communication device shown in FIG18 may further include a receiving unit to implement a receiving function.

[0629] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or physically separated. Furthermore, the units in the device may be implemented entirely in the form of software invoked through processing elements, entirely in the form of hardware, or partially in the form of software invoked through processing elements, while others may be implemented in the form of hardware.

[0630] For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device for implementation. In addition, it can also be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and called by a certain processing element of the device to execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be called a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above units can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software called by the processing element.

[0631] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processing (DSP) circuits, or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0632] For another example, when the units in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling program, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU or other processor that can call programs. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0633] The above-mentioned unit for receiving is an interface circuit or input circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit or input circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. When the communication device includes a unit for sending, the unit for sending is an interface circuit or output circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit or output circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0634] For example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device, which may include: a processor and an interface circuit. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0635] When the communication device is applied to a network device, the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the various steps executed by the network device in the above method.

[0636] When the communication device is applied to a terminal device, the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the various steps executed by the terminal device in the above method.

[0637] In one implementation, the units for implementing the corresponding steps in the above methods in a terminal device or network device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, an apparatus for a terminal device or network device may include a processing element and a storage element, with the processing element invoking a program stored in the storage element to execute the method executed by the corresponding terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments. The storage element can be a storage element on the same chip as the processing element, i.e., an on-chip storage element.

[0638] In another implementation, the program for executing the method executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method can be stored in a storage element on a different chip from the processing element, that is, an off-chip storage element. In this case, the processing element calls or loads the program from the off-chip storage element to the on-chip storage element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment.

[0639] For example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device, which may include a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in a memory. When the computer instructions are executed, the device performs the method performed by the above terminal device or network device. The memory may be located within the communication device or may be located outside the communication device. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0640] In another implementation, the unit that implements each step of the above method in a terminal device or network device may be configured as one or more processing elements. These processing elements may be correspondingly provided on the terminal device or network device. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0641] The units implementing each step of the above method in a terminal device or network device can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a SOC chip, which is used to implement the corresponding method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the corresponding method can be implemented by the processing element calling the program stored in the storage element; alternatively, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the corresponding method; or, a combination of the above implementation methods can be used, with the functions of some units implemented by the processing element calling the program, and the functions of some units implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0642] The processing element here is the same as described above, and can be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0643] A storage element may be a memory or a collective term for multiple storage elements.

[0644] For example, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system that can be applied to the above-mentioned terminal device or network device. The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuits and processors are interconnected by lines; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method executed by the corresponding terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment. Among them, the electronic device can be the terminal device or network device itself or a device therein, or it can also be other devices that communicate with it.

[0645] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0646] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0647] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0648] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0649] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, such as a program. The software product is stored in a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, and includes a number of instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0650] For example, an embodiment of the present application may also provide a computer-readable storage medium, including: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the steps performed by the terminal device or network device in the method described in the above embodiment are implemented.

[0651] Exemplarily, when the computer software instructions are executed in the network device or a device (eg, a chip) built into the network device, the network device is enabled to implement the steps performed by the network device in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0652] Alternatively, when the computer software instructions are executed in the terminal device or a device (eg, a chip) built into the terminal device, the terminal device implements the steps performed by the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0653] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit may be used to send and receive information or to communicate with other network elements. The processing unit may be used to process data. For example, the device may implement the method performed by the terminal device or network device described above using the transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0654] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which, when executed, can implement the method executed by the above-mentioned terminal device or network device.

[0655] Based on the above embodiments, the present application also provides a communication system, including: a network device and a terminal device. The network device performs the steps performed by the network device in the method described in the above embodiments. The terminal device performs the steps performed by the terminal device in the method described in the above embodiments.

[0656] Illustratively, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network element or network device, which can be used to implement the method performed by the network device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0657] Illustratively, an embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal device that can be used to implement the method performed by the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0658] It should be understood that the description of technical features, technical solutions, beneficial effects or similar language in this application does not imply that all features and advantages can be realized in any single embodiment. On the contrary, it is understood that the description of a feature or beneficial effect means that a specific technical feature, technical solution or beneficial effect is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, the description of a technical feature, technical solution or beneficial effect in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the technical features, technical solutions and beneficial effects described in the present embodiment can also be combined in any appropriate manner. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment can be implemented without one or more specific technical features, technical solutions or beneficial effects of a specific embodiment. In other embodiments, additional technical features and beneficial effects can also be identified in specific embodiments that do not embody all embodiments.

[0659] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtaining the signal quality of the serving cell; When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, listening for first information related to paging; And / or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold, obtaining the signal quality of neighboring cells.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The step of "when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the second threshold, listening for first information" includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a first threshold and greater than the second threshold, listening for the first information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cells.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, When there are only neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the threshold for starting inter-frequency or inter-system measurement; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the threshold for starting co-frequency measurement; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with a priority higher than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to a first value, where the first value is the threshold for starting inter-frequency or inter-system measurement or other defined values; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the threshold for starting inter-frequency or inter-system measurement and the threshold for starting co-frequency measurement; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell and neighboring cells with a priority higher than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the threshold for starting inter-frequency or inter-system measurement and the first value; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell and neighboring cells with a priority higher than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the threshold for starting co-frequency measurement and the first value; Or, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, and neighboring cells with a priority higher than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value among the threshold for starting inter-frequency or inter-system measurement, the threshold for starting co-frequency measurement, and the first value.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, The difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is determined according to a first parameter, where the first parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The method further includes: When it is detected that a first condition is satisfied, stopping listening for the first information and obtaining the signal quality of the neighboring cells; The first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, or the received first information is ignored.

7. A communication method, characterized in that The method includes: Obtaining the signal quality of the serving cell; Obtaining the signal quality of neighboring cells; When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold, listening for first information related to paging; And / or, when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fourth threshold, monitoring the first information includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold, monitoring the first information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein When there is a neighboring cell with a priority lower than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to the reselection threshold for low-priority neighboring cells; Or, when there is no neighboring cell with a priority lower than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to a second value, and the second value is the S-criterion threshold or other defined values.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 - 10, characterized in that, The difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold is determined according to a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that, The method further includes: When it is detected that the second condition is satisfied, stop monitoring the first information and perform cell reselection evaluation; The second condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold reaches a second duration, or the received first information is ignored.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; Obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell; Perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information, where the first information is related to paging.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The performing cell reselection evaluation and monitoring the first information includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information; The method further includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The fifth threshold is determined according to a third value, and the third value is the S-criterion threshold or other defined values.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation and monitor the first information; The method further includes: When the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold, perform cell reselection evaluation.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The difference between the sixth threshold and the fifth threshold is determined according to a third parameter, and the third parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The method further includes: When cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell, perform cell selection and monitor the first information.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The when cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell, perform cell selection and monitor the first information includes: When cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell, perform cell selection and monitor the first information in the last serving cell.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell, including: Search and measurement are performed within a third time period, and no new suitable cell is found.

21. The method according to any one of claims 18-20, characterized in that, The method further includes: When it is detected that a third condition is satisfied, stop listening to the first information; The third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

22. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Perform cell reselection evaluation; When the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell, perform cell selection and listen to the first information, where the first information is related to paging.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The listening to the first information includes: Listen to the first information in the last serving cell.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, The failure of the cell reselection evaluation to reselect to a suitable cell includes: Search and measurement are performed within a third time period, and no new suitable cell is found.

25. The method according to any one of claims 22-24, characterized in that, The method further includes: When it is detected that a fourth condition is satisfied, stop listening to the first information; The fourth condition includes at least one of the following: cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored, or the signal quality of the last serving cell is less than a seventh threshold.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The seventh threshold is determined according to a fourth value, and the fourth value is an S-criterion threshold or other defined value.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined according to a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

28. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a paging message; Send the first information, where the first information is related to paging.

29. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: A measurement unit for obtaining the signal quality of the serving cell; A listening unit for listening to the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a second threshold, where the first information is related to paging; The measurement unit is further configured to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cell when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second threshold.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that, The listening unit is specifically configured to listen to the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a first threshold and greater than the second threshold.

31. The device according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cell.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that, When there is only a neighboring cell with a priority lower than that of the serving cell in the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold; Or, when there is only a neighboring cell with the same priority as the serving cell in the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the intra-frequency measurement start threshold; Or, when there is only a neighboring cell with a priority higher than that of the serving cell in the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to a first value, and the first value is an inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold or other defined value; Or, when there are only neighboring cells with a priority lower than that of the serving cell and neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell in the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value of the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the intra-frequency measurement start threshold; Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with priorities lower than that of the serving cell and neighboring cells with priorities higher than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold and the first value; Alternatively, when there are only neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell and neighboring cells with priorities higher than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value between the co-frequency measurement start threshold and the first value; Alternatively, when the neighboring cells include neighboring cells with priorities lower than that of the serving cell, neighboring cells with the same priority as the serving cell, and neighboring cells with priorities higher than that of the serving cell, the first threshold is determined according to the larger value among the inter-frequency or inter-system measurement start threshold, the co-frequency measurement start threshold, and the first value.

33. The device according to any one of claims 30-32, characterized in that, The difference between the first threshold and the second threshold is determined according to a first parameter, and the first parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Alternatively, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Alternatively, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

34. The device according to any one of claims 30-33, characterized in that, The monitoring unit is further configured to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the first condition is satisfied; The measurement unit is further configured to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cells after stopping monitoring the first information; The first condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the first threshold reaches a first duration, or the received first information is ignored.

35. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: A measurement unit, configured to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; The measurement unit is further configured to obtain the signal quality of the neighboring cells; A monitoring unit, configured to monitor first information related to paging when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold; A reselection unit, configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fourth threshold.

36. The device according to claim 35, wherein Specifically, the monitoring unit is configured to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a third threshold and greater than the fourth threshold.

37. The device according to claim 36, wherein The third threshold is related to the priority of the neighboring cells.

38. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that, When there are neighboring cells with priorities lower than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to the reselection threshold for low-priority neighboring cells; Alternatively, when there are no neighboring cells with priorities lower than that of the serving cell among the neighboring cells, the third threshold is determined according to a second value, and the second value is the S-criterion threshold or other defined values.

39. The device according to any one of claims 36 - 38, characterized in that, The difference between the third threshold and the fourth threshold is determined according to a second parameter, and the second parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Alternatively, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Alternatively, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

40. The device according to any one of claims 36-39, characterized in that, The monitoring unit is further configured to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the second condition is satisfied; The reselection unit is further configured to perform cell reselection evaluation after stopping monitoring the first information; The second condition includes at least one of the following: the duration for which the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the third threshold reaches a second duration, or the received first information is ignored.

41. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a measurement unit, configured to obtain the signal quality of the serving cell; The measurement unit is further configured to obtain the signal quality of a neighboring cell; a reselection unit, configured to perform cell reselection evaluation; a monitoring unit, configured to monitor the first information related to paging when the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation; 42. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The reselection unit is specifically configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a fifth threshold; The monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation; The reselection unit is further configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is greater than the fifth threshold.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that, The fifth threshold is determined according to a third value, and the third value is an S-criterion threshold or other defined value.

44. The device according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, The reselection unit is specifically configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than a sixth threshold; The monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the fifth threshold and greater than the sixth threshold and the reselection unit performs cell reselection evaluation; The reselection unit is further configured to perform cell reselection evaluation when the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the sixth threshold.

45. The device according to claim 44, characterized in that, The difference between the sixth threshold and the fifth threshold is determined according to a third parameter, and the third parameter includes at least one of the following: the signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

46. The device according to any one of claims 41 to 45, characterized in that, The apparatus further includes: a selection unit, configured to perform cell selection when cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell; The monitoring unit is further configured to monitor the first information when the selection unit performs cell selection; 47. The device according to claim 46, characterized in that, The monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information in the last serving cell when the selection unit performs cell selection.

48. The device according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that, That the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell includes: no new suitable cell is found after searching and measuring within a third duration.

49. The device according to any one of claims 46 - 48, characterized in that, The monitoring unit is further configured to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the third condition is satisfied; The third condition includes at least one of the following: cell reselection or cell selection to a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored.

50. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a reselection unit, configured to perform cell reselection evaluation; a selection unit, configured to perform cell selection when cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell; a monitoring unit, configured to monitor the first information related to paging when cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell and the selection unit performs cell selection; 51. The device according to claim 50, wherein The monitoring unit is specifically configured to monitor the first information in the last serving cell.

52. The device according to claim 50 or 51, characterized in that, That the cell reselection evaluation fails to reselect to a suitable cell includes: Search and measurement are performed within the third time period, and no new suitable cell is found.

53. The device according to any one of claims 50 to 52, characterized in that, The monitoring unit is further configured to stop monitoring the first information when it detects that the fourth condition is satisfied. The fourth condition includes at least one of the following: the cell selects a suitable cell, or the received first information is ignored, or the signal quality of the last served cell is less than the seventh threshold.

54. The device according to claim 53, characterized in that, The seventh threshold is determined according to a fourth value, and the fourth value is an S-criterion threshold or other defined value.

55. The device according to claim 54, characterized in that, The difference between the seventh threshold and the fourth value is determined according to a fourth parameter, and the fourth parameter includes at least one of the following: The signal quality gain that can be obtained by adjusting the channel condition; Or, the signal quality difference between the first information and the paging message; Or, the maximum signal quality that can be received.

56. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: A first sending unit, configured to send a paging message; A second sending unit, configured to send first information related to paging.

57. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes: a processor configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-6, or execute the method according to any one of claims 7-12, or execute the method according to any one of claims 13-21, or execute the method according to any one of claims 22-27, or execute the method according to claim 28.

58. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that, when run, cause the method according to any one of claims 1-6 to be implemented, or cause the method according to any one of claims 7-12 to be implemented, or cause the method according to any one of claims 13-21 to be implemented, or cause the method according to any one of claims 22-27 to be implemented, or cause the method according to claim 28 to be implemented.

59. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is executed, it causes the method according to any one of claims 1-6 to be implemented, or causes the method according to any one of claims 7-12 to be implemented, or causes the method according to any one of claims 13-21 to be implemented, or causes the method according to any one of claims 22-27 to be implemented, or causes the method according to claim 28 to be implemented.

60. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; The interface circuit and the processor are interconnected by a line; The processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-6, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 7-12, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 13-21, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 22-27, or to implement the method according to claim 28.

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