Communication method, communication apparatus, and communication system

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a communication system. The method comprises: receiving first system information of a first cell, wherein the first system information comprises a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list comprises cell reselection information of at least one second cell, and the frequency spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value; and performing measurement on the basis of the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. In the solution, when there is a second cell among inter-frequency neighbor cells of a first cell, the second cell is an inter-frequency neighbor cell of the first cell, and the frequency spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value, a network device then carries cell reselection information of the second cell in first system information and sends same, such that a terminal device can obtain the cell reselection information of the second cell by means of receiving the first system information, and then perform measurement on the basis of the cell reselection information of the second cell, thereby realizing cell reselection.

Description

Communication method, communication device and communication system

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410177332.0 and invention name "A communication method, communication device and communication system", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0004] Currently, the spectrum (ie, bandwidth or frequency band) of a cell in a new radio (NR) is generally large, for example, greater than or equal to a certain threshold value, such as 5 megahertz (MHz).

[0005] However, in some of the latest application scenarios, a relatively small spectrum will be introduced, for example, smaller than the aforementioned threshold value. The relatively small spectrum may be, for example, 3 MHz, 3.6 MHz, and so on.

[0006] After the introduction of a relatively small spectrum, if the spectrum of an inter-frequency neighboring cell of a certain cell is also such a relatively small spectrum, how to notify the terminal device of the cell reselection information of the inter-frequency neighboring cell remains to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, and a communication system for notifying a terminal device of cell reselection information of an inter-frequency neighboring cell with a small spectrum.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. The method includes: receiving first system information of a first cell, the first system information including a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list including cell reselection information of at least one second cell, the second cell being an inter-frequency neighbor of the first cell, and the frequency spectrum of the second cell being less than a threshold value; and performing measurement according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0009] In the above scheme, when there is a second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the second cell is the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the second cell is less than the threshold value, the network device carries the cell reselection information of the second cell in the first system information and sends it, so that the terminal device can obtain the cell reselection information of the second cell by receiving the first system information, and then perform measurements based on the cell reselection information of the second cell to achieve cell reselection.

[0010] In one possible implementation method, the first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes at least one third cell cell reselection information, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0011] In the above solution, the first system information can carry a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information. The terminal device can identify that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information, and thus not perform measurements based on the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but only perform measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. When the first system information is SIB4, this solution implements SIB4 compatibility with existing technologies, and does not require the introduction of an additional SIB to send the above-mentioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0012] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: not performing measurement according to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list; or ignoring the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0013] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: determining, based on information of a first field in the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell, that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0014] The above solution fills the first field with invalid information, so that the terminal device identifies the invalid information and further determines that the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid. This solution is simple and easy to implement.

[0015] In one possible implementation method, the first field includes one or more of the following fields: band list, downlink carrier frequency, synchronization signal block (SSB) subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

[0016] In a possible implementation method, the method further includes: determining that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes information of the first cell, and then determining that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0017] The above solution adds the information of the first cell to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, so that the terminal device determines that the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid based on the information of the first cell. This solution is simple and easy to implement.

[0018] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: receiving second system information of the first cell, the second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value; and performing measurement according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0019] In the above solution, different system information carries the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, respectively. The terminal device can perform measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. This solution achieves the same effect as the existing SIB4, which is used to send the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. It only needs to introduce another SIB to send the above-mentioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Therefore, cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells is sent in different SIBs, which can avoid terminal device misidentification and help terminal devices accurately identify cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells.

[0020] In a possible implementation method, the threshold value is 5 MHz.

[0021] In a possible implementation method, the first system information is SIB4.

[0022] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a network device or a module (such as a chip) in the network device. The method includes: determining first system information of a first cell, the first system information including a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list including cell reselection information of at least one second cell, the second cell being an inter-frequency neighbor of the first cell, and the frequency spectrum of the second cell being less than a threshold value; and sending the first system information.

[0023] In the above scheme, when there is a second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the second cell is the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the second cell is less than the threshold value, the network device carries the cell reselection information of the second cell in the first system information and sends it, so that the terminal device can obtain the cell reselection information of the second cell by receiving the first system information, and then perform measurements based on the cell reselection information of the second cell to achieve cell reselection.

[0024] In one possible implementation method, the first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0025] In the above scheme, the first system information can carry a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information. The terminal device can identify that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information, and thus not perform measurements based on the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but only perform measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. When the first system information is SIB4, this scheme can achieve compatibility with SIB4 of the existing technology, and does not require the introduction of an additional SIB to send the above-mentioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0026] In a possible implementation method, the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes information of a first field, where the information of the first field is used to indicate that the cell reselection information of the third cell is invalid information.

[0027] The above solution fills the first field with invalid information, so that the terminal device identifies the invalid information and further determines that the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid. This solution is simple and easy to implement.

[0028] In one possible implementation method, the first field includes one or more of the following fields: band list, downlink carrier frequency, SSB subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

[0029] In a possible implementation method, the invalid information includes information of the first cell.

[0030] The above solution adds the information of the first cell to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, so that the terminal device determines that the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid based on the information of the first cell. This solution is simple and easy to implement.

[0031] In a possible implementation method, the method also includes: determining the second system information of the first cell, the second system information includes a third hetero-frequency carrier frequency list, the third hetero-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an hetero-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value; and sending the second system information.

[0032] In the above solution, different system information carries the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, respectively. The terminal device can perform measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. This solution achieves the same effect as the existing SIB4, which is used to send the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. It only needs to introduce another SIB to send the above-mentioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Therefore, cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells is sent in different SIBs, which can avoid terminal device misidentification and help terminal devices accurately identify cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells.

[0033] In a possible implementation method, the threshold value is 5 MHz.

[0034] In a possible implementation method, the first system information is SIB4.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) in the terminal device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the first aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementations in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a module (such as a chip) in a network device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the second aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0037] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising one or more processors and one or more interface circuits, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuits and execute any of the implementation methods described in the first to second aspects above. The processor comprises one or more.

[0039] Optionally, the communication device may also include one or more memories for storing computer instructions, the one or more memories being coupled to one or more processors, which execute the computer instructions stored in the memories so that the device performs any implementation method in the first to second aspects above.

[0040] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first to second aspects is executed.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when run on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect to be executed.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip or chip system, comprising: one or more processors for executing any implementation method in the first to second aspects above.

[0043] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device for executing any implementation method of the first aspect, and a network device for executing any implementation method of the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] FIG1( a ) is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 1(b) shows a schematic diagram of a network device;

[0046] FIG2 is an example diagram of the frequency band of R-GSM;

[0047] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] Figure 1(a) is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system shown in Figure 1(a) includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system also includes the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1(a)) and may also include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1(a)). The terminal device is connected to the network device wirelessly, and the network device is connected to the core network wirelessly or by wire. The core network device and the network device may be independent and distinct physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device may be integrated into the same physical device, or a physical device may integrate some of the functions of the core network device and some of the functions of the network device. Terminal devices and network devices may be connected to each other via wired or wireless connections. Figure 1(a) is merely a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1(a).

[0054] A network device is an access device that a terminal device uses to access a communication system via a wired or wireless method. A network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system; it may also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). A network device may be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG1(a)), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG1(a)), a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0055] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from a network device. Terminal devices include but are not limited to terminal devices, terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can specifically be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0056] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, trains, light rail, high-speed rail, or satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0057] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1(a) can be configured as a mobile network device. For terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device. However, for network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a network device. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1(a) can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1(a) can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0058] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0059] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0060] In this application, a network device sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. A terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to a network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. To communicate with a network device, a terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which a terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device.

[0061] Figure 1(b) shows a schematic diagram of a network device. As shown in Figure 1(b), the network device includes one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and optionally, one or more RUs. For clarity, Figure 1(b) shows only one CU, DU, and RU. The CU is used to connect to the core network and one or more DUs. Optionally, the CU can have some of the functions of the core network. The CU can include a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). The RU can be set inside the DU or independently of the CU and DU. When the RU is set inside the DU, it can also be understood that the network device does not include the RU, that is, the network device includes one or more CUs and one or more DUs, and the DU can implement the functions of the RU.

[0062] The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement: for example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above it (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); the DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below it (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0063] The above configuration of CU and DU is only an example, and the functions of CU and DU can also be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, such as by delay, and the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller delay requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are set in the CU.

[0064] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0065] The CU and DU may be set separately, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). In different systems, CU, DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU, and RU may also be referred to as O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0066] To facilitate understanding of the content of the present invention, the nouns or terms involved in the present invention are explained below.

[0067] 1. System Information (SI)

[0068] System information is information broadcast by network devices in a mobile network. A network device can have one or more cells. The spectrum of cells on the same network device can be the same or different. The spectrum of cells on different network devices can be the same or different.

[0069] By receiving system information, the terminal device obtains at least one of the following information: basic information required for cell selection during initial network access, parameters for intra-frequency cell reselection, parameters for inter-frequency cell reselection, parameters for inter-system cell reselection, or Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) alert information. Inter-system refers to different radio access technologies (RATs), such as 4G and 5G.

[0070] System information can be classified into two categories according to its content: minimum system information (MSI) and other system information (OSI).

[0071] The MSI consists of the Master Information Block (MIB) and System Information Block 1 (SIB1). The MIB provides basic information to terminal devices, such as whether a cell is prohibited from access, as well as the location of SIB1. SIB1 provides terminal devices with information related to cell access and scheduling information for other SIBs. SIB1 is also called the Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI).

[0072] The OSI includes SIB2 to SIBn, which are used to provide at least one of mobility, time, Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) information or CMAS warning information to the terminal device.

[0073] SIB2 provides the terminal equipment with the public information required for intra-frequency cell reselection, inter-frequency cell reselection, and inter-system cell reselection.

[0074] SIB3 provides the terminal device with information related to intra-frequency reselection, such as intra-frequency cell reselection parameters and a blacklist of intra-frequency cells. The intra-frequency cell can belong to the same network device as the terminal device's resident cell or serving cell, or it can belong to a different network device.

[0075] SIB4 provides the terminal device with relevant information for inter-frequency reselection, such as inter-frequency point reselection parameters, inter-frequency cell reselection parameters, and a blacklist of inter-frequency cells. The inter-frequency cells can belong to the same network device as the terminal device's resident cell or serving cell, or they can belong to different network devices.

[0076] SIB5 provides the terminal device with relevant information for heterogeneous system reselection, such as heterogeneous system frequency reselection parameters, heterogeneous system cell reselection parameters, and a blacklist of heterogeneous system cells.

[0077] SIB8 provides CMAS alarm information to terminal devices.

[0078] SIB9 provides time-related information for terminal devices to synchronize time, such as providing high-precision time information, specifically including at least one of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Positioning System (GPS) time, or local time.

[0079] 2. SIB4

[0080] In 5G wireless networks, SIB4 belongs to OSI and can be defined in SIB1 messages and sent periodically, or the network device can send it separately for the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device.

[0081] SIB4 includes an inter-frequency carrier frequency list (interFreqCarrierFreqList), and the interFreqCarrierFreqList includes one or more inter-frequency carrier frequency information (InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo).

[0082] For example, an example of the content included in InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo is given below.

[0083] The following fields in InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo represent the neighboring cell frequency and synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement parameters: dl-CarrierFreq, frequencyBandList, frequencyBandListSUL, nrofSS-BlocksToAverage, absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation, smtc, ssbSubcarrierSpacing, ssb-ToMeasure, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell, ss-RSSI-Measurement, q-OffsetFreq, interFreqNeighCellList, and interFreqExcludedCellList.

[0084] The following fields in InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo indicate the neighboring cell access quality reselection threshold parameters: q-RxLevMin, q-RxLevMinSUL, q-QualMin, p-Max, t-ReselectionNR, t-ReselectionNR-SF, threshX-HighP, threshX-LowP, threshX-Q, threshX-HighQ, threshX-LowQ, cellReselectionPriority, and cellReselectionSubPriority.

[0085] It should be noted that some fields in the above code may be mandatory parameters, and some fields may be optional parameters. The mandatory parameters refer to the parameters that must be carried in the SIB4 when the network device sends the SIB4 of the cell. For example, in one example, dl-CarrierFreq, frequencyBandList, ssbSubcarrierSpacing, q-RxLevMin, t-ReselectionNR, threshX-HighP, and threshX-LowP are mandatory fields, and the other fields are optional fields.

[0086] 3. Narrowband New Radio (NB-NR) and Narrowband Private Network (NB Private Network)

[0087] Currently, support for NB-NR is being discussed at 3GPP standards meetings. Its primary application is in private network scenarios, such as the Railway-Global System for Mobile Communications (R-GSM). R-GSM primarily provides secure, reliable, and efficient connections for railways, improving the passenger experience.

[0088] R-GSM is allocated some dedicated frequency bands. Figure 2 shows an example of R-GSM frequency bands. In one example, R-GSM is allocated two 3 MHz frequency bands, one for uplink and one for downlink transmission. The 3 MHz frequency band for uplink transmission ranges from 873 MHz to 876 MHz, and the 3 MHz frequency band for downlink transmission ranges from 918 MHz to 921 MHz. In another example, R-GSM is allocated two 4 MHz frequency bands, one for uplink and one for downlink transmission. The 4 MHz frequency band for uplink transmission ranges from 876 MHz to 880 MHz, and the 4 MHz frequency band for downlink transmission ranges from 921 MHz to 925 MHz.

[0089] To enable R-GSM to support both NB-NR transmission and private network transmission. In one example, for the scenario where two 3MHz frequency bands are allocated to R-GSM, part of the frequency bands from 873MHz to 876MHz can be used for uplink NB-NR transmission, and the other part of the frequency bands can be used for uplink private network transmission, and part of the frequency bands from 918MHz to 921MHz can be used for downlink NB-NR transmission, and the other part of the frequency bands can be used for downlink private network transmission. In another example, for the scenario where two 4MHz frequency bands are allocated to R-GSM, part of the frequency bands from 876MHz to 880MHz can be used for uplink NB-NR transmission, and the other part of the frequency bands can be used for uplink private network transmission, and part of the frequency bands from 921MHz to 925MHz can be used for downlink NB-NR transmission, and the other part of the frequency bands can be used for downlink private network transmission. Alternatively, in another example, the above two examples can be combined to reallocate the frequency bands used for NB-NR transmission and private network transmission. Referring to Figure 2, in one example, the 874.4MHz to 878MHz frequency band can be used for uplink NB-NR transmission, the 878MHz to 880MHz frequency band can be used for uplink private network transmission, the 919.4MHz to 923MHz frequency band can be used for downlink NB-NR transmission, and the 923MHz to 925MHz frequency band can be used for downlink private network transmission.

[0090] In the example of Figure 2, in addition to the R-GSM frequency band, some frequency bands used for public transmission are also included. For example, the 880MHz to 915MHz frequency band is used for public Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) / Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) / Long Term Evolution (LTE) uplink public transmission, and the 925MHz to 960MHz frequency band is used for public GSM / UMTS / LTE downlink public transmission.

[0091] It should be noted that the above uses the R-GSM private network scenario as an example to illustrate the possible implementation method of adding support for NB-NR transmission. In actual applications, support for NB-NR transmission can also be added in other private network scenarios. For example, the other private network scenario can be a dedicated small frequency band owned by some private network operators, such as two 3MHz in the 900MHz FDD band allocated nationwide. For example, the other private network scenario can also be a dedicated small frequency band owned by public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) applications, such as some small frequency bands in the 700MHz FDD band allocated nationwide.

[0092] In current NR transmission, the allocated frequency band is generally greater than or equal to 5MHz. In the above example, since NR transmission and private network transmission are supported simultaneously on one frequency band, the frequency bands used for NR transmission and private network transmission are generally relatively small. For example, the frequency band used for NB-NR transmission is generally smaller than the 5MHz used in normal NR transmission. For example, the frequency band used for NB-NR transmission can be between xMHz and 5MHz, where x is approximately equal to 3MHz. For example, the frequency band used for NB-NR transmission can be 2.9MHz, 3MHz, or 3.6MHz, etc.

[0093] For the sake of convenience, this application will refer to the frequency band used for NR transmission in the frequency band that supports both NR transmission and private network transmission as the NB-NR band, and the frequency band used for private network transmission as the NB private network band.

[0094] In the embodiments of the present application, the frequency band is also referred to as spectrum, bandwidth, wave band, frequency band, frequency domain length or frequency range, etc., which are described uniformly here.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present application, one frequency point corresponds to one carrier, multiple frequency points form a frequency band, and each cell corresponds to one carrier. For example, in 5G, for the C-Band frequency band, every 5M, 10M, 15M, 20M, ... or 100M is a frequency point, and for millimeter waves, every 100M, 200M or 400M is a frequency point. Here, 5M, 10M, 15M, 20M, ..., 100M are all standard frequency bands (or standard bandwidths), and here, 100M, 200M, and 400M are also standard frequency bands (or standard bandwidths).

[0096] After the introduction of a relatively small spectrum (such as the aforementioned NB-NR spectrum), if the spectrum of an inter-frequency neighboring cell of a certain cell is such a relatively small spectrum, how to notify the terminal device of the cell reselection information of the inter-frequency neighboring cell remains to be solved.

[0097] To solve this problem, this application provides corresponding embodiments, which are described in detail below.

[0098] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a network device or a module (such as a chip) of the network device, and by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) of the terminal device. The following description uses the network device and the terminal device as an example to illustrate the method.

[0099] The method comprises the following steps:

[0100] Step 301: A network device determines first system information of a first cell.

[0101] The first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list including cell reselection information of at least one second cell, the spectrum of the second cell being less than a threshold value, and the second cell being an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell. The second cell is a cell other than the first cell. Exemplarily, the threshold value is 5 MHz.

[0102] In the embodiments of the present application, the second cell may also be referred to as a first-type cell. The first-type cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the first-type cell is less than a threshold value. The second cell is also referred to as a dedicated cell, where a dedicated cell refers to a cell with a dedicated spectrum. This is described uniformly here and will not be repeated in other embodiments.

[0103] Among them, the spectrum of the second cell can be, for example, between xMHz and 5MHz, where x is approximately equal to 3MHz, that is, the spectrum of the second cell is approximately 3 to 5MHz. For example, the spectrum of the second cell is specifically 2.9MHz, 3MHz or 3.6MHz, etc. Exemplarily, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes one or more inter-frequency carrier frequency information (InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo), and each inter-frequency carrier frequency information includes the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of an inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell. The inter-frequency neighboring area and the first cell may belong to the same network device or to different network devices. Exemplarily, the specific fields in each inter-frequency carrier frequency information can refer to the field settings in the aforementioned InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo. For example, the inter-frequency carrier frequency information includes dl-CarrierFreq, frequencyBandList, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0104] In addition, the second cell may also be a cell with irregular channel bandwidth. For example, the cells corresponding to different channel bandwidths (such as 6MHz, 7MHz, 11MHz, 12MHz, 13MHz, etc.) corresponding to different bands (bands) in Table 1 below. The bandwidth of its cell is usually greater than the threshold value (for example, 5MHz), but the spectrum of these cells is the requirement put forward by the operator, and is not the standard cell bandwidth defined in the existing protocol. These cells require certain methods for terminal devices to communicate, that is, the terminal equipment needs to be upgraded to support this type of cell, or the terminal equipment must have the ability to support irregular bandwidth cells before it can communicate with this type of cell. For this type of second cell, it is no longer restricted that the spectrum of the second cell is less than the threshold value.

[0105] Table 1

[0106] Step 302: The network device sends first system information.

[0107] Exemplarily, the network device may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the first system information, or may send the first system information in other ways. This application does not limit the sending method.

[0108] Exemplarily, the network device sends the first system information in a first cell, where the first cell is any cell belonging to the network device.

[0109] Step 303: The terminal device performs measurement according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0110] The terminal device receives the first system information of the first cell, obtains the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list from the first system information, and performs measurement based on the cell reselection information of each second cell in the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Optionally, inter-frequency measurement is performed. If the terminal device measures an inter-frequency neighboring cell that meets the conditions, the terminal device can reselect to the inter-frequency neighboring cell.

[0111] Exemplarily, the terminal device may perform measurements, for example: for any hetero-frequency carrier frequency information in the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list, the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information includes frequencyBandList, the frequencyBandList includes one or more bands (band), the terminal device selects the first band supported by the terminal device in the frequencyBandList, if the band is not a band used only for downlink, the terminal device uses the p-Max parameter in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information, the p-Max can be used to determine whether the terminal device performs measurement, and / or for the terminal device to determine whether to perform cell reselection after determining that measurement is required.

[0112] When the terminal device is in an idle state, the first cell may be a resident cell of the terminal device; when the terminal device is in a connected state, the first cell may be a serving cell of the terminal device. In other words, the first cell is a resident cell or a serving cell.

[0113] In the above scheme, when there is a second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the second cell is the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the second cell is less than the threshold value, the network device carries the cell reselection information of the second cell in the first system information and sends it, so that the terminal device can obtain the cell reselection information of the second cell by receiving the first system information, and then perform measurements based on the cell reselection information of the second cell to achieve cell reselection.

[0114] The above describes a method for transmitting cell reselection information for a second cell. In practical applications, the first cell may have only the second cell as its inter-frequency neighbor, or only the third cell, where the third cell is an inter-frequency neighbor of the first cell and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to a threshold value, or both the second cell and the third cell may exist. The third cell is also referred to as a normal cell, a public network cell, a live network cell, or an ordinary cell. When the third cell is referred to as a normal cell, the second cell can be referred to as a dedicated cell. In other words, normal cells and dedicated cells are corresponding concepts. A normal cell here can be understood as a regular cell or a commonly used cell.

[0115] In the embodiment of the present application, the third cell may also be referred to as a second type of cell, the second type of cell being an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the spectrum of the second type of cell being greater than or equal to the threshold value. This is described uniformly here, and other embodiments will not be repeated in detail.

[0116] In the embodiment of the present application, two different implementation methods are provided for the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell.

[0117] In one implementation method, the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are sent in the same system information. The system information may be, for example, a system information block (SIB). This implementation method is further divided into three scenarios: Scenario 1, only the second cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the third cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell; Scenario 2, only the third cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and the second cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell; Scenario 3, both the second cell and the third cell exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0118] In another implementation method, the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are respectively transmitted in different system information. The system information may be, for example, a SIB, i.e., the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are transmitted in different SIBs. This implementation method is further divided into three scenarios: Scenario 1, only the second cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell, and the third cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell; Scenario 2, only the third cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell, and the second cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell; Scenario 3, both the second cell and the third cell exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell.

[0119] The following describes these two implementation methods respectively.

[0120] Implementation method 1: The cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are sent in the same system information.

[0121] The first implementation method is described below in three different situations.

[0122] Scenario 1: There is only the second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and there is no third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0123] In one implementation method, when there is only a second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell and there is no third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, the cell reselection information of the second cell can be sent through the first system information according to the embodiment of Figure 3 above, and the first system information does not carry the cell reselection information of the third cell.

[0124] In another implementation method, if the first system information in the embodiment of Figure 3 reuses the SIB4 of the prior art, that is, the aforementioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list is added to the SIB4 of the prior art, at this time, although there is no third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, the SIB4 still needs to carry the cell reselection information of the second type of inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell. This is because in the prior art, there is only a third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, and the second cell is not introduced. The method for the network device to send SIB4 in the prior art is: if there is no third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, SIB4 is not sent; if there is a third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, SIB4 is sent, and the SIB4 includes an inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes at least one inter-frequency carrier frequency information (InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo), each inter-frequency carrier frequency information includes cell reselection information of a third cell, and each inter-frequency carrier frequency information includes some mandatory fields. In other words, the current protocol stipulates that as long as SIB4 is sent, some mandatory field information of the third cell of the first cell's inter-frequency neighboring area must be carried in SIB4. Based on this, for the corresponding solution provided in the embodiment of the present application for scenario 1 in the implementation method 1, please refer to the embodiment of Figure 4.

[0125] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is a specific example of the embodiment of FIG3 above. The method includes the following steps:

[0126] Step 401: A network device determines first system information of a first cell.

[0127] The first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0128] For the description of the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, reference may be made to the description in the aforementioned step 301 .

[0129] The second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, where the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold, and the cell reselection information of at least one third cell is invalid. The third cell herein is also referred to as a normal cell, a public network cell, an existing network cell, or an ordinary cell.

[0130] Two implementation methods for the network device to determine the first system information are introduced below.

[0131] Method 1: If at least one second cell exists in an inter-frequency neighboring cell of a first cell, the network device determines a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. If at least one second cell exists in an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and at least one third cell does not exist, the network device determines a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The network device determines system information based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0132] Method 2: If at least one second cell exists in an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the network device determines a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. If at least one third cell does not exist in an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the network device determines a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The network device determines system information based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0133] The difference between Method 1 and Method 2 is that in Method 1, the network device must meet two conditions to determine the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list: one condition is that at least one second cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell, and the other condition is that at least one third cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell. In contrast, in Method 2, the network device only needs to meet one condition to determine the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list: the absence of at least one third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell. Because the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list carries invalid information, if the system information only carries the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list and does not carry the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the system information will also be invalid. With Method 1, since the system information sent will not only carry the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the system information is valid, thereby reducing signaling waste. With Method 2, since there is only one condition to determine whether to determine the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, it is simple and easy to implement.

[0134] Step 402: The network device sends first system information.

[0135] Exemplarily, the network device may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the first system information, or may send the first system information in other ways. This application does not limit the sending method.

[0136] Exemplarily, the network device sends the first system information in a first cell, where the first cell is any cell belonging to the network device.

[0137] Step 403: The terminal device performs measurement according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0138] This step 403 is the same as the aforementioned step 303 .

[0139] Step 404: The terminal device ignores the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0140] The terminal device obtains the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list from the first system information and determines that the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list contains invalid information.

[0141] The terminal device may ignore the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, that is, the terminal device does not perform measurements according to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Alternatively, the terminal device considers the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list invalid, or the terminal device does not process / perform measurements for the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, or the terminal device does not store the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, or the terminal device ignores the cell reselection information in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0142] Exemplarily, the terminal device does not perform measurements based on the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and may also not perform measurements on the inter-frequency carrier frequency information (InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo) containing invalid information in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, that is, ignores the inter-frequency carrier frequency information containing invalid information in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0143] It should be noted that the terminal device described in the embodiment of Figure 4 above refers to an upgraded terminal device (also called a new terminal device, or a terminal device that supports the above-mentioned second cell and optionally also supports the above-mentioned third cell). The terminal device can parse both the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list and the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list. Therefore, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device performs measurements according to the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list (i.e., the above-mentioned step 403), and ignores the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list (i.e., the above-mentioned step 404).

[0144] For terminal devices before the upgrade (also called old terminal devices or old terminal devices, or terminal devices that support the above-mentioned third cell but do not support the above-mentioned second cell), the terminal device cannot parse the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list, but can parse the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list. Therefore, after the terminal device receives the first system information, it ignores the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list because it cannot parse the first hetero-frequency carrier frequency list (that is, the above-mentioned step 403 is not executed), and after parsing the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list, the terminal device ignores the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list (that is, the above-mentioned step 404).

[0145] Two different implementation methods for the terminal device to determine that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information are introduced below.

[0146] Method A: The terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on information of the first field in the cell reselection information of at least one third cell included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0147] Exemplarily, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on information in the first field of the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Alternatively, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on information in the first field of the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #2 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on information in the first field of the cell reselection information of the third cell #2 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0148] Exemplarily, the first field may be at least one of a band list, a downlink carrier frequency, an SSB subcarrier spacing, a cell minimum access quality level, a cell reselection time delay, a high priority reselection threshold, or a low priority reselection threshold.

[0149] Based on implementation method A, when the information of the first field is a dummy value, a filler value, a reserved value, a special value or a specific value, or is called a dummy item, a filler item, a reserved item or a specific item, the cell reselection information is invalid information.

[0150] For example, when the value of the band list of a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list is 1023, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information.

[0151] For another example, when the band list value of a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list is any value between 1000 and 1023, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information.

[0152] For another example, when the value of the band list of a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list is greater than 1000, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information.

[0153] For another example, when the value of the downlink carrier frequency of a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list does not have a corresponding global synchronization channel number (GSCN), the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information.

[0154] For another example, when the value of the downlink carrier frequency of a certain inter-frequency carrier frequency information in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is less than a certain threshold, greater than a certain threshold, or within a certain range, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information. Exemplarily, when the value of the downlink carrier frequency is less than 250 MHz, or greater than 99988.32 MHz, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information included in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information, or determines that the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is invalid information.

[0155] Method B: If the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes information of the first cell, then the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information.

[0156] Exemplarily, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on the information of the first cell in the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Alternatively, the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on the information of the first cell in the cell reselection information of the third cell #1 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of the third cell #2 in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information based on the information of the first cell in the cell reselection information of the third cell #2 included in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0157] When the terminal device determines that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list includes information of the first cell, the terminal device determines that the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list contains not the cell reselection information of the hetero-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, but the information of the same-frequency cell of the first cell, and therefore determines that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second hetero-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information.

[0158] In the embodiment of FIG. 4 above, a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list can be carried in the same system information (i.e., the first system information), and the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information. The terminal device can identify that the cell reselection information of at least one third cell in the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is invalid information, thereby not performing measurements based on the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and only performing measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. When the first system information is SIB4, the solution implements SIB4 compatible with the prior art, carries the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the existing SIB4, and the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list contains invalid information, so that existing UEs or UEs that do not support the second cell do not perform measurements based on the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, thereby avoiding erroneous interpretation of the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list and performing measurements, resulting in signaling waste or other errors. At the same time, there is no need to introduce an additional SIB to send the above-mentioned first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0159] Scenario 2: There is only the third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and there is no second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0160] For scenario 2 of implementation method 1, if only the third cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell and the second cell does not exist, SIB4 can be sent according to the method of the prior art. The SIB4 includes an inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and the cell reselection information is valid information. The specific implementation method can refer to the prior art and will not be repeated here.

[0161] For scenario 2 of implementation method 1, the terminal device before the upgrade (also called the old terminal device or the old terminal device, or the terminal device that supports the above-mentioned third cell but does not support the above-mentioned second cell) and the terminal device after the upgrade (also called the new terminal device, or the terminal device that supports the above-mentioned second cell and optionally also supports the above-mentioned third cell) can both parse the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list in the SIB4, and therefore receive SIB4, and parse or read the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list in SIB4, and then perform measurements based on the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0162] Scenario three: the second cell and the third cell exist simultaneously in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0163] For scenario three of implementation method one, if a second cell and a third cell exist simultaneously in the first cell, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list may be carried simultaneously in the same system information (e.g., first system information, which may be, for example, SIB4). The first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, and the spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value. The cell reselection information of at least one second cell included in the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list is valid information. The third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value. The cell reselection information of at least one third cell included in the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list is valid information.

[0164] Based on scenario three, for a terminal device before the upgrade (also referred to as an old terminal device or an old terminal device, or a terminal device that supports the third cell but does not support the second cell), the terminal device cannot (or does not support) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the first system information, ignores or discards the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, parses or reads the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, and performs measurement according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0165] For an upgraded terminal device (also referred to as a new terminal device, or referred to as a terminal device that supports both the second cell and the third cell), the terminal device can (or supports) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and optionally can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the first system information, parses or reads the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, and performs measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and parses or reads the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, and performs measurements based on the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0166] The above are specific implementation methods for three different situations in which the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are sent in the same system information.

[0167] In a second implementation method, the cell reselection information of the second cell and the cell reselection information of the third cell are respectively sent in different system information.

[0168] For the second implementation method, the system information used to send the cell reselection information of the second cell of the first cell is called the first system information, and the system information used to send the cell reselection information of the third cell of the first cell is called the second system information.

[0169] Specifically, the first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, the spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one second cell included in the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list is valid information. The second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value. The cell reselection information of the at least one third cell included in the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list is valid information.

[0170] The first system information does not include the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the second system information does not include the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0171] The first system information may be called SIBx, where the value of x may be different from 1 to 24 in the prior art, for example, SIBx may be SIB25, SIB26, SIB27, SIB28, SIB29, etc. The second system information is SIB4 in the prior art.

[0172] The second implementation method is described below in three different situations.

[0173] Scenario 1: There is only the second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and there is no third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0174] For scenario 1 of implementation method 2, if only the second cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and no third cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the network device only needs to send the first system information of the first cell and does not need to send the second system information of the first cell. For the content of the first system information and the second system information, refer to the previous description.

[0175] For a specific implementation method of the network device sending the first system information of the first cell, reference may be made to the embodiment of FIG3 .

[0176] Based on this scenario 1, for a terminal device before the upgrade (also referred to as an old terminal device or an old terminal device, or a terminal device that supports the third cell but does not support the second cell), the terminal device cannot (or does not support) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device does not receive or parse the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, or receives the first system information but does not parse, ignore, or discard the first system information.

[0177] For an upgraded terminal device (also referred to as a new terminal device, or a terminal device that supports both the second cell and the third cell), the terminal device can (or supports) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and optionally can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the first system information, parses or reads the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, and performs measurement according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0178] Scenario 2: There is only the third cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and there is no second cell in the inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell.

[0179] For scenario 2 of implementation method 2, if only the third cell exists in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell, and the second cell does not exist in the inter-frequency neighboring cells of the first cell, the network device only needs to send the second system information of the first cell and does not need to send the first system information of the first cell. For the content of the first system information and the second system information, refer to the previous description.

[0180] For a specific implementation method of the network device sending the second system information of the first cell, reference may be made to the prior art.

[0181] Based on the second scenario, for a terminal device before the upgrade (also referred to as an old terminal device or an old terminal device, or a terminal device that supports the third cell but does not support the second cell), the terminal device cannot (or does not support) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the second system information, reads or parses the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the second system information, and performs measurement according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0182] For an upgraded terminal device (also referred to as a new terminal device, or a terminal device that supports both the second cell and the third cell), the terminal device can (or supports) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and optionally can also (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the second system information, reads or parses the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the second system information, and performs measurement according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0183] Scenario three: the second cell and the third cell exist in the first cell at the same time.

[0184] For scenario 3 of implementation method 2, if the first cell simultaneously includes the second cell and the third cell, the network device needs to send both the first system information of the first cell and the second system information of the first cell. Based on this, for scenario 3 of implementation method 2, the corresponding solution provided by the embodiment of this application can refer to the embodiment of Figure 5.

[0185] Based on scenario three, for the terminal device before the upgrade (also called the old terminal device or the old terminal device, or the terminal device that supports the third cell but does not support the second cell), the terminal device cannot (or does not support) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, but can (or supports) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the first system information, ignores or discards or does not parse the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information. Or the terminal device does not receive the first system information. The terminal device receives the second system information, reads or parses the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the second system information, and performs measurements according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0186] For the upgraded terminal device (also called a new terminal device, or a terminal device that supports both the second cell and the third cell), the terminal device can (or supports) parsing the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and optionally can also (or support) parsing the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the first system information, reads or parses the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information, and performs measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives the second system information, reads or parses the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the second system information, and performs measurements based on the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. For the specific implementation content of the terminal device, please refer to the description of the embodiment of Figure 5 below.

[0187] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is a specific example of the embodiment of FIG3 above. The method includes the following steps:

[0188] Steps 501 to 503 are the same as steps 301 to 303 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 .

[0189] Step 504: The network device determines the second system information of the first cell.

[0190] The second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list including cell reselection information of at least one third cell, where the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and a frequency spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to a threshold. The cell reselection information of the at least one third cell included in the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list is valid information.

[0191] Step 505: The network device sends the second system information.

[0192] Exemplarily, the network device may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the first system information.

[0193] The second system information is SIB4 in the prior art.

[0194] Exemplarily, the network device sends the second system information in the first cell.

[0195] Step 506: The terminal device performs measurement according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0196] The terminal device receives the second system information of the first cell, obtains a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list from the second system information, and performs measurement based on the cell reselection information of each third cell in the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. If the terminal device measures a meeting-condition inter-frequency neighboring cell, the terminal device may reselect to the inter-frequency neighboring cell.

[0197] It should be noted that there is no limitation on the timing relationship between any step from step 501 to step 503 and any step from step 504 to step 506. For example, step 504 can be executed before or after any step from step 501 to step 503, step 505 can be executed before or after any step from step 501 to step 503, and step 506 can be executed before or after any step from step 501 to step 503.

[0198] In the embodiment of FIG. 5 above, steps 503 and 506 are performed by the same terminal device. In another implementation method, steps 503 and 506 may be performed by different terminal devices, respectively. For example, terminal device 1 receives first system information and then performs measurement based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the first system information. Terminal device 2 receives second system information and then performs measurement based on the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the second system information.

[0199] In the embodiment of FIG. 5 above, different system information carries a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, respectively. The terminal device can perform measurements based on the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. When both system information used to send the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list are SIBs, this solution can be implemented without changing the SIB4 of the prior art, which is used to send the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Only another SIB needs to be introduced to send the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Therefore, cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells is sent in different SIBs, which can avoid incorrect identification by the terminal device and help the terminal device accurately identify cell reselection information for different types of inter-frequency neighboring cells.

[0200] In one of the above schemes, two inter-frequency carrier frequency lists are carried in one system information, namely a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list and a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, wherein the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list corresponds to at least one first cell, and the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list corresponds to at least two first cells. In another scheme, two system information are each carried an inter-frequency carrier frequency list. Specifically, the first system information carries the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the second system information carries the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The first inter-frequency carrier frequency list corresponds to at least one first cell, and the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list corresponds to at least two first cells.

[0201] In another solution, the embodiment of the present application may also carry an inter-frequency carrier frequency list in a system information, wherein the inter-frequency carrier frequency list contains one or more inter-frequency carrier frequency information, and each inter-frequency carrier frequency information includes the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of an inter-frequency neighboring area of ​​the first cell, and the inter-frequency neighboring area here can be either the second cell defined above or the third cell defined above. That is, this embodiment carries the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of all / any neighboring areas of the first cell through an inter-frequency carrier frequency list. And the second cell and the third cell can be distinguished by the value of the band list in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information. The implementation method is described below in conjunction with Figure 6.

[0202] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is executed by a network device or a module (such as a chip) of the network device, and by a terminal device or a module (such as a chip) of the terminal device. The following description uses the network device and the terminal device as an example to illustrate the method.

[0203] The method comprises the following steps:

[0204] Step 601: The network device determines system information of a first cell.

[0205] The system information includes an inter-frequency carrier frequency list, which includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell and / or cell reselection information of at least one third cell. For the definition of the second cell and the third cell, reference may be made to the description in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0206] For example, the inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes at least two inter-frequency carrier frequency information, where part of the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell, and the other part of the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell. Optionally, a band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell is greater than a first threshold, and a band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0207] For example, the inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes at least one inter-frequency carrier frequency information, where the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell or the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell. Optionally, a band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell is greater than a first threshold, and a band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0208] For example, the values ​​of the band list in the existing protocol are all less than 1000 (the maximum value is 263), and the bands for the second cell currently only include bands n100, n106, n26, n28, and n85. In one implementation method, the band values ​​of the second cell can be expanded to above 1000 by adding an offset value, so as to achieve the purpose of distinguishing the second cell from the third cell by the band values. Here, 1000 is an example of the first threshold. For example, if the offset value is 1000, the band values ​​of bands n100, n106, n26, n28, and n85 in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information are set to 1110, 1106, 1026, 1028, and 1085. In another implementation method, different offset values ​​are added for different band values ​​so that the value of each band is greater than or equal to the first threshold (e.g., 1000). For example, n100 is increased by 901, n106 is increased by 896, n26 is increased by 977, n28 is increased by 976, and n85 is increased by 920, and the values ​​of the bands in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information are obtained as 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, and 1005 respectively.

[0209] It is understandable that the band of the second cell corresponds to the band information in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information. For example, if the band of the second cell is n100, the band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information is 1100, and so on. The network device determines the system information of the first cell based on the corresponding relationship.

[0210] Based on this example, if the value of the band in a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is greater than or equal to 1000, then the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell; if the value of the band in a certain hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is less than 1000, then the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information is the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell.

[0211] Step 602: The network device sends system information.

[0212] Exemplarily, the network device may broadcast, multicast, or unicast the system information, or may send the system information in other ways. This application does not limit the sending method.

[0213] Exemplarily, the network device sends the system information in a first cell, which is any cell belonging to the network device.

[0214] Step 603: The terminal device performs measurement according to the inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0215] For terminal devices before the upgrade (also called old terminal devices or old terminal devices, or terminal devices that support the above-mentioned third cell but do not support the above-mentioned second cell), the terminal device cannot (or does not support) parsing the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list, but can (or support) parsing the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list. This is because: the terminal device does not support the value of the band greater than or equal to 1000. The terminal device receives system information, ignores or discards the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell in the system information, and / or parses or reads the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell in the system information, and performs measurements based on the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell.

[0216] For the upgraded terminal device (also called a new terminal device, or a dedicated terminal device / specific terminal device, or a terminal device that supports both the second cell and the third cell), the terminal device can (or supports) parsing the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell in the inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and optionally can (or supports) parsing the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell in the inter-frequency carrier frequency list. The terminal device receives system information, parses or reads the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell in the inter-frequency carrier frequency list in the system information, and performs measurement based on the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell in the inter-frequency carrier frequency list. After reading the band value in the inter-frequency carrier frequency information of the second cell, the terminal device also subtracts the offset value from the band value to obtain the actual band value. For example, in the aforementioned example, if the offset value is 1000, if 1100 is obtained, the actual corresponding band is determined to be n100, and if 1106 is obtained, the actual corresponding band is determined to be n106, and so on. It can be understood that the terminal device determines the band information of the second cell based on the above-mentioned correspondence. Optionally, the terminal device may also parse or read the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list in the system information, and perform measurement based on the hetero-frequency carrier frequency information of the third cell in the hetero-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0217] It is understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device or network device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0218] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, or a module (such as a chip) applied to the terminal device or the network device.

[0219] The communication device 700 shown in Figure 7 includes a processing unit 710 and a transceiver unit 720. The communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiment.

[0220] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the function of the terminal equipment in the above method embodiment, the transceiver unit 720 is used to receive first system information of a first cell, where the first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, where the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, where the second cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and where the frequency spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value; and the processing unit 710 is used to perform measurement according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0221] In one possible implementation method, the first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0222] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 710 is further configured to not perform measurement according to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list; or ignore the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0223] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 710 is further configured to determine, based on information of a first field in the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell, that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0224] In one possible implementation method, the first field includes one or more of the following fields: band list, downlink carrier frequency, SSB subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

[0225] In a possible implementation method, the processing unit 710 is further configured to determine that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes information of the first cell, and then determine that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0226] In one possible implementation method, the transceiver unit 720 is also used to receive second system information of the first cell, where the second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, and the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value; the processing unit 710 is also used to perform measurements based on the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

[0227] In a possible implementation method, the threshold value is 5 MHz.

[0228] In a possible implementation method, the first system information is SIB4.

[0229] When the communication device 700 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment, the processing unit 710 is used to determine first system information of a first cell, where the first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, where the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, where the second cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and where the frequency spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold value; and the transceiver unit 720 is used to send the first system information.

[0230] In one possible implementation method, the first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

[0231] In a possible implementation method, the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes information of a first field, where the information of the first field is used to indicate that the cell reselection information of the third cell is invalid information.

[0232] In one possible implementation method, the first field includes one or more of the following fields: band list, downlink carrier frequency, SSB subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

[0233] In a possible implementation method, the invalid information includes information of the first cell.

[0234] In one possible implementation method, the processing unit 710 is also used to determine the second system information of the first cell, where the second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value; the transceiver unit 720 is also used to send the second system information.

[0235] In a possible implementation method, the threshold value is 5 MHz.

[0236] In a possible implementation method, the first system information is SIB4.

[0237] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 710 and the transceiver unit 720, reference can be made to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0238] The communication device 800 shown in FIG8 includes a processor 810 and an interface circuit 820. For example, the processor 810 in the communication device 800 may include one or more processors, such as processor 810a, processor 810b, and so on in the example of FIG8 . The processor 810 and the interface circuit 820 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that the interface circuit 820 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include a memory 830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810, or for storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions, or for storing data generated after the processor 810 executes instructions.

[0239] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 810 is used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 710 , and the interface circuit 820 is used to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 720 .

[0240] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0241] 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 random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (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 storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a terminal device or a network device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in an access network device or a terminal.

[0242] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. A computer program refers to a set of instructions that instruct an electronic computer or other device with message processing capabilities to perform each step of the action, usually written in a certain programming language and running on a certain target architecture. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instruction can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0243] 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.

[0244] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related 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, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next related objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next related objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0245] 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: The method comprises: receiving first system information of a first cell, where the first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, where the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, where the second cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and a spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold; Measurement is performed according to the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The method further comprises: According to the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, no measurement is performed; or, The second inter-frequency carrier frequency list is ignored.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The method further comprises: According to information of the first field in the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell, it is determined that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The first field includes one or more of the following fields: Band list, downlink carrier frequency, synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The method further comprises: If it is determined that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes the information of the first cell, it is determined that the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: receiving second system information of the first cell, where the second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and a frequency spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold; Measurement is performed according to the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The threshold value is 5 MHz.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first system information is SIB4.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determining first system information of a first cell, where the first system information includes a first inter-frequency carrier frequency list, where the first inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one second cell, where the second cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, and a spectrum of the second cell is less than a threshold; Send the first system information.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The first system information also includes a second inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the second inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, the third cell is an inter-frequency neighboring cell of the first cell, the spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the cell reselection information of the at least one third cell is invalid information.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The cell reselection information of the at least one third cell includes information of a first field, where the information of the first field is used to indicate that the cell reselection information of the third cell is invalid information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The first field includes one or more of the following fields: Band list, downlink carrier frequency, synchronization signal block SSB subcarrier spacing, cell minimum access quality level, cell reselection time delay, high priority reselection threshold or low priority reselection threshold.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein The invalidation information includes information of the first cell.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein The method further comprises: determining second system information of the first cell, where the second system information includes a third inter-frequency carrier frequency list, the third inter-frequency carrier frequency list includes cell reselection information of at least one third cell, and a frequency spectrum of the third cell is greater than or equal to the threshold; Send the second system information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that The threshold value is 5 MHz.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that The first system information is SIB4.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises one or more processors and one or more interface circuits, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuits and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed on a processor, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17 to be performed.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 9 or the method described in any one of claims 10 to 17 is implemented.

21. A chip or a chip system, characterized in that: include: One or more processors, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

22. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a terminal device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and a network device for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

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