Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which are applied to the technical field of communications. According to the technical solution provided in the present application, first index information is acquired by means of a first module in a terminal, the first index information indicating the value of a first metric index of the user experience quality of a first application in the terminal, and the terminal sends the first index information to a network device. According to the method, when the first application does not collect or does not report the user experience quality of the first application, the user experience quality of the first application can also be acquired and reported by means of the first module, so that the network device can optimize the network, thereby ensuring the communication effect of the first application, and improving the user experience.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on February 4, 2024, with application number 202410169050.6 and application name “Communication Methods and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to communication methods and related devices. Background Art

[0003] In communication systems, in order to optimize the network to ensure better user experience and overall network energy efficiency, a quality of experience measurement collection (QMC) mechanism is proposed.

[0004] In the QMC mechanism, the network side collects the user experience quality (QoE) report on the service reported by the third-party user equipment application (UE APP) on the terminal, and optimizes the network based on the QoE report.

[0005] However, the QMC mechanism has the following problems: if the UE APP does not cooperate in reporting the QoE report, the network side cannot perform network optimization, resulting in poor user experience and network energy efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related devices, which can solve the problem that the network side cannot perform network optimization when the UE APP does not cooperate in reporting the QoE report.

[0007] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method and related devices, which are applied to a terminal, wherein the terminal includes a first module and a first application, and the method includes: obtaining first indicator information through the first module, the first indicator information indicating the value of a first measurement indicator of the user experience quality of the first application; and sending the first indicator information to a network device.

[0008] In this method, even if the first application does not collect or report the user experience quality of the first application, the first module can still be used to obtain and report the user experience quality of the first application, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0009] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: obtaining second indicator information through a second module in the terminal, the second indicator information indicating the value of a second measurement indicator of the application experience quality of the first application; and sending the second indicator information to the network device.

[0010] In this method, when the second module and the first module report different indicator values, both the indicator values ​​reported by the second module and the first module are reported, thereby increasing the diversity of the reported measurement indicators, contributing to the accuracy of user experience quality, and improving network optimization.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: transmitting first configuration information to the second module, where the first configuration information instructs the second module to obtain a value of a second metric.

[0012] In this implementation, configuring the second module with the metrics that it should report can prevent the second module from reporting irrelevant metrics, thereby preventing the second module from wasting resources collecting and reporting irrelevant metrics.

[0013] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: obtaining capability information of the second module, the capability information indicating that the second module is capable of obtaining measurement indicators of the first type of business, wherein the second measurement indicators are measurement indicators included in the first type of business.

[0014] In this implementation, the values ​​of the metric indicators that the second module should report are configured based on the reporting capability of the second module, thereby avoiding configuring metric indicators that exceed the capability of the second module, avoiding invalid configuration, and improving configuration efficiency.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the second module is the first application or the operating system of the terminal.

[0016] In this implementation, the first application or the operating system of the terminal collects and reports the measurement indicators of the user experience quality of the first application, which can improve the accuracy of the measurement indicators.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the method also includes: obtaining third indicator information through the first module, the third indicator information indicating the value of a third measurement indicator of the application experience quality of the first application; obtaining fourth indicator information through the second module, the fourth indicator information indicating the value of the third measurement indicator; and sending the fourth indicator information to the network device.

[0018] In this method, when the values ​​of the indicators reported by the second module and the first module are the same, the indicators reported by the second module are reported first, which can improve the accuracy of the measurement indicators.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the second module is a first application, wherein the method further includes: obtaining fifth indicator information through an operating system of the terminal device, the fifth indicator information indicating the value of the third measurement indicator.

[0020] In some possible implementations, the first module is a modem.

[0021] In some possible implementations, the first application includes a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

[0022] In this implementation, the above-mentioned metrics can more accurately reflect the user's quality of experience with gaming services.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the first application includes an OTT video call service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

[0024] In this implementation, the above-mentioned metrics can more accurately reflect the user experience quality of OTT video call services.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

[0026] In this method, the user's subjective experience evaluation is added, the diversity of the reported metrics is improved, and it helps to report the user's experience quality to the network side more accurately.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving second configuration information from the network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network device, and the method includes:

[0030] Receive first indicator information from a terminal device, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of a first application; and perform network optimization based on the first indicator information.

[0031] In this method, even if the first application does not collect or report the user experience quality of the first application, the first module can still be used to obtain and report the user experience quality of the first application, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0032] In some possible implementations, second configuration information is sent to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

[0033] In some possible implementations, the first metric is a metric of a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

[0034] In this implementation, the above-mentioned metrics can more accurately reflect the user's quality of experience with gaming services.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the first metric is a metric of an OTT video call service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

[0036] In this implementation, the above-mentioned metrics can more accurately reflect the user experience quality of OTT video call services.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

[0038] In this method, the user's subjective experience evaluation is added, the diversity of the reported metrics is improved, and it helps to report the user's experience quality to the network side more accurately.

[0039] In some possible implementations, the first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

[0040] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0041] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device may be a chip or a chip system used in a terminal device.

[0043] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof may be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating between the apparatus and other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the communication method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device may be a chip or chip system used in a network device.

[0045] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof may be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating between the apparatus and other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a communication device, the program code including instructions for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

[0047] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a communication device, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0048] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to implement the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0049] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to implement the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0050] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a communication device for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect and / or a communication device for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a QMC reporting method;

[0053] FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a functional module of a modem provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG5 is an example diagram of a method for reporting metric indicators within a terminal provided by one embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0058] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0059] To facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0060] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0062] The evolution of communication technology has spawned a variety of emerging wireless multimedia services, including high-definition video live streaming, cloud gaming, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). These services require higher bandwidth and lower interaction latency from the network.

[0063] To ensure a better user experience and overall network energy efficiency, a QMC mechanism has been introduced in the communication system. This mechanism uses the base station's air interface access side or the core network's network management side to obtain real-time estimates of the user experience, while ensuring that the terminal meets service requirements. This allows the base station to more efficiently allocate space, time, and frequency resources, and the core network to better manage and allocate slice resources and improve network operations, providing better pipeline services to UE apps.

[0064] In the field of communications, combined with the application of the QMC mechanism, the technical solution provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) system, satellite communication system, future communication system, such as the sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a fusion system of multiple systems. This application will be described later using the 5G system as an example.

[0065] A device in a communication system can send signals to or receive signals from another device. These signals may include information, signaling, or data. The term "device" can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, communication device, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This application uses devices as an example for description. For example, a communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. A network device can send downlink signals to a terminal device, and / or a terminal device can send uplink signals to a network device.

[0066] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.

[0067] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, VR devices, AR devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0068] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the terminal device is used as an example for description, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0070] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station may broadly cover various names as follows, or replace the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, secondary station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station may also refer to a communication module, modem or chip that is set in the aforementioned equipment or device. The base station may also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the base station function in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the base station function in future communication systems, etc. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.In some deployments, the network devices mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include a CU, a DU, or both a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), and a DU node. For example, the network devices may include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0071] For example, when the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is applied to the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), LTE communication system, NR communication system or 6G communication system, the network device may be a traditional macro base station; in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) scenario, the network device may be a micro base station; in a distributed base station scenario, the network device may be a baseband processing unit and a radio frequency unit; in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, the network device may be a baseband pool and a radio frequency unit; in future wireless communication systems, the network device may be a gNB.

[0072] In addition, the network equipment can also be core network (CN) equipment, which is mainly used to provide user connection, user management and service carrying. It can serve as a bearer network to provide an interface to the external network to process and distribute services across the entire network.

[0073] Network equipment can also be an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) entity, which is mainly a network entity responsible for network operation and management in a 5G network.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit and a software module. The device can be installed in the network device or used in conjunction with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the functions of the network device is used as an example to illustrate, and does not constitute a limitation on the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0075] The network device and / or terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface; it can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network device and the terminal device are located. In addition, the terminal device and the network device can be hardware devices, or they can be software functions running on dedicated hardware, software functions running on general-purpose hardware, such as virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform), or entities including dedicated or general-purpose hardware devices and software functions. This application does not limit the specific forms of the terminal device and the network device.

[0076] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the method of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a network device (such as the OAM device 110 and / or the wireless access network device 120 in Figure 1) and at least one terminal device (such as the terminal device 130 in Figure 1).

[0077] Terminal devices connect wirelessly to radio access network equipment, which in turn connects wirelessly or wiredly to OAM equipment. The OAM equipment and radio access network equipment can be separate physical devices, or they can integrate the OAM and radio access network logic functions into the same physical device. Alternatively, a single physical device can combine some OAM and radio access network functions.

[0078] Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other network devices, such as core network devices, which are not shown in Figure 1. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of OAM devices, wireless access network devices, and terminal devices included in the communication system.

[0079] In the current QMC mechanism, the network side collects the QoE reports about services reported by the APP on the terminal and optimizes the network based on the QoE reports. Figure 2 is a flowchart of a QMC reporting method, and the method shown in Figure 2 includes S201 to S208.

[0080] S201, the terminal access stratum (UE AS) layer reports the current UE capability information (Capability Information) to the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), where the UE AS layer is the entity in the terminal responsible for NR-related control, access and other functions.

[0081] As an example, the capability information includes at least one of the following information: whether the UE can support reporting of the QoE report, supported service types, and supported reporting cycles.

[0082] S202: The OAM entity sends QoE measurement configuration information to the core network, where the OAM entity is the network entity responsible for network operation and management in the 5G network.

[0083] As an example, the QoE measurement configuration information includes at least one of the following information: a service type that the UE needs to report, a service indicator, and a reporting period.

[0084] S203: The core network forwards the QoE measurement configuration information to the NG-RAN and attempts to activate the measurement and reporting of the quality of service (QoE metric).

[0085] S204: NG-RAN sends the QoE measurement configuration information to the UE AS layer via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0086] S205 , when the UE AS layer receives the QoE measurement configuration information and determines that it can report according to the measurement requirement, it notifies the slave UE APP of the QoE measurement configuration information through an AT command.

[0087] S206, the UE APP obtains relevant QoE metric information in the QoE report according to the QoE measurement configuration requirement, encapsulates the QoE report in the form of a container, and reports the QoE report to the UE AS layer through an AT command.

[0088] In step S207, the UE AS layer forwards the QoE report obtained from the UE APP to the NG-RAN via an RRC message. Here, the UE AS layer cannot perform any operations on the QoE report, including reading and modifying.

[0089] In step S208, NG-RAN forwards the QoE report to the OAM entity, thus completing the entire QMC reporting process.

[0090] The above method has the following problems: the UE APP is required to cooperate in reporting the corresponding QoE report according to the QoE measurement configuration requirements. If the UE APP does not cooperate, the terminal cannot complete the QoE report reporting, so the QMC mechanism cannot operate normally, and the network side cannot complete subsequent network optimization.

[0091] To this end, the present application provides a new technical solution, in which other modules in the terminal besides the UE APP can obtain the QoE report and complete the reporting, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the network-side optimization.

[0092] In the technical solution of the present application, the Capability Information can be optionally modified to include a "whether MOS calculation is supported" field and support gaming and OTT video call services.

[0093] In the technical solution of the present application, the QoE measurement configuration message can optionally be modified to make it visible to the terminal's modem, and the service types include gaming and OTT video call services.

[0094] In the technical solution of the present application, it may be optional to modify the QoE report message so as to make it visible to the terminal modem.

[0095] In the technical solution of the present application, optionally, a user subjective quality of experience evaluation metric, such as the "MOS" field, can be added to the QoE report, and new gaming and OTT video call services and their corresponding objective performance metrics can be added.

[0096] In the technical solution of the present application, an estimation module for all QoE metrics in the QoE report can be optionally added inside the modem. When the UE APP fails to report the QoE report normally according to the configuration in the QoE measurement configuration, the estimation module in the modem can supplement the content of the QoE report and complete the normal reporting.

[0097] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the method may include S310 and S320.

[0098] S310: The terminal obtains first indicator information through a first module, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of a first application in the terminal.

[0099] The first module may be any module other than the first application in the terminal.

[0100] For the convenience of description, the module that executes this step in the terminal may be referred to as a control module.

[0101] S320: The terminal sends first indicator information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first indicator information from the terminal.

[0102] As an example, the first indicator information may be carried in an RRC message.

[0103] As an example, the network device may be a base station or may be an OAM.

[0104] In the method of this embodiment, the network device can obtain the QoE report from the first module other than the UE APP in the terminal. In this way, even if the first application does not collect or report the user experience quality of the first application, the user experience quality of the first application can be obtained and reported through the first module, so that the network device can optimize the network, ensure the communication effect of the first application, and improve the user experience.

[0105] In this embodiment, as an example, the first module may be a modem in the physical layer of the terminal, or an operating system (OS), or a module in other application service layers, framework layers, or operating system layers.

[0106] As an example, the service type of the first application may include at least one of the following types: game services, and third-party (over the top, OTT) video call services.

[0107] As an example, the first measurement indicator may include at least one of the following indicators: a user objective experience quality indicator, a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator, and an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

[0108] The value of the metric can also be understood as a service characteristic value, or called a QoE metric.

[0109] As an example, the value of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator may include a mean opinion score (MOS) value.

[0110] When the first application is a gaming service, the user objective experience quality indicator may include at least one of the following indicators: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

[0111] As an example, end-to-end packet transmission performance may include at least one of the following characteristics: end-to-end delay average, end-to-end delay maximum, end-to-end delay jitter, end-to-end packet loss rate, etc.; the game status may include at least one of the following states: game preparation, game progress, etc.; the game video quality may include at least one of the following indicators: game average bit rate, game display window size, game video resolution, game video bit rate, game video frame rate, etc.

[0112] When the first application is an OTT video call service, the user's objective experience quality indicator may include at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

[0113] As an example, the audio and video encoding quality may include at least one of the following qualities: video bit rate, used to indicate the video bit rate, video codec (codec), audio bit rate, audio codec, etc. adopted by the video encoder; the audio and video playback quality may include at least one of the following qualities: call establishment time, used to indicate the time from the user initiating a video call to the successful connection, video frame rate, used to indicate the number of video frames per second, video resolution, key video frame interval, video playback window size, etc.; the audio and video data packet transmission performance may include at least one of the following performances: average video delay, video data packet loss rate, average audio delay, audio packet loss rate, average time of audio and video asynchrony, etc.

[0114] It should be noted that this application does not restrict the service type of the first application, and other service types applicable to the method of this application are included in the scope of protection of this application. In addition, this application does not restrict the first measurement indicators of gaming services and OTT video call services, and measurement indicators applicable to these two service types are included in the scope of protection of this application.

[0115] In this embodiment, the first indicator information obtained from the first module may be included in the QoE report reported by the first module. For example, the QoE report reported by the first module is obtained, and the QoE report includes the first indicator information.

[0116] In this embodiment, the first indicator information sent by the terminal to the network device may be included in a QoE report. For example, the terminal sends a QoE report to the network device, and the QoE report includes the first indicator information.

[0117] Some implementations of this embodiment also include: the terminal obtains second indicator information through a second module in the terminal, the second indicator information indicates the value of a second measurement indicator of the application experience quality of the first application; the terminal sends the second indicator information to the network device.

[0118] This implementation can be understood as follows: if the first module and the second module report different metric values, the terminal can report these different metric values ​​to the network device. In this way, the second module, which is different from the first module, can also collect metric indicators of the application experience quality of the first application. The metric indicators collected by the second module can include different metric indicators from those collected by the first module. This can improve the metric indicators reported by the terminal, thereby helping to further improve the effectiveness of network optimization.

[0119] In this implementation, the second indicator information obtained from the second module may be included in the QoE report reported by the second module. For example, the QoE report reported by the second module is obtained, and the QoE report includes the second indicator information. The QoE report reported by the second module may be visible to the control module.

[0120] Optionally, the first indicator information and the second indicator information sent by the terminal to the network device may be included in the same message or signaling, or may be included in different messages or different signaling. For example, the first indicator information and the second indicator information sent by the terminal to the network device may be included in the same QoE report.

[0121] Some implementations of this embodiment further include transmitting first configuration information to the second module, the first configuration information instructing the second module to obtain a value for a second metric. Alternatively, the terminal configures which metric values ​​the second module collects and reports. This step may be performed by a control module in the terminal.

[0122] Some implementations of this embodiment further include: obtaining capability information of the second module, where the capability information indicates that the second module is capable of obtaining measurement indicators of the first type of business, wherein the second measurement indicators are measurement indicators included in the first type of business.

[0123] In other words, when the terminal configures the second module which metrics the second module should report, it does so based on the reporting capability information of the second module. In other words, the control module can configure the second module to report metrics that the second module can report for the first type of service.

[0124] In some implementations, the second module includes the first application and / or an operating system of the terminal.

[0125] Some implementations of this embodiment also include: obtaining third indicator information through the first module, the third indicator information indicating the value of a third measurement indicator of the application experience quality of the first application; obtaining fourth indicator information through the second module, the fourth indicator information indicating the value of the third measurement indicator; and sending the fourth indicator information to the network device.

[0126] This implementation can be understood as follows: if the first module and the second module report different values ​​for the same metric, the terminal can preferentially report the value collected by the second module to the network device, thereby improving the accuracy of the metric value.

[0127] For example, when the first module is a modem and the second module is a first application, the modem and the first application collect different values ​​for the same metric, and the terminal reports the value collected by the first application for the metric.

[0128] For another example, when the first module is a modem and the second module is an operating system, the modem and the operating system collect different values ​​for the same metric, and the terminal reports the value collected by the operating system for the metric.

[0129] For another example, if the first module is a modem and the second module includes a first application and an operating system, and the modem, the first application, and the operating system collect different values ​​for the same metric, the terminal reports the value collected by the first application for that metric. In other words, the modem's priority is lower than the first application's, and the first application's priority is lower than the operating system's priority.

[0130] Some implementations of this embodiment further include: the network device sending configuration information, where the configuration information is used to configure the metric indicator. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information used to configure the metric indicator.

[0131] In other words, the terminal's reporting of metrics for which services or applications is configured by the network device. This configuration can be visible to the control module, so that the control module can learn the configuration and configure the metrics to be reported for the first module or even the second module based on the configuration of the network device.

[0132] Optionally, the configuration information is specifically used to configure which types of services or applications should report which metrics.

[0133] In some implementations, the configuration information is visible to the control module, so that the control module configures the metrics that should be reported for the first module and even the second module based on the configuration information.

[0134] Some implementations of this embodiment further include: the OAM sending configuration information to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the configuration information. In other words, the configuration information sent by the network device is received from the OAM.

[0135] In some implementations of this embodiment, the control module may be located in a modem of the terminal, or may be a module in the modem. For example, the control module may be called a QoE controller.

[0136] In some implementations of this embodiment, the first module may be referred to as a QoE metric evaluation module (QoE Metric Estimator), or a metric evaluation module, or an evaluation module.

[0137] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a functional module of a modem provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the modem may include two logical functional modules, namely a QoE control module and a QoE measurement evaluation module.

[0138] The QoE control module can obtain the reporting capabilities of the UE app and OS and obtain the QoE metric information to be reported based on the QoE measurement configuration information. The QoE measurement configuration information can be configuration information from network devices. For example, the RRC message sent by the NG-RAN to the modem carries the QoE measurement configuration content from the OAM and makes this content visible to the modem.

[0139] As an example, the QoE control module can integrate the QoE metric information reported by the QoE metric evaluation module, UE APP or OS, and then output the QoE report to the outside, which can include network devices.

[0140] The QoE metric evaluation module can estimate all QoE metrics involved in the QoE report based on the internal information of the modem. It is used to estimate the QoE metric information that the UE app and OS cannot obtain but must report, and estimate the MOS score of the user experience under different services.

[0141] As an example, the internal information of the modem may include error information, packet transmission information, or traffic information.

[0142] The UE APP can transmit the QoE report to the QoE control module inside the modem through an address target (AT) command. The AT command carries some or all of the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report that the UE APP can collect.

[0143] The OS can pass the QoE report to the QoE control module inside the modem through AT commands. The AT commands carry some QoE metrics involved in the QoE report that the OS can collect.

[0144] As an example, the OS can obtain audio and video format information, such as video resolution, frame rate, bit rate, playback window size, etc., through the audio and video software and hardware modules. These service feature information are part of the QoE metrics involved in the QoE report.

[0145] In this implementation, the QoE report reported by the OS or UE APP is visible to the modem, and the modem can perform operations such as modifying the reported QoE report.

[0146] In some implementations of this embodiment, if the measurement indicator includes a user subjective quality of experience evaluation indicator, a user subjective quality of experience evaluation indicator field may be added to the QoE measurement configuration, QoE report, and Capability Information messages. This field may be called a "MOS" field.

[0147] For example, the following field may be added to the QoE measurement configuration message: MOS evaluation period.

[0148] As an example, the evaluation period of MOS can be configured to be 1 second.

[0149] For example, the following field may be added to the QoE report message: MOS score.

[0150] As an example, if the reporting period of the QoE report is several times the MOS evaluation period, the reported amount of MOS score is a vector from far to near in time.

[0151] For example, the following field may be added to the Capability Information message: whether the service MOS score evaluation is supported.

[0152] Because user subjective experience MOS scores are difficult to obtain online, this application lists objective MOS score evaluation models that can be used for different services. As an example, for gaming services, the ITU-T G.1072 model is used; for OTT video calling services, the ITU-TG.1070 model is used; for multimedia telephone services (MTSI), the ITU-TG.107 model is used for voice calls and the ITU-T G.107 model is used for video calls; and for streaming services (dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP, DASH), the ITU-T P.1203 model is used.

[0153] An example of a method for reporting metric indicators within a terminal is described below with reference to Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, the method may include S510 to S540.

[0154] S510: The UE APP and / or OS reports first capability information and second capability information to the modem, respectively. Accordingly, the QoE control module within the modem parses the capability information.

[0155] For example, when the UE app is turned on or activated, the QoE control module within the modem obtains the capability information reported by the UE app and / or OS and obtains the reported capabilities of the UE app and / or OS from the capability information. If the QoE control module within the modem fails to obtain the capability information of the UE app and / or OS, it is treated as if the UE app and / or OS does not report capabilities.

[0156] If the UE APP and the OS have the reporting capability, execute S520 ; if the OS has the reporting capability and the UE APP does not have the reporting capability, execute S530 ; if neither the OS nor the UE APP has the reporting capability, execute S540 .

[0157] In this embodiment, S520 may include S520-1, S520-2, S520-3, S520-4, S520-5, S520-6, and S520-7.

[0158] S520-1, the QoE control module transmits first QoE measurement configuration information to the UE APP.

[0159] As an example, the first QoE measurement configuration information is configured by a QoE control module inside the modem according to a reporting capability of the UE APP.

[0160] S520 - 2 : The QoE control module transmits second QoE measurement configuration information to the OS.

[0161] As an example, the second QoE measurement configuration information is configured by a QoE control module inside the modem according to a reporting capability of the OS.

[0162] S520 - 3 : The QoE control module transmits third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0163] In this embodiment, the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information may be the same, different, or not completely the same. For example, the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information are the same, but the third QoE measurement configuration information is different from the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0164] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information are the same, only S520 - 4 needs to be executed.

[0165] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information, the second QoE measurement configuration information, and the third QoE measurement configuration information are different, S520 - 4 , S520 - 5 , and S520 - 6 are respectively executed.

[0166] As an example, when the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information are the same, but the third QoE measurement configuration information is different from the first QoE measurement configuration information and the second QoE measurement configuration information, S520 - 4 and S520 - 6 are performed.

[0167] If the first, second, and third QoE measurement configuration information are not identical, the identical parts may perform corresponding operations based on the reporting priorities. For example, the UE APP reporting priority is higher than the OS priority, and the OS reporting priority is higher than the QoE metric evaluation module reporting priority. Furthermore, the different parts may be reported separately.

[0168] S520-4: The UE APP outputs the corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the first QoE measurement configuration information.

[0169] As an example, the UE APP module reports the maximum set of metric information in the available QoE report to the QoE control module in the modem according to the requirements in the first QoE measurement configuration.

[0170] S520-5: The OS outputs a corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0171] As an example, the OS module reports the maximum set of metric information in the available QoE report to the QoE control module in the modem according to the requirements in the second QoE measurement configuration.

[0172] S520-6: The QoE metric evaluation module outputs a corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0173] As an example, the QoE metric evaluation module obtains all metric information of the QoE report required in the measurement configuration by estimation, and outputs all metric information involved in the QoE report to the QoE Controller as required.

[0174] As an example, all metric information also includes an objective model estimate of MOS.

[0175] As an example, the QoE metric evaluation module performs estimation based on internal information of the modem, where the internal information may include bit error information, packet transmission information, or traffic information.

[0176] S520-7, the QoE control module integrates the QoE report reported by the UE APP, OS and QoE measurement evaluation module.

[0177] In some implementations, the integrated QoE report is the maximum set of QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the UE APP, OS, and QoE metric evaluation module.

[0178] In this implementation, identical or repeated QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the UE APP, OS, and QoE metric evaluation module can be avoided, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0179] In this embodiment, S530 may include S530-1, S530-2, S530-3, S530-4, and S530-5.

[0180] S530 - 1 : The QoE control module transmits second QoE measurement configuration information to the OS.

[0181] S530-2: The QoE control module transmits third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0182] In this embodiment, the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information may be the same or different.

[0183] As an example, when the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information are the same, only S530 - 3 needs to be executed.

[0184] As an example, when the second QoE measurement configuration information and the third QoE measurement configuration information are different, S530 - 3 and S530 - 4 are respectively performed.

[0185] S530-3: The OS outputs a corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the second QoE measurement configuration information.

[0186] S530-4: The QoE metric evaluation module outputs a corresponding QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0187] S530-5, the QoE control module integrates the QoE reports reported by the OS and QoE measurement and evaluation modules.

[0188] In some implementations, the integrated QoE report is a maximum set of QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0189] In this implementation, identical or repeated QoE metric information in the QoE reports reported by the OS and the QoE metric evaluation module can be avoided, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0190] In this embodiment, S540 may include S540-1, S540-2, and S540-3.

[0191] S540 - 1 : The QoE control module transmits third QoE measurement configuration information to the QoE metric evaluation module.

[0192] S540-2: The QoE metric evaluation module outputs a QoE report to the QoE control module according to the QoE metric required to be reported in the third QoE measurement configuration information.

[0193] S540-3, the QoE control module reports the QoE report reported by the QoE measurement evaluation module.

[0194] In this embodiment, before executing S520, S530 or S540, S515 is also included.

[0195] S515: The network device sends QoE measurement configuration information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the QoE measurement configuration information from the network device.

[0196] As an example, the QoE control module in the modem of the terminal may parse the QoE measurement configuration information and obtain the QoE metric that needs to be reported.

[0197] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the execution order of S515 and S510. The network device can send QoE measurement configuration information to the terminal before or after the UE APP and / or OS sends capability information.

[0198] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the device 600 may include a processing module 601 and a communication module 602 .

[0199] As a first example, the apparatus 600 can be used to implement the communication method implemented by a terminal in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5. For example, the processing module 601 is used to implement the processing-related steps performed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5, and the communication module 602 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving steps performed by the terminal in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5.

[0200] As a second example, the apparatus 600 can be used to implement the communication method implemented by a network device in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5. For example, the processing module 601 is used to implement the processing-related steps performed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5, and the communication module 602 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving steps performed by the network device in any of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 5.

[0201] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the device 700 includes a processor 701 and a communication circuit 702. The processor 701 and the communication circuit 702 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication circuit 702 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the device 700 may further include a memory 703 for storing instructions executed by the processor 701 or storing input data required by the processor 701 to run the instructions or storing data generated after the processor 701 runs the instructions. It is understood that the memory 703 can be located outside the processor 701, or inside the processor 701.

[0202] As an example, the processor 701 is used to implement the functions of the processing module 601 , and the communication circuit 702 is used to implement the functions of the communication module 602 .

[0203] Apparatus 700 may be a communications device or a chip used in a communications device. For example, apparatus 700 may be a terminal or a chip used in a terminal, or a network device or a chip used in a network device. It is understood that when apparatus 700 is a terminal or a network device, communication circuit 702 may be a transceiver.

[0204] Some embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which, when running on a processor, can implement the method implemented by the terminal in any of the above embodiments, or can implement the method implemented by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0205] In some embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on a processor, the method implemented by the terminal in any of the above embodiments can be implemented, or the method implemented by the network device in any of the above method embodiments can be implemented.

[0206] In some embodiments of the present application, a communication system is also provided, which can implement the method implemented by the terminal and the network device in any of the above embodiments.

[0207] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be the following devices or all or part of the circuits in the following devices for processing functions: a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0208] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0209] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive.

[0210] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0211] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal, the terminal including a first module, the method comprising: Acquire, through a first module, first indicator information, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of the first application; Send the first indicator information to the network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire, by a second module in the terminal, second indicator information, where the second indicator information indicates a value of a second measurement indicator of application experience quality of the first application; Send the second indicator information to the network device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: First configuration information is transmitted to the second module, where the first configuration information instructs the second module to obtain a value of the second metric.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Capability information of the second module is obtained, where the capability information indicates that the second module is capable of obtaining measurement indicators of a first type of business, wherein the second measurement indicators are measurement indicators included in the first type of business.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The second module is the first application or the operating system of the terminal.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Acquire, through the first module, third indicator information, where the third indicator information indicates a value of a third metric of application experience quality of the first application; Acquire, through the second module, fourth indicator information, where the fourth indicator information indicates a value of the third metric; The fourth indicator information is sent to the network device.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The second module is the first application, wherein the method further includes: The fifth indicator information is obtained through the operating system of the terminal device, and the fifth indicator information indicates the value of the third measurement indicator.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first module is a modem.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first application includes a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first application includes a third-party OTT video call service, and the first measurement indicator includes at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second configuration information is received from the network device, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method includes: Receiving first indicator information from a terminal device, where the first indicator information indicates a value of a first measurement indicator of user experience quality of the first application; Perform network optimization based on the first indicator information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Second configuration information is sent to the terminal, where the second configuration information is used to configure the first metric.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first metric is a metric of a gaming service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following metrics: end-to-end packet transmission performance, game status, or game video quality.

17. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The first metric is a metric of a third-party OTT video call service, and the first metric includes at least one of the following indicators: audio and video encoding quality, audio and video playback quality, or audio and video data packet transmission performance.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes a user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first measurement indicator includes an evaluation period of the user subjective experience quality evaluation indicator.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: memory and processor; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is configured to execute program instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a program code for computer execution, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for implementing the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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