Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus, which realize one-step access of a terminal device. In the method, an access network device sends first information to a terminal device, wherein the first information is configured to configure a time-domain and / or frequency-domain resource for one-step access, and the first information is carried in a downlink message; and the terminal device receives the first information, and sends second information to the access network device on the time-domain and / or frequency-domain resource on the basis of data to be transmitted, wherein the second information comprises said data.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on March 5, 2024, with application number 202410251700.1 and application name “Communication Methods and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

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

[0003] In the new radio (NR) system, to save resource overhead during communication, idle or inactive terminal devices can complete data transmission through a small data transmission method (i.e., completing data transmission through a very simple signaling process). Since this small data transmission method does not require radio resource control (RRC) state transition and RRC connection establishment, it can save a lot of signaling overhead.

[0004] However, currently, terminal devices need to obtain transmission resources through random access before sending data transmission, and one-step access is not possible. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related apparatus to achieve one-step access of terminal devices.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a first communication device. For example, the first communication device can be a terminal device, or a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions, which is not limited by the present application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following describes the method using a terminal device as an example of the first communication device.

[0007] Exemplarily, the method includes: receiving first information from an access network device, the first information being used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, the first information being carried in a downlink message; and sending second information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources based on the data to be transmitted, the second information including the data.

[0008] One-step access refers to sending data and / or access messages without going through a random access process or establishing an RRC connection.

[0009] The downlink message may be, for example, one or more messages of an RRC release message, a system message, or an RRC reconfiguration message, etc. The RRC release message is used to release a terminal device in a connected state to a non-connected state, and the system message is received by the terminal device in the non-connected state.

[0010] Based on this method, before transmitting data, the terminal device does not need to obtain transmission resources through a random process or establish an RRC connection. Instead, it can configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access through the first information carried in the RRC release message and / or system message, and transmit data on the resources configured by the first information. This achieves one-step access for the terminal device, reduces the signaling overhead before data transmission, and shortens the data transmission delay.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving indication information from the access network device, the indication information being used to indicate at least one bit number, the bit number of the second information being the first bit number among the at least one bit number.

[0012] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink message.

[0013] Exemplarily, if the number of the at least one bit number is one, the first bit data is the at least one bit number; if the number of the at least one bit number is multiple, the first bit number may be any one of the at least one bit number.

[0014] Based on this method, using the first number of bits as the number of bits of the information to be transmitted (for example, the second information) can ensure that the number of bits of the information sent by the terminal device is the same, thereby reducing the complexity of decoding on the network side.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining a first coverage level based on a measurement result of signal quality; and determining the first number of bits from the at least one number of bits based on the first coverage level.

[0016] Optionally, there is a correspondence between at least one bit number and at least one coverage level, and determining the first bit number from the at least one bit number according to the first coverage level includes: determining the first bit number according to the first coverage level and the correspondence.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the first number of bits is greater than or equal to a target number of bits, determining to transmit the data, the target number of bits being the number of bits of the target data.

[0018] Optionally, the target data may be the data to be transmitted.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, and the target data is padded according to the first number of bits to reach the first number of bits.

[0020] Optionally, the target data is the data to be transmitted, and the filling of the target data according to the first number of bits to reach the first number of bits includes: filling the data to be transmitted according to the first number of bits to reach the first number of bits.

[0021] The padding may be performed at the physical layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, the RRC layer, or the non-access stratum (NAS) layer.

[0022] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned filling bits may be "0" and / or "1", and the filling position may be any position of the target data.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second information further includes an identifier of a terminal, and the identifier of the terminal is used to identify the terminal device.

[0024] Since the first number of bits is the number of bits of the second information, when the second information also includes the terminal identifier, the above-mentioned target data includes the data to be transmitted and the terminal identifier, and the target number of bits is the sum of the number of bits of the data to be transmitted and the number of bits of the terminal identifier.

[0025] It can be understood that if the second information also includes other fields, then the above-mentioned target data also includes the other fields.

[0026] Optionally, the terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in a one-step access mode, a short-term mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI), or a truncated S-TMSI.

[0027] The terminal identifier in this application may be determined by the terminal device and / or the core network device.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending third information to the core network device, the third information being used to request allocation of an identifier of the terminal; and receiving the identifier of the terminal from the core network device.

[0029] Exemplarily, the third information may be carried in an RRC registration request message.

[0030] Optionally, the sending of the third information to the core network device includes: sending the third information to the core network device via the access network device. Exemplarily, the terminal device sends the third information to the access network device, and the access network device receives the third information and sends the third information to the core network device.

[0031] Exemplarily, the third information sent by the terminal device to the access network device may be carried in an RRC establishment completion message, message 5 (Msg5) or capability information.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, after sending the second information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources based on the data to be transmitted, the method also includes: receiving a conflict resolution message from the access network device, the conflict resolution message carrying the identifier of the terminal.

[0033] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0034] It can be understood that the first indication can also be called a first instruction or a first field.

[0035] Exemplarily, when there is no data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the first indication in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0036] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a radio network temporary identity (RNTI), and the RNTI is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0037] Exemplarily, when there is data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the RNTI in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0038] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a second communication device. For example, the second communication device can be an access network device, or a component configured in the access network device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device, which is not limited by the present application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following describes the method using an access network device as an example of the second communication device.

[0039] Exemplarily, the method includes: sending first information to a terminal device, the first information being used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, the first information being carried in a downlink message; and receiving second information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the second information including data to be transmitted.

[0040] Regarding the description of one-step access and downlink messages, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0041] Based on this method, the access network device can carry the first information for configuring the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access in the downlink message without performing a random access process or establishing an RRC connection process, so that the terminal device can transmit data on the configured time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device, reducing the signaling overhead before output transmission, and shortening the data transmission delay.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending indication information to the terminal device, the indication information being used to indicate at least one bit number, the bit number of the second information being the first bit number among the at least one bit number.

[0043] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink message.

[0044] For the description of at least one bit number and the first bit number, please refer to the relevant description in the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth information to the core network device based on the second information, where the fourth information includes the data to be transmitted.

[0046] Exemplarily, if the second information does not include a padding part, the fourth information may be the second information; if the second information includes a padding part, the access network device needs to remove the padding part to obtain the fourth information.

[0047] The padding portion may be an indication from the terminal device to the access network device. The padding portion refers to the bits filled by the terminal device to make the length of the second information sent reach the first bit number when the number of bits of the data to be transmitted is less than the first bit number.

[0048] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second information further includes an identifier of the terminal.

[0049] Optionally, the method further includes: sending the terminal identifier to the core network device.

[0050] Optionally, the terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in a one-step access mode, an S-TMSI, or a truncated S-TMSI.

[0051] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, after receiving the second information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the method further includes: sending a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, wherein the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

[0052] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0053] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries RNTI, and the RNTI is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0054] For the description of the first indication information and RNTI, please refer to the description of the first aspect above and will not be repeated here.

[0055] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a first communication device. For example, the first communication device can be a terminal device, or a component configured in the terminal device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions, which is not limited by the present application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following describes the method using a terminal device as an example of the first communication device.

[0056] Exemplarily, the method includes: receiving fifth information from an access network device, the fifth information being used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, the fifth information being carried in a downlink message; receiving a second paging message from the access network device, the second paging message including an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; and sending sixth information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the sixth information including an identifier of the terminal, the identifier of the terminal being determined by the core network device and / or the terminal device.

[0057] The first paging message may be generated and sent by the access network device according to downlink data.

[0058] For the description of one-step access and downlink messages, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] Based on this method, after receiving the second paging message, the terminal device does not need to receive downlink data through a random process or an RRC connection establishment process, but can configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access through the fifth information carried in the downlink message, and send the terminal identifier on the resources configured by the fifth information, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device and directly receiving downlink data after one-step access, reducing the signaling overhead before data transmission.

[0060] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the identifier of the terminal includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in the one-step access mode, an S-TMSI, or a truncated S-TMSI.

[0061] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending third information to the core network device, the third information being used to request allocation of an identifier of the terminal; and receiving the identifier of the terminal from the core network device.

[0062] For the description of the third information, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0063] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving indication information from the access network device, the indication information being used to indicate at least one bit number, the bit number of the sixth information being the second bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0064] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink message.

[0065] Exemplarily, if the number of the at least one bit number is one, the second bit data is the at least one bit number; if the number of the at least one bit number is multiple, the second bit number is any one of the at least one bit number.

[0066] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: determining a second coverage level based on a measurement result of the signal quality; and determining the second number of bits from the at least one number of bits based on the second coverage level.

[0067] Optionally, there is a correspondence between at least one bit number and at least one coverage level, and determining the second bit number from the at least one bit number according to the first coverage level includes: determining the second bit number according to the first coverage level and the correspondence.

[0068] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: determining whether to fill the terminal identifier based on the size relationship between the second number of bits and the number of bits of the terminal identifier; and, when the second number of bits is greater than the number of bits of the terminal identifier, determining to fill the terminal identifier; or, when the second number of bits is equal to the number of bits of the terminal identifier, determining not to fill the terminal identifier.

[0069] Optionally, the second number of bits is greater than the number of bits of the terminal identifier, and the method further includes: padding the terminal identifier to reach the second number of bits.

[0070] Based on this method, using the second number of bits as the number of bits of the information to be transmitted can ensure that the number of bits of the information sent by the terminal device is the same, thereby reducing the complexity of decoding on the network side.

[0071] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, after sending the second information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the method further includes: receiving downlink data from a core network device.

[0072] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, after sending the sixth information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the method further includes: receiving a conflict resolution message from the access network device, the conflict resolution message carrying the identifier of the terminal.

[0073] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0074] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries RNTI, and the RNTI is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0075] Fourthly, the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a second communication device. For example, the second communication device can be an access network device, or a component configured in the access network device (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device, which is not limited by the present application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following describes the method using an access network device as an example of the second communication device.

[0076] Exemplarily, the method includes: sending fifth information to the terminal device, the fifth information is used to configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the fifth information is carried in a downlink message; receiving a first paging message from a core network device, the first paging message including an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; sending a second paging message, the second paging message including an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; receiving sixth information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the sixth information including an identifier of the terminal, and the identifier of the terminal is determined by the core network device and / or the terminal device.

[0077] The second paging message is generated by the access network device according to the first paging message after the access network device receives the first paging message.

[0078] For the description of one-step access and downlink messages, please refer to the relevant description of the first aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0079] Based on this method, after sending a second paging message to the terminal device, the access network device can carry the first information for configuring the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access in the downlink message without performing the random access process or the RRC connection establishment process, so that the terminal device can send the terminal identifier on the configured time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device.

[0080] Optionally, the terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in the one-step access mode, a short-term mobile user identifier, or a truncated short-term mobile user identifier.

[0081] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending indication information to the terminal device, the indication information being used to indicate at least one bit number, the bit number of the second information being the second bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0082] Optionally, the indication information is carried in the downlink message.

[0083] Regarding the description of the at least one bit number and the second bit number, reference may be made to the description of the third aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0084] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: sending seventh information to the core network device based on the sixth information, where the seventh information includes an identifier of the terminal.

[0085] Exemplarily, if the sixth information does not include a padding part, the seventh information may be the sixth information; if the sixth information includes a padding part, the access network device needs to remove the padding part to obtain the seventh information.

[0086] For the description of the filling part, please refer to the relevant description of the second aspect above, which will not be repeated here.

[0087] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, after receiving the sixth information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the method further includes: sending a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, wherein the conflict resolution message carries the identifier of the terminal.

[0088] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, and the first indication is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0089] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries RNTI, and the RNTI is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0090] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method that can be applied to a third communication device. For example, the third communication device can be a core network device, or a component configured in the core network device (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the core network device functions, which is not limited by the present application. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following describes the method using the core network device as an example of the third communication device.

[0091] Exemplarily, the method includes: generating a first paging message based on downlink data, wherein the first paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; and sending the first paging message.

[0092] Based on this method, the core network device can send a first paging message carrying an indication that the terminal device uses a one-step access method when there is downlink data to be transmitted, so that the terminal device receiving the paging message can send the terminal identifier on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the one-step access configured by the access network device without performing a random access process or an RRC connection establishment process, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device.

[0093] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first paging message also includes the size of the downlink data volume.

[0094] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: receiving seventh information from the access network device, where the seventh information includes an identifier of the terminal.

[0095] For the description of the seventh information, please refer to the relevant description of the fourth aspect above, and will not be repeated here.

[0096] In combination with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further includes: sending the downlink data to the terminal device.

[0097] Exemplarily, sending downlink data to the terminal device includes: sending the downlink data through an access network device, that is, a core network device sends the downlink data to the access network device, the access network device receives the downlink data, and sends the downlink data to the terminal device.

[0098] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a module or unit for implementing the method in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation manner of any of the aspects.

[0099] It should be understood that each module or unit can implement corresponding functions by executing computer programs.

[0100] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the method described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation manner of any of the aspects.

[0101] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the above aspects may be implemented.

[0102] The apparatus may further include a communication interface, where the communication interface is used for the apparatus to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0103] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip or chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation of any aspect, for example, receiving or processing the data and / or information involved in the above method.

[0104] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located inside or outside the processor.

[0105] The chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0106] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation of any of the aspects.

[0107] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when executed, enables a computer to execute the method in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation of any of the aspects.

[0108] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising the aforementioned first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is configured to execute the method according to the aforementioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the second communication device is configured to execute the method according to the aforementioned second aspect and any possible implementation thereof; or the second communication device is configured to execute the method according to the aforementioned third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the second communication device is configured to execute the method according to the aforementioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0109] Optionally, the communication system may further include the aforementioned third communication device, which is used to execute the method in the above-mentioned fifth aspect and any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect.

[0110] It should be understood that the sixth to eleventh aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0111] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the main access process of NR small data transmission;

[0113] 3 to 6 are schematic flow charts of the communication method provided by the embodiments provided in this application;

[0114] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG8 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0116] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0117] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are first explained:

[0118] First, in the embodiments of this application, prefixes such as "first" and "second" are used solely to distinguish and describe different items belonging to the same category, and do not constrain the order, size, or quantity of the items. For example, in a terminal device access network device, "first information" and "second information" are simply different pieces of information; there is no temporal, size, or priority relationship between the two.

[0119] Second, the "sending" and "receiving" in the embodiments of the present application indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending the second information to the access network device" can be understood as the destination end of the information being the access network device, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also includes indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving the first information from the access network device" can be understood as the source end of the configuration information being the access network device, which can include direct receiving from the access network device through the air interface, and also includes indirect receiving from the access network device through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0120] In other words, sending and receiving can be carried out between devices, for example, between access network equipment and terminal equipment; it can also be carried out within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0121] It is understood that before information is sent from the source to the destination, it may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation. After receiving the information from the source, the destination may also perform corresponding processing, such as decoding and demodulation, to interpret the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0122] Third, in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship, but does not exclude the situation where the previous and next associated objects are in an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0123] Fourth, in the embodiments of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the indication information described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated may also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein the other information has an association relationship with the information to be indicated; or only a part of the information to be indicated may be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information may be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as predefined by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. The present application does not limit the specific method of indication.

[0124] It can be understood that, for the sender of the indication information, the indication information can be used to indicate the information to be indicated, and for the receiver of the indication information, the indication information can be used to determine the information to be indicated.

[0125] Fifth, in the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as an access network device or a terminal device) will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, and does not require the device (such as an access network device or a terminal device) to have a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0126] Sixth, the predefined in this application can be understood as: define, predefine, store, pre-store, pre-negotiate, pre-configure, solidify, or pre-burn.

[0127] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, sidelink (SL) communication system, world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system or new radio access technology (NR), satellite communication system, etc. Among them, the 5G mobile communication system can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking.

[0128] The technical solution provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0129] The access network device in this application is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as a radio access network (RAN) device, which is used to provide wireless communication services and connect terminal devices to a wireless network. The radio access network device can be a node in the radio access network, referred to as a RAN node.

[0130] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station (BS), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a home evolved NodeB (HNB), a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), a mobile switching center, a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next-generation NodeB in a 6G mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can also be a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. A RAN node can also be a RAN node in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), meaning that the RAN node can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. A RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor base station, a relay node, a donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a node in an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) scenario. Alternatively, a RAN node can be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, a RAN node in V2X technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). Of course, a RAN node can also be a node in the core network.

[0131] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0132] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may be referred to as Open CU (O-CU), DU may be referred to as Open DU (O-DU), CU-CP may be referred to as Open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), CU-UP may be referred to as Open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and RU may be referred to as Open RU (O-RU).

[0133] Among them, any unit among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. That is, the wireless access network device in this application can be a virtualized device, for example, implemented by general hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or by dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. Among them, the general hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

[0134] The terminal device in this application has the ability to send carrier signals. The terminal device can also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device.

[0135] The terminal device may be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminal devices may include: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, drones, wireless terminals in remote medical care, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future evolved public land mobile communication networks (PLMNs). Mobile network, PLMN) terminal equipment, etc.

[0136] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0137] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be end devices in IoT systems. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the internet through communication technologies, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

[0138] In addition, terminal devices can also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Their main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from access network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to access network devices.

[0139] The terminal device in this application may be a virtualized device, for example, implemented by general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or by dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. The general-purpose hardware may be a server, for example, a cloud server.

[0140] It should be understood that the present application does not limit the specific forms of the wireless access network device and the terminal device.

[0141] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 100 applicable to the method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system 100 includes a radio access network 10 and a core network 20. Optionally, the communication system 100 may also include the Internet 30. The radio access network 10 may include at least one radio access network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 ) and at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1 ).

[0142] Terminal devices can connect to radio access network equipment wirelessly, and radio access network equipment can connect to the core network wirelessly or via wired connections. Core network equipment and radio access network equipment can be independent, distinct physical devices, or they can integrate the core network equipment's functions and the radio access network equipment's logical functions into the same physical device. Alternatively, a single physical device can integrate some core network equipment functions and some radio access network equipment functions. Terminal devices and radio access network equipment can connect to each other via wired or wireless connections.

[0143] Wireless access network devices and terminal devices, as well as wireless access network devices and terminal devices, can communicate via licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both. They can communicate via spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or both. The embodiments of this application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0144] The wireless access network device may be a base station deployed in the air, such as a satellite base station 110a; or a base station deployed indoors, such as a micro base station or an indoor station 110b.

[0145] The terminal device can be a terminal device deployed in the air, such as the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1; it can also be a terminal device deployed on the ground, such as the mobile phones 120a, 120e, 120f and 120j, vehicle 120b, computer 120g, printer 120h, etc. in Figure 1.

[0146] Wireless access network equipment and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. For example, they can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites.

[0147] The roles of radio access network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. For devices 120j accessing the radio access network 10 via 120i, 120i is a base station; however, for 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 radio access network devices. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, radio access network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a, 110b, and 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices having their respective functions, such as base station functions or terminal device functions.

[0148] It should be understood that FIG1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may further include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG1 .

[0149] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below.

[0150] 1. Connected state: This is also called the RRC_connected state. In the connected state, an RRC connection exists between the terminal device and the access network equipment, and a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling connection exists between the terminal device and the core network equipment (such as the mobility management network element). In the RRC_connected state, both the access network equipment and the core network equipment store the terminal device context.

[0151] 2. Disconnected state: refers to not being in a connected state. Disconnected state includes idle state and / or inactive state.

[0152] The inactive state can be referred to as the RRC_inactive state. In the inactive state, there is no RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network device. The access network device stores the context of the terminal device, and the core network device can also store the context of the terminal device. However, the access network device does not know the specific cell within the access network device's coverage area or whether the terminal device is within the access network device's management area. However, the core network device knows which access network device can be used to find the terminal device.

[0153] Idle state: This can be called the RRC_idle state. In the idle state, there is no RRC connection between the terminal device and the access network device, the access network device does not save the terminal device context, and there is no NAS signaling connection between the terminal device and the core network device (such as the mobility management network element).

[0154] It is understood that the above-mentioned connected state and idle state can be converted to each other, and the connected state and inactive state can be converted to each other. However, between the inactive state and idle state, the inactive state can be directly converted to the idle state, but the idle state cannot be directly converted to the inactive state.

[0155] Regarding the connected state, the non-connected state, the inactive state and the idle state, reference may be made to the provisions of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard, which will not be described in detail here.

[0156] With the development of mobile internet applications, intermittent, small data transmissions characterized by large data arrival intervals and low single-transmission data volumes are becoming increasingly common. For example, in the IoT, the periodic positioning of smartwatches, the periodic reporting of readings by smart electricity and water meters, and the periodic or event-triggered reporting of temperature and pressure sensor readings all exhibit significant intermittent, small data characteristics. Traditional 4G and 5G data transmission mechanisms require establishing a connection between the terminal and the network for each intermittent data transmission, even if the data volume is small, and then releasing the connection after the data transmission is complete. The resulting frequent connection establishment and release increases the network's signaling load and terminal power consumption.

[0157] Therefore, in the NR system, in order to save resource overhead during the communication process, terminal devices in idle or inactive states can complete small data transmission (SDT) without resuming the RRC connection state. Since the SDT data transmission method does not require RRC state transition and RRC connection establishment, it can save a lot of signaling overhead.

[0158] Figure 2 shows the main access process for NR small data transmission. As shown in Figure 2, the process 200 may include S201 to S210. The steps shown in Figure 2 are described in detail below.

[0159] S201: A terminal device in an inactive state sends an RRC recovery request and uplink data / signaling to a receiving base station using resources obtained during a random access process. Correspondingly, the receiving base station receives the RRC recovery request and uplink data / signaling.

[0160] S202: The receiving base station identifies the last serving base station according to an inactive-RNTI (I-RNTI for short).

[0161] The I-RNTI is used to identify the context of the terminal in RRC_INACTIVE.

[0162] S203: The receiving base station sends an acquisition request to the previous serving base station, where the acquisition request is used to acquire the context of the terminal. Correspondingly, the previous serving base station receives the acquisition request.

[0163] S204: The last serving base station sends the context of the terminal to the receiving base station. Correspondingly, the receiving base station receives the context of the terminal.

[0164] S205: The receiving base station determines to continue small data transmission in the inactive state.

[0165] It can be understood that when the small data transmission continues, the receiving base station forwards the received data to the core network through the last serving base station.

[0166] S206: The receiving base station sends a path switching request to the core network device, where the path switching request is used to switch the data transmission path. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the path switching request.

[0167] S207: The core network device sends a path switching request response to the receiving base station. Correspondingly, the receiving base station receives the path switching request response.

[0168] The path switch request response indicates that the core network device agrees to switch the data transmission path.

[0169] It can be understood that after the receiving base station receives the switching response indicating that the core network device agrees to switch the data transmission path, the receiving base station can send the data from the terminal device directly to the core network device without being forwarded by the previous serving base station.

[0170] S208: The receiving base station decides to terminate the small data transmission.

[0171] S209, the receiving base station sends an RRC release message to the terminal device.

[0172] S210: Receive a message from the base station to the core network device to release the terminal context.

[0173] It can be seen that in the existing small data transmission process, random access is required to obtain transmission resources before sending data, and then data transmission is performed on the obtained transmission resources, and one-step access cannot be achieved.

[0174] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and related apparatus, in which the terminal device may not perform a random access process and / or establish an RRC connection process, but may configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access through the information of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access carried by the access network device in the system message and / or RRC release message, and may perform data transmission on the resources configured by the information, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device.

[0175] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 3 to 6. The method provided in the present application can be applied to the network architecture shown in Figure 1, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

[0176] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the flow chart shown in Figure 3, the method is illustrated from the perspective of device interaction, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the method. For example, the terminal device in Figure 3 can be replaced by a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the terminal device to implement the method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions; the access network device in Figure 3 can be replaced by a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the access network device to implement the method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the access network device functions.

[0177] As shown in Figure 3, the method 300 may include S301 and S302. The following describes each step in the method 300 in detail.

[0178] S301: An access network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the access network device.

[0179] One-step access means that data and / or access messages can be directly sent without going through a random access process or establishing an RRC connection.

[0180] Optionally, the first information may be carried in a downlink message, and the downlink message may be, for example, one or more of an RRC release message, a system message, or an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0181] The RRC release message is used to release a terminal device in a connected state to a non-connected state, and the system message is received by the terminal device in the non-connected state. The RRC release message is sent by the access network device to the terminal device after RRC is established when the RRC connection needs to be released. The system message can be sent by the access network device to the terminal device before RRC is established or after the access network device sends the RRC release message.

[0182] It is understood that the system message may also be referred to as a broadcast message, and the broadcast message may further include one or more of the following: a preamble set, a configuration relationship between the preamble and underlying transmission parameters, a coding interleaving mode (interleaver selection), or a data repetition mode. Exemplarily, the access network device may indicate the interleaver using the first N (N is a positive integer) bits in the preamble, and the last M (M is a positive integer) bits indicating the data repetition mode.

[0183] It should be noted that the first information can be carried in multiple downlink messages, for example, the first information is carried in an RRC release message and a system message. Exemplarily, when both the RRC release message and the system message carry the first information, the terminal device can preferentially configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access based on the first information carried in the RRC release message; alternatively, the terminal device can also preferentially configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access based on the first information carried in the system message. This application is not limited to this.

[0184] It can be understood that the above system message can also be called a broadcast message.

[0185] S302: The terminal device sends second information to the access network device based on the data to be transmitted on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources accessed in one step, the second information including the data to be transmitted. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the second information from the terminal device.

[0186] Illustratively, the data to be transmitted may be carried in a NAS message, or transmitted using a preset bearer, or transmitted via a MAC service data unit (SDU).

[0187] In an embodiment of the present application, before transmitting data, the terminal device does not need to obtain transmission resources through a random process or establish an RRC connection. Instead, it can configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access through the first information carried in the downlink message, and transmit data on the resources configured by the first information. This achieves one-step access for the terminal device, reduces the signaling overhead before data transmission, and shortens the data transmission delay.

[0188] Optionally, the above S302 may be performed by the terminal device in a non-connected state. That is, when the terminal device is in a non-connected state, the second information is sent to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the one-step access based on the data to be transmitted.

[0189] In a non-connected scenario, the data to be transmitted is characterized by being small data.

[0190] Optionally, the above S302 may be executed by the terminal device in a connected state.

[0191] Optionally, the downlink message may also include a next hop chaining count (NCC). The NCC is used to update the key. Since user plane data can be transmitted in the inactive state, the NCC can be carried to update the key for encrypted transmission to ensure communication security.

[0192] Optionally, the downlink message may further include a dedicated identifier, which is used by the terminal device to initiate a one-step access in an inactive state. The dedicated identifier may be a valid identifier in the RNA (eg, I-RNTI).

[0193] Optionally, the second information further includes a terminal identifier. The terminal identifier may include at least one of the following: a user identifier in a one-step access mode, an S-TMSI, or a truncated S-TMSI. The user identifier in the one-step access mode may be a new identifier (not a TMSI) assigned by the core network device or a truncated new identifier.

[0194] The terminal identifier in this application may be determined by the terminal device and / or the core network device.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the terminal device determines a terminal identifier from a plurality of pre-acquired terminal identifiers and notifies the access network device and / or the core network device.

[0196] In a possible implementation, the core network device proactively allocates a terminal identifier to the terminal device and indicates the allocated identifier to the terminal device.

[0197] Another possible implementation is that the terminal device can obtain the terminal identification through the following process: the terminal device sends a third message to the core network device, and the third message is used to request the allocation of the terminal identification; the core network device receives the third information and sends the terminal identification to the terminal device based on the third information.

[0198] Optionally, the terminal device may send the third information to the core network device via the access network device. That is, the terminal device sending the third information to the core network device includes: the terminal device sending the third information to the access network device; the access network device receiving the third information and sending the third information to the core network device.

[0199] Among them, the third information sent by the terminal device to the access network device can carry any of the following messages: RRC establishment completion message, message 5, or capability information.

[0200] Optionally, the second information also includes an identifier of the core network device to which the terminal device was last connected or registered.

[0201] Optionally, the second information further includes a preamble, which is used to indicate underlying transmission configuration parameters of the payload part.

[0202] Exemplarily, the underlying transmission configuration parameters include: coding interleaving mode (selection of interleaver), or data repetition mode, etc.

[0203] Optionally, before S302, the method 300 further includes: the access network device sending indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the access network device.

[0204] Each bit number of the at least one bit number indicated by the indication information may be the bit number of the second information sent by the terminal device, or the bit number of the data to be transmitted included in the second information.

[0205] The number of bits of the second information may also be referred to as the length of the second information, and the number of bits of the data to be transmitted included in the second information may also be referred to as the length of the data to be transmitted.

[0206] Optionally, the indication information may be carried in the above-mentioned downlink message.

[0207] Optionally, after the terminal device receives the indication information from the access network device, the method 300 further includes: the terminal device determining a first bit number from at least one bit number, where the first bit is the bit number of the second information or the bit number of data to be transmitted included in the second information.

[0208] Exemplarily, if the number of the at least one bit number is one, the first bit number is a bit number indicated by the indication information; if the number of the at least one bit number is multiple, the first bit number can be any one of the multiple bit numbers indicated by the indication information.

[0209] Optionally, the method 300 further includes: the terminal device determining a first coverage level according to a measurement result of the signal quality; and determining a first number of bits from at least one number of bits according to the first coverage level.

[0210] The coverage level can be understood as a signal quality range, and different coverage levels refer to different signal quality ranges.

[0211] For example, different coverage levels may be divided by reference signal received power (RSRP) range. For example, a range less than or equal to RSRP 1 is classified as coverage level 1, a range greater than RSRP 1 and less than or equal to RSRP 2 is classified as coverage level 2, and a range greater than RSRP 3 is classified as coverage level 3.

[0212] Exemplarily, when there is a correspondence between at least one bit number and at least one coverage level (or at least one bit number corresponds to at least one coverage level), the terminal device can determine the first bit number from the at least one bit number based on the first coverage level and the correspondence.

[0213] Combined with the above-mentioned coverage level example, if the number of bits corresponding to coverage level 1 is 50, the number of bits corresponding to coverage level 2 is 100, and the number of bits corresponding to coverage level 3 is 300, then the value of the RSRP measurement result of the signal quality measured at the terminal device is less than or equal to RSRP 1, the first coverage level determined by the terminal device is coverage level 1, and the first number of bits determined is 50; the value of the RSRP measurement result of the signal quality measured at the terminal device is greater than RSRP 1 and less than or equal to RSRP 2, the first coverage level determined by the terminal device is coverage level 2, and the first number of bits determined is 100; the value of the RSRP measurement result of the signal quality measured at the terminal device is greater than RSRP 3, the first coverage level determined by the terminal device is coverage level 3, and the first number of bits determined is 300.

[0214] The following describes in detail the type of the number of bits indicated by the indication information in combination with Example 1 and Example 2.

[0215] Example 1: The number of bits indicated by the indication information is the length of the second information. That is, the network device requires the terminal device to send the second information with the number of bits being the first number of bits.

[0216] Optionally, before S302, the method 300 further includes: the terminal device determines whether to send the data to be transmitted according to the first number of bits.

[0217] Exemplarily, the terminal device can determine whether to send the data to be transmitted based on the size relationship between the first bit number and the target bit number; and when the first bit number is greater than or equal to the target bit number, the terminal device determines to transmit the data; or, when the first bit number is less than the target bit number, the terminal device determines not to transmit the data.

[0218] It is understood that the target number of bits is related to the content sent by the terminal device in S302. If the terminal device only sends data to be transmitted in S302, the target number of bits is the number of bits of the data to be transmitted. If the terminal device also sends one or more of the following in S302, the target number of bits is the sum of the number of bits of the next one or more items and the number of bits of the data to be transmitted: the terminal identifier, the identifier of the core network device it last connected to or registered with, or the preamble.

[0219] Optionally, when the terminal device determines to transmit the data, the method 300 further includes: when the first number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, padding the target data to reach the first number of bits.

[0220] It can be understood that the above target number of bits is the number of bits of the target data.

[0221] According to the definition of the target number of bits in the previous text, it can be obtained that the target data includes at least one of the following items in addition to the data to be transmitted: the terminal identifier, the identifier of the core network device last connected (or registered), or a preamble, etc.

[0222] Exemplarily, the terminal device may perform filling at the physical layer, MAC layer, RRC layer or NAS layer, which is not limited in this application.

[0223] Padding refers to adding "0" or "1" to the target data so that the length of the padded target data is the first number of bits. "0" or "1" respectively represents 1 bit. For example, the terminal device may perform padding at the end, beginning, middle, or any other position of the target data. This application is not limited to this.

[0224] Example 2: The number of bits indicated by the indication information is the length of the data to be transmitted. That is, the network device requires the terminal device to send the second information including the number of bits of the data to be transmitted to be the first number of bits.

[0225] Optionally, before S302, the method 300 further includes: the terminal device determines whether to transmit the data to be transmitted according to the first number of bits.

[0226] Exemplarily, the terminal device can determine whether to transmit the data to be transmitted based on the size relationship between the first bit number and the number of bits of the data to be transmitted; and, when the first bit number is greater than or equal to the number of bits of the data to be transmitted, the terminal device determines to transmit the data; or, when the first bit number is less than the number of bits of the data to be transmitted, the terminal device determines not to transmit the data.

[0227] Optionally, when the terminal device determines to transmit the data, the method 300 further includes: when the first number of bits is greater than the number of bits of the data to be transmitted, padding the data to be transmitted according to the first number of bits to reach the first number of bits.

[0228] For the description of filling, please refer to the description in Example 1 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0229] Optionally, after S302, the method 300 further includes: the access network device sending fourth information to the core network device based on the second information, the fourth information including the data to be transmitted. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the fourth information.

[0230] As mentioned above, the terminal device can perform padding at the physical layer, MAC layer, RRC layer, or NAS layer. It is understood that if the terminal device performs padding at the physical layer, MAC layer, or RRC layer, and the second information includes a padding portion, the access network device needs to remove the padding portion to obtain the fourth information. If the terminal device performs padding at the NAS layer, and the second information includes a padding portion, the fourth information can be the second information, and the core network device removes the padding portion in the fourth information.

[0231] It can also be understood that if the second information does not include the padding part, the fourth information may be the second information.

[0232] The filling part may be indicated by the terminal device to the access network device.

[0233] Optionally, after S302, the method 300 further includes: the access network device performs conflict resolution.

[0234] Exemplarily, the access network device may use the terminal identifier, the data to be transmitted, the second information, or the truncated second information to perform conflict resolution. Specifically, the terminal identifier may be used to scramble the PDCCH, or a MAC control element (CE) or a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) may be sent to carry it.

[0235] Optionally, after the access network device performs conflict resolution, the method 300 further includes: the access network device sending a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, the conflict resolution message carrying the terminal identifier, and the terminal device correspondingly receiving the conflict resolution message.

[0236] For descriptions of the conflict resolution message, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.321 and 3GPP TS 38.321, which will not be repeated here.

[0237] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0238] Exemplarily, when there is no data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the first indication in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0239] The first indication may also be referred to as a first command or a first field.

[0240] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries RNTI, which is a radio network temporary identifier used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0241] Exemplarily, when there is data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the RNTI in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0242] The communication method provided by the present application is described in more detail below, based on the embodiment shown in FIG3 and in conjunction with FIG4. In the communication method shown in FIG4, a base station is used as an example of an access network device for illustration; and in the communication method shown in FIG4, a first bit number indicates the number of bits of data to be transmitted, and an example of a downlink message being an RRC release message or a system message is used for illustration.

[0243] It should be noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG4 , the same or similar steps as those in the embodiment shown in FIG3 can be found in the above description of the method 300 and will not be described in detail.

[0244] The following describes in detail the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by taking the arrival of uplink data when the terminal device is in a non-connected state as an example in combination with Figure 4.

[0245] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the method 400 may include steps S401 to S411. The steps in the method 400 are described in detail below.

[0246] S401, the terminal device establishes a connection with the network for the first time, and establishes a complete RRC connection with the base station after random access.

[0247] S402: The terminal device sends a registration request message to the core network device through the base station, where the registration request message is used to request to obtain the terminal identifier. Correspondingly, the core network receives the registration request message.

[0248] Exemplarily, the registration request message may carry at least one of the following: a one-step access indication, a terminal identifier for one-step access requested to be allocated by the terminal, or a terminal identifier for one-step access desired to be used by the terminal.

[0249] Optionally, the terminal device may carry at least one of the following in the capability information: a one-step access indication, a terminal identifier for one-step access requested to be allocated by the terminal, or a terminal identifier for one-step access expected to be used by the terminal, etc.

[0250] It can be understood that the capability information may be sent by the terminal after sending the registration request message.

[0251] It is also understood that when the terminal carries the above information in the registration request message, it may not carry the above information in the capability information; or, when the terminal does not carry the above information in the registration request message, it may carry the above information in the capability information. In other words, the above information may carry at least one of the following: the registration request message or the capability information.

[0252] Exemplarily, the terminal device sends a registration request message to the core network device through the base station, including: the terminal sends an RRC establishment completion message or message 5 to the base station, and the RRC establishment completion message or message 5 carries the registration request message; after receiving the RRC establishment completion message or message 5, the base station sends the registration request message to the core network device.

[0253] S403: The core network device sends a response message to the terminal device. The response message includes the terminal identifier allocated by the core network device to the terminal device.

[0254] For the description of the terminal identification, please refer to the description in the above method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0255] Optionally, the response message may further include an authorization pass indication, where the authorization pass indication is used to indicate that the one-step access authorization of the terminal device is passed.

[0256] It is understood that after S403, the terminal device can transmit uplink and downlink data, and after the data transmission is completed, the base station can continue to perform steps from S404 to S411. Alternatively, after S403, the base station directly performs steps from S404 to S411.

[0257] S404: The base station sends an RRC release message to the terminal device, where the RRC release message is used to release the terminal device to a non-connected state. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC release message and enters a non-connected state.

[0258] Optionally, the RRC release message may carry first information, where the first information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access.

[0259] Optionally, the RRC release message may also carry at least one bit number, and the at least one bit number includes the first bit number.

[0260] For other descriptions of the first information, please refer to the description in method 400 and will not be repeated here.

[0261] S405: The base station broadcasts a system message.

[0262] The system message may carry at least one bit number, and the at least one bit number includes a first bit number.

[0263] For descriptions of the system message, the at least one bit number, and the first bit number, reference may be made to the description in method 400 and will not be repeated here.

[0264] S406: When data to be transmitted arrives, the terminal device determines whether the data to be transmitted can be transmitted.

[0265] Regarding the manner in which the terminal device determines whether it can transmit the data to be transmitted, please refer to the description of Example 1 or Example 2 above and will not be repeated here.

[0266] Exemplarily, the terminal device determines whether the data to be transmitted can be transmitted, including: the terminal determines whether the size of the data to be transmitted meets the maximum size of the data packet indicated by the above system message.

[0267] Optionally, when the number of bits of the data to be transmitted is less than the first number of bits, the method 400 further includes: S407, the terminal device pads the data to be transmitted to reach the first number of bits.

[0268] Optionally, when the number of bits of the data to be transmitted is equal to the first number of bits, steps S408 to S411 may be continued.

[0269] S408: The terminal device sends second information to the base station, where the second information includes data to be transmitted. Correspondingly, the base station receives the second information.

[0270] It can be understood that if the terminal device executes S407, the second information also includes a padding part; otherwise, the second information does not include a padding part.

[0271] For other descriptions about the second information, please refer to the description in method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0272] S409: The base station sends fourth information to the core network device based on the second information. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the fourth information.

[0273] For the description of the fourth information, please refer to the description in method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0274] S410: The base station performs conflict resolution.

[0275] This process can refer to the relevant description in method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0276] S411: The base station sends a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, where the conflict resolution message includes an identifier of the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the conflict resolution message.

[0277] For the description of conflict resolution, please refer to the relevant description in method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0278] In an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device has data to be transmitted in a non-connected state, it is no longer necessary to go through a random process or establish an RRC connection, but can transmit data on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the one-step access configured by the RRC release message and / or system message, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device, reducing the signaling overhead before data transmission, and shortening the data transmission delay.

[0279] The above describes in detail the processing flow of uplink data arrival in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , and the following describes in detail the processing flow of downlink data arrival in conjunction with FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .

[0280] Figure 5 is another schematic flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the flow chart shown in Figure 5, the method is illustrated from the perspective of device interaction, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the method. For example, the terminal device in Figure 5 can be replaced by a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal device to implement the method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions; the access network device in Figure 5 can be replaced by a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the access network device to implement the method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the access network device functions; the core network device in Figure 5 can be replaced by a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the core network device to implement the method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the core network device functions.

[0281] As shown in Figure 5, the method 500 may include steps S501 to S505. The following describes each step in the method 500 in detail.

[0282] S501: The access network device sends fifth information to the terminal, where the fifth information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth information from the access network device.

[0283] It is understood that the fifth information may be the same as or different from the first information in methods 300 and 400. In different cases, the time domain and / or frequency domain resources indicated by the fifth information are resources for one-step access triggered by downlink paging, rather than one-step access resources for uplink transmission.

[0284] The fifth information may be carried in the downlink message. For the description of the downlink message, reference may be made to the description of the method 300 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0285] S502, the core network device generates a first paging message based on the downlink data, and the first paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses a one-step access method.

[0286] In other words, the core network device generates the first paging message after the downlink data arrives. Alternatively, the core network device may generate the first paging message when there is downlink data to be transmitted.

[0287] S503: The core network device sends a first paging message. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the first paging message from the core network device.

[0288] S504: The access network device sends a second paging message, wherein the second paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses a one-step access mode. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second paging message from the access network device.

[0289] The second paging message is generated by the access network device according to the first paging message.

[0290] S505: The terminal device sends sixth information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources accessed in one step, the sixth information including the terminal identifier. Correspondingly, the access network device receives the sixth information from the terminal device.

[0291] For the description of the terminal identification, please refer to the relevant description in the above method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0292] In an embodiment of the present application, after receiving the second paging message, the terminal device can configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access through the fifth information carried in the downlink message without going through a random process or an RRC connection establishment process to receive downlink data, and send the terminal identifier on the resources configured by the fifth information, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device and directly receiving downlink data after one-step access, reducing the signaling overhead before data transmission.

[0293] The terminal identifier in this application may be determined by the terminal device and / or the core network device.

[0294] For a description of how the terminal device obtains the terminal identification, please refer to the relevant description in the above method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0295] Optionally, the above-mentioned sixth information may also include at least one of the following items: the identifier of the last registered core network device, the type of the identifier, the selected public land mobile network (PLMN) index, or a slice information list, etc.

[0296] Among them, the identifier of the core network device can be a globally unique authentication management function (AMF) identifier (identifying, ID) (abbreviated as: GUAMI), and the type of the identifier is used to indicate whether the GUAMI is native or obtained through other access type mapping.

[0297] Optionally, before S505, the method 500 further includes: the access network device sending indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the access network device.

[0298] Optionally, the indication information may be carried in the above-mentioned downlink message.

[0299] Similar to the at least one bit number in method 300, each of the at least one bit number indicated by the indication information may be the number of bits of the sixth information sent by the terminal device, or the number of bits of the terminal identifier included in the sixth information. The number of bits of the sixth information may also be referred to as the length of the sixth information, and the number of bits of the terminal identifier included in the sixth information may also be referred to as the length of the terminal identifier.

[0300] Optionally, after the terminal device receives the indication information from the access network device, the method 500 further includes: the terminal device determining a second bit number from at least one bit number.

[0301] Exemplarily, if the number of the at least one bit number is one, the second bit number is a bit number indicated by the indication information; if the number of the at least one bit number is multiple, the second bit number can be any one of the multiple bit numbers indicated by the indication information.

[0302] Optionally, when the number of at least one bit number is multiple, the method 500 further includes: the terminal device determines a second coverage level according to the measurement result of the channel quality; and determines a second bit number from the at least one bit number according to the second coverage level.

[0303] Exemplarily, when there is a correspondence between at least one bit number and at least one coverage level (or at least one bit number corresponds to at least one coverage level), the terminal device can determine the second bit number from the at least one bit number based on the second coverage level and the correspondence between at least one bit number and at least one coverage level.

[0304] For the description of the channel quality measurement results and coverage level, please refer to the relevant description in the above method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0305] The following describes in detail the type of the number of bits indicated by the indication information in combination with Example 3 and Example 4.

[0306] Example 3: The number of bits indicated by the indication information is the length of the sixth information. That is, the network device requires the terminal device to send the sixth information with the second number of bits.

[0307] Optionally, before S505, the method 500 also includes: the terminal device determines whether to fill the target data based on the size relationship between the target number of bits and the second number of bits; and, when the second number of bits is equal to the target number of bits, the terminal device determines not to fill the target data; or, when the second number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, the terminal device determines to fill the target data.

[0308] The number of bits of the target data is called a target bit number, and the target data is related to the content sent by the terminal device in S505.

[0309] Exemplarily, if the terminal device only sends the terminal identification in S505, then the target number of bits is the number of bits of the data to be transmitted; if the terminal device also sends one or more of the following items in S505, then the target number of bits is the sum of the number of bits of the next item or items and the number of bits of the terminal identification: the identification of the core network device that can be registered, or the identification of the core network device that was last connected, etc.

[0310] Optionally, when the second number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, the method 500 further includes: padding the target data to reach the second number of bits.

[0311] For the description of filling, please refer to the relevant description in the above method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0312] Example 4: The number of bits indicated by the indication information is the length of the terminal identifier. That is, the network device requires that the number of bits of the terminal identifier included in the fourth information sent by the terminal device is the second number of bits.

[0313] Optionally, before S505, the method 500 also includes: the terminal device determines whether to fill the terminal identifier based on the first number of bits and the number of bits of the terminal identifier; and, when the second number of bits is greater than the number of bits of the terminal identifier, the terminal device determines to fill the terminal identifier; or, when the first number of bits is equal to the number of bits of the terminal identifier, the terminal device determines to fill the terminal identifier.

[0314] Optionally, when the first number of bits is equal to the number of bits of the terminal identifier, the method 500 further includes: padding the terminal identifier to reach a second number of bits.

[0315] For the description of filling, please refer to the relevant description in the above method 300, which will not be repeated here.

[0316] Optionally, after S505 , the method 500 further includes: the access network device performs conflict resolution.

[0317] This process can refer to the relevant description in method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0318] Optionally, after the access network device performs conflict resolution, the method 500 further includes: the access network device sending a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, the conflict resolution message carrying the terminal identifier, and the terminal device correspondingly receiving the conflict resolution message.

[0319] For the description of the conflict resolution message, please refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0320] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

[0321] Exemplarily, when there is no data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the first indication in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0322] For the description of the first indication, please refer to the description in method 300 and will not be repeated here.

[0323] Optionally, the conflict resolution message also carries RNTI, which is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

[0324] Exemplarily, when there is data to be transmitted subsequently, the access network device may carry the RNTI in the conflict resolution message sent.

[0325] Optionally, after S505, the method 500 further includes: the access network device sends seventh information to the core network device according to the sixth information, where the seventh information includes an identifier of the terminal.

[0326] As mentioned above, the terminal device can perform padding at the physical layer, MAC layer, RRC layer, or NAS layer. It is understood that if the terminal device performs padding at the physical layer, MAC layer, or RRC layer, and the sixth information includes a padding portion, the access network device needs to remove the padding portion to obtain the seventh information. If the terminal device performs padding at the NAS layer, and the sixth information includes a padding portion, the seventh information may be the sixth information, and the core network device removes the padding portion in the seventh information.

[0327] It can also be understood that if the sixth information does not include a padding portion, the seventh information may be the sixth information.

[0328] The filling part may be indicated by the terminal device to the access network device.

[0329] Optionally, the first paging message may include downlink data. When the first paging message includes downlink data, the indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method included in the second paging message in S504 may be replaced with the downlink data to be transmitted. That is, the second paging message in S504 includes downlink data to be transmitted; when the second paging message includes downlink data to be transmitted, S505 may be replaced with: the terminal device sends a confirmation message to the access network device on the one-step access time domain and / or frequency domain resources, and the confirmation information indicates that the terminal device has received the downlink data.

[0330] Optionally, the first paging message may further include the size of the downlink data volume.

[0331] The following describes the communication method provided by this application in more detail based on the embodiment shown in Figure 5 and in conjunction with Figure 6. In the communication method shown in Figure 6, a base station is used as an example of an access network device for description; and in the communication method shown in Figure 6, the second number of bits indicates the number of bits of the terminal identifier, and the downlink message is used as an example of an RRC release message or a system message for description.

[0332] It should be noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG6 , the same or similar steps as those in the embodiment shown in FIG5 can be referred to the above description of the method 500 and will not be described in detail.

[0333] The following describes in detail the method provided in the embodiment of the present application by taking the arrival of downlink data when the terminal device is in a non-connected state as an example in combination with Figure 6.

[0334] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the method 600 may include steps S601 to S615. Each step in the method 600 is described in detail below.

[0335] S601, the terminal device establishes a connection with the network for the first time, and establishes a complete RRC connection with the base station after random access.

[0336] S602: The terminal device sends a registration request message to the core network device through the base station, where the registration request message is used to request to obtain the terminal identifier. Correspondingly, the core network receives the registration request message.

[0337] S603: The core network device sends a response message to the terminal device. The response message includes the terminal identifier allocated by the core network device to the terminal device.

[0338] It is understood that after S603, the terminal device can transmit uplink and downlink data, and after the data transmission is completed, the base station can continue to perform steps S604 to S615. Alternatively, after S603, the base station directly performs steps S604 to S615.

[0339] S604: The base station sends an RRC release message to the terminal device, where the RRC release message is used to release the terminal device to an inactive state. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC release message and enters an inactive state.

[0340] S605: The base station broadcasts a system message.

[0341] The description of S601 to S605 can refer to the description of S401 to S405 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0342] S606: When downlink data arrives, the core network device generates a first paging message according to the downlink data and sends the first paging message. Correspondingly, the base station receives the first paging message.

[0343] The first paging message includes one or more of the following: the amount of downlink data, the downlink data to be transmitted, or an indication that the terminal device uses one-step access. Correspondingly, the base station receives the first paging message.

[0344] Since the terminal device is in an idle state, when downlink data arrives on the core network side, the core network device needs to page the base station through a paging message, and then page the target terminal device. The target terminal device here refers to the terminal device receiving the downlink data.

[0345] S607: The base station sends a second paging message. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second paging message.

[0346] For the description of the second paging message, please refer to the description in S504 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0347] Exemplarily, when the second paging message carries downlink data, S608, S613 and S614 may be continued to be executed.

[0348] Exemplarily, when the second paging message carries no downlink data, steps S609 to S615 may continue to be executed.

[0349] S608, the terminal device sends a confirmation message to the base station, where the confirmation message indicates that the terminal device has received downlink data from the core network device.

[0350] S609: The terminal device sends sixth information to the base station, where the sixth information includes the identifier of the terminal. Correspondingly, the base station receives the sixth information.

[0351] For the description of the sixth information, please refer to the description in Example 4 above and will not be repeated here.

[0352] Optionally, before S609, the method 600 further includes: S610, the terminal device determines whether to fill the terminal identifier according to the size relationship between the second number of bits in the at least one bit number carried in the system message and the bit of the terminal identifier.

[0353] Exemplarily, when the number of bits of the terminal identifier is equal to the second number of bits, S609 can be replaced by: the terminal device sends the terminal identifier to the base station; or, when the number of bits of the terminal identifier is less than the second number of bits indicated, the method 600 also includes: S611, the terminal device fills the terminal identifier to reach the second number of bits.

[0354] S612: The base station sends seventh information to the core network device based on the sixth information. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the seventh information.

[0355] For the description of the seventh information, please refer to the description in method 500 and will not be repeated here.

[0356] It can be understood that if S611 is executed, the base station may remove the padding portion in the sixth information before executing S612 to obtain the seventh information.

[0357] S613: The base station performs conflict resolution or reception confirmation judgment.

[0358] The reception confirmation judgment is used to judge whether the terminal device has successfully accessed, for example, to determine whether the terminal identification has been successfully received.

[0359] This process can refer to the relevant description in the above method 500 and will not be repeated here.

[0360] S614, the base station sends a conflict resolution message or a reception confirmation message to the terminal device.

[0361] It is understood that if the base station performs conflict resolution in S613, then the base station sends a conflict resolution message to the terminal device in S614. Alternatively, if the base station performs a reception confirmation judgment in S613, then the base station may send a reception confirmation message to the terminal device in S614.

[0362] For the description of the conflict resolution message, please refer to the description of method 500 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0363] S615, the core network device sends downlink data to the terminal device.

[0364] In an embodiment of the present application, when there is downlink data to be transmitted on the access network device side, a paging message is generated based on the downlink data and the paging message is sent. After receiving the paging message, the terminal device can directly transmit the terminal identifier through the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the one-step access configured by the RRC release message and / or system message without going through a random process or establishing an RRC connection, thereby realizing one-step access of the terminal device and directly receiving downlink data after the one-step access, reducing the signaling overhead before data transmission.

[0365] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 3 to 6 , and the device provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 7 and 8 .

[0366] Figures 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams of possible devices provided by embodiments of the present application. These devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or access network device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

[0367] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , the apparatus 700 includes a transceiver module 710 .

[0368] One possible design is that the apparatus 700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 .

[0369] Example 1: The transceiver module 710 is used to: receive first information from an access network device, where the first information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the first information is carried in a downlink message; and send second information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources based on the data to be transmitted, where the second information includes the data.

[0370] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: receive indication information from the access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the bit number of the second information is the first bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0371] Optionally, the apparatus 700 further includes a processing module 720, configured to: determine a first coverage level according to a measurement result of signal quality; and determine the first number of bits from the at least one number of bits according to the first coverage level.

[0372] Optionally, the processing module 720 is further configured to: if the first number of bits is greater than or equal to a target number of bits, determine to transmit the data, and the target number of bits is the number of bits of the data.

[0373] Optionally, the processing module 720 is further configured to: if the first number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, pad the data to reach the first number of bits.

[0374] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send third information to the core network device, where the third information is used to request allocation of the identifier of the terminal; and receive the identifier of the terminal from the core network device.

[0375] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to: receive a conflict resolution message from an access network device, where the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

[0376] Example 2: The transceiver module 710 is used to: receive fifth information from the access network device, the fifth information is used to configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the first information is carried in the downlink message; receive a second paging message from the access network device, the second paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; and send sixth information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the sixth information includes an identifier of the terminal, and the identifier of the terminal is determined by the core network device and / or the terminal device.

[0377] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: receive indication information from the access network device, the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the number of bits of the sixth information is the second bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0378] Optionally, the apparatus 700 further includes a processing module 720, configured to: determine a second coverage level according to a measurement result of the signal quality; and determine the second number of bits from the at least one number of bits according to the second coverage level.

[0379] Optionally, the processing module 720 is also used to: determine whether to fill the terminal identifier based on the size relationship between the second number of bits and the number of bits of the terminal identifier; and, when the second number of bits is greater than the number of bits of the terminal identifier, determine to fill the terminal identifier; or, when the second number of bits is equal to the number of bits of the terminal identifier, determine not to fill the terminal identifier.

[0380] Optionally, the processing module 720 is further configured to fill the terminal identifier to reach the second number of bits.

[0381] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send third information to the core network device, where the third information is used to request allocation of the identifier of the terminal; and receive the identifier of the terminal from the core network device.

[0382] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to receive downlink data from a core network device.

[0383] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to: receive a conflict resolution message from the access network device, where the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

[0384] A more detailed description of the transceiver module 710 and the processing module 720 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0385] Another possible design is that the apparatus 700 is used to implement the functions of the access network device in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 .

[0386] Example 1: The transceiver module 710 is used to: send first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the first information is carried in a downlink message; and receive second information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, where the second information includes data to be transmitted.

[0387] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the bit number of the second information is the first bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0388] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send fourth information to the core network device based on the second information, where the fourth information includes the data to be transmitted.

[0389] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to: send a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, wherein the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

[0390] Example 2: The transceiver module 710 is used to: send fifth information to the terminal device, the fifth information is used to configure the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the fifth information is carried in the downlink message; receive a first paging message from the core network device, the first paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; send a second paging message, the second paging message includes an indication that the terminal device uses the one-step access method; and receive sixth information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the sixth information includes an identifier of the terminal, and the identifier of the terminal is determined by the core network device and / or the terminal device.

[0391] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the bit number of the sixth information is the second bit number in the at least one bit number.

[0392] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further used to: send seventh information to the core network device based on the sixth information, where the seventh information includes the identifier of the terminal.

[0393] Optionally, the transceiver module 710 is further configured to: send a conflict resolution message to the terminal device, wherein the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

[0394] A more detailed description of the transceiver module 710 and the processing module 720 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant descriptions in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 6, and will not be repeated here.

[0395] It should be noted that apparatus 700 may include a sending module but not a receiving module. Alternatively, apparatus 700 may include a receiving module but not a sending module. This may depend on whether the above-mentioned solution executed by apparatus 700 includes both sending and receiving actions. It is understood that because apparatus 700 has communication functionality, it may also be referred to as a communication device.

[0396] Figure 8 is another schematic block diagram of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 810. The at least one processor 810 can be configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory to implement the steps performed by the terminal device, the access network device, or the core network device in the above method embodiments.

[0397] The processor 810 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit may be used to control devices (such as terminal equipment, access network equipment, core network equipment, or chips), execute software programs, and process software program data.

[0398] Optionally, the communication device 800 may further include at least one memory 820 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810 or storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 810 executes instructions. The at least one processor 810 and the at least one memory 820 may be provided separately. For example, each memory may be connected to one or more processors so that the connected processors can read information from the memory and store and / or write information in the memory. Alternatively, the at least one processor 810 and the at least one memory 820 may be integrated together, for example, one or more memories may be integrated into a processor.

[0399] Optionally, the communication device 800 further includes an interface circuit 830 that can be used to transmit data and / or signaling. The at least one processor 810 and the interface circuit 830 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 830 can be a transceiver, an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other type of interface circuit, wherein the input circuit of the input / output circuit can be used for receiving, and the output interface can be used for sending.

[0400] Optionally, the communication device 800 further includes a power supply circuit 840 , which can be used to supply power to the communication device 800 .

[0401] When the communication device 800 is used in the method described in the above embodiment, at least one processor 810 is used to perform the functions of the above processing unit, and the interface circuit 830 is used to perform the functions of the above receiving unit and / or sending unit. Whether the interface circuit 830 is used for sending or receiving can be determined by whether the communication device 800 is used to perform sending or receiving actions in the solution implemented.

[0402] It is understood that when the communication device 800 is a communication device (e.g., a terminal device, an access network device, or a core network device), the interface circuit 830 may be a transceiver, specifically including a transmitter and a receiver, where the transmitter is used to transmit signals and the receiver is used to receive signals. When the communication device 800 is a chip used in a communication device, the interface circuit 830 may be an input / output circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other type of interface circuit, where the input circuit in the input / output circuit can be used for receiving and the output interface can be used for transmitting.

[0403] It should be understood that in the communication device 800 shown in FIG8 , the processor 810 may correspond to the transceiver module 710 in the above device 700 , and the interface circuit 830 may correspond to the processing module 720 in the above device 700 .

[0404] It should also be understood that the coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The specific connection medium between the at least one processor 810, at least one memory 820, interface circuit 830 and power supply circuit 840 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In Figure 8, the embodiment of the present application is connected by a bus 850 between the processor 810, memory 820, interface circuit 830 and power supply circuit 840. The bus 850 is represented by a bold line in Figure 8, and the connection method between other components is only for schematic illustration and is not limited. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 8, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0405] It should be noted that the above method embodiments can be applied to or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions.

[0406] The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0407] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0408] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer program is run, the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 6 is executed, or the method executed by the access network device is executed, or the method executed by the core network device is executed.

[0409] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 6 is executed, or the method executed by the access network device is executed, or the method executed by the core network device is executed.

[0410] The present application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned access network device and terminal device.

[0411] Optionally, the communication system may further include the aforementioned core network device.

[0412] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0413] The methods provided in the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may include one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instructions may 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 instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic disk), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0414] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0415] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0416] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0417] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0418] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0419] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or an access network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0420] The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first information from an access network device, where the first information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the first information is carried in a downlink message; Second information is sent to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources based on the data to be transmitted, where the second information includes the data.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive indication information from the access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the bit number of the second information is a first bit number in the at least one bit number.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The indication information is carried in the downlink message.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: determining a first coverage level according to a measurement result of the signal quality; The first number of bits is determined from the at least one number of bits according to the first coverage level.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first number of bits is greater than or equal to a target number of bits, and it is determined that the data is to be transmitted, where the target number of bits is the number of bits of the data.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first number of bits is greater than the target number of bits, and the data is padded to reach the first number of bits.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The second information also includes the identifier of the terminal.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The target number of bits is the sum of the number of bits of the data and the number of bits of the terminal identifier.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in a one-step access mode, a short-term mobile user identifier, or a truncated short-term mobile user identifier.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending third information to the core network device, where the third information is used to request allocation of an identifier of the terminal; Receive an identifier of the terminal from the core network device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that After sending the second information to the access network device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources based on the data to be transmitted, the method further includes: A conflict resolution message is received from the access network device, where the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The conflict resolution message also carries a wireless network temporary identifier, which is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information to the terminal device, where the first information is used to configure time domain and / or frequency domain resources for one-step access, and the first information is carried in a downlink message; Second information is received from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, where the second information includes data to be transmitted.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information is used to indicate at least one bit number, and the bit number of the second information is the first bit number in the at least one bit number.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The indication information is carried in the downlink message.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Based on the second information, fourth information is sent to the core network device, where the fourth information includes the data to be transmitted.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The second information also includes the identifier of the terminal.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The terminal identifier includes at least one of the following: a user identifier in a one-step access mode, a short-term mobile user identifier, or a truncated short-term mobile user identifier.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that After receiving second information from the terminal device on the time domain and / or frequency domain resources, the method further includes: A conflict resolution message is sent to the terminal device, where the conflict resolution message carries an identifier of the terminal.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The conflict resolution message also carries a first indication, which is used to instruct the terminal device to release to a non-connected state.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The conflict resolution message also carries a wireless network temporary identifier, which is used for the next data transmission and scheduling.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises one or more functional units, and is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor configured to execute a program code so as to enable the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22 is executed.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The invention comprises a computer program which, when being executed, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 to be performed, or causes the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22 to be performed.

27. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and the network device is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22.

28. A chip or a chip system, characterized in that: The method comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a line, and the at least one processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 22.

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