Communication method, apparatus, electronic device and computer program product

Abstract

Disclosed in the present disclosure are a communication method, an apparatus, an electronic device, and a computer program product. On the basis of a communication state of a communication network (for example: a first network function acquiring first information, the first information comprising at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network (RAN) coverage related information and energy related information), a network side instructs a terminal and / or a radio access network device to dynamically adjust communication parameters, so that the energy efficiency optimization of the communication network is realized, and the flexible control of the energy consumption configuration of user-plane related network elements is realized on the basis of the current communication state information.

Description

Communication method, device, electronic device and computer program product

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure is based on and claims the priority of Chinese patent application with application number 202410404049.7 and application date April 5, 2024. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product. Background Art

[0004] As low-carbon energy conservation becomes a global concern, reducing network energy consumption and improving energy efficiency have become key research topics for 5G-Advanced and 6G networks. The FS_EnergySys project was successfully approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) SA2 Working Group and has begun research on issues such as the disclosure of network energy-related information, energy-related policy control, and network adjustments based on energy consumption and efficiency considerations.

[0005] Among them, signal strength has a great impact on energy consumption. When transmitting the same data, the energy consumption of the base station when the network signal of the terminal (User Equipment, UE) is weak is significantly higher than the energy consumption when the base station signal to the UE is strong.

[0006] However, existing technologies do not consider energy consumption during network-side transmission. Specifically, when determining the Quality of Service (QoS) for transmission, the high energy consumption caused by weak signals is not considered. Furthermore, network functions (NFs) do not measure or synchronize information related to network energy consumption. Furthermore, existing technologies do not allow for flexible control of the energy consumption configuration of user-plane network elements. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure is proposed in view of the above problems. The present disclosure provides a communication method, apparatus, electronic device and computer program product.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a first network function. The communication method includes: obtaining first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

[0009] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: sending at least one of the following to the RAN and / or sending at least one of the following to the RAN via one or more network functions based on the first information: terminal identification, group identification, quality of service QoS related information, second information, the second information is used for at least one of the following: RAN modification of QoS related information, RAN adjustment of transmission rate, RAN adjustment of bit rate, RAN cached data and / or cached messages; and / or, the second information includes at least one of the following: QoS related information and, transmission rate, bit rate; and / or, sending to the UE based on the first information, and / or, sending third information to the UE via one or more functions or entities based on the first information, the third information is used for the UE to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or, the third information includes QoS related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0010] In some embodiments, obtaining the first information includes: the first network function locally configuring or locally obtaining or locally determining the first information.

[0011] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: requesting and / or subscribing to signal strength-related information from the RAN, and / or requesting and / or subscribing to signal strength-related information from the RAN via one or more network functions; and / or receiving signal strength-related information sent by the RAN, and / or receiving signal strength-related information sent by the RAN via one or more network functions. Furthermore, according to an aspect of the communication method of the present disclosure, the method further includes: requesting and / or subscribing to RAN coverage-related information from a second network function, and / or requesting and / or subscribing to RAN coverage-related information from the second network function via one or more network functions; receiving RAN coverage-related information sent by the second network function, and / or receiving RAN coverage-related information sent by the second network function via one or more network functions. Furthermore, according to an aspect of the communication method of the present disclosure, the method further includes: determining, based on at least one item of the first information, at least one item of the following: signal strength-related information, energy-related information, QoS-related information, the second information, and the third information.

[0012] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: requesting at least one of the following from a third function or entity: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or, requesting at least one of the following from a third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or, receiving at least one of the following sent by a third function or entity: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or, receiving at least one of the following sent by a third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: energy-related information, QoS-related information.

[0013] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: sending at least one of the following to a third function or entity: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, sending at least one of the following to a third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information.

[0014] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: sending fourth information to the RAN and / or sending fourth information to the RAN via one or more network functions, the fourth information including one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, RAN coverage-related information, energy-related information, QoS-related information, second information, and an association between at least two of the above; and / or, sending fifth information to the UE and / or sending fifth information to the UE via one or more network functions or entities, the fifth information including one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, third information, and an association between at least two of the above.

[0015] In some embodiments, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0016] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: the first network function includes at least one of the following: energy efficiency control function EECF, energy consumption function ECF, energy efficiency function EEF, energy management function EMF, energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, energy efficiency management function EEMF, energy consumption management function ECMF, energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, session management function SMF, policy control function PCF, network data analysis function NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: access and mobility management function AMF, RAN, SMF, non-3GPP interoperability function N3IWF; the third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, operation and maintenance management OAM, PCF, unified data management UDM.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a second network function. The communication method includes: receiving sixth information from a first network function and / or receiving sixth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, the sixth information being used to subscribe to and / or request at least one of the following: RAN coverage-related information, signal strength-related information, and energy-related information; and / or sending first information to the first network function and / or sending first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least signal strength-related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage-related information, and energy-related information.

[0018] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: acquiring first information.

[0019] In some embodiments, obtaining the first information includes: locally configuring or locally obtaining or locally determining the first information.

[0020] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: sending seventh information to the RAN, wherein the seventh information is used to request RAN coverage related information; and / or receiving eighth information from the RAN, wherein the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0021] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: acquiring location information of the terminal.

[0022] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: determining signal strength related information based on the RAN coverage related information and the location information of the terminal.

[0023] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: determining energy-related information based on the signal strength-related information.

[0024] In some embodiments, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

[0026] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a RAN. The communication method includes: receiving ninth information from a first network function and / or receiving it from the first network function via one or more network functions, the ninth information being used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information; and / or sending first information to the first network function and / or sending it to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least signal strength related information; and / or receiving seventh information from a second network function, the seventh information being used to request RAN coverage related information; and / or sending eighth information to the second network function, wherein the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0027] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: receiving at least one of the following items determined based on the first information sent by the first network function and / or receiving via one or more network functions the first network function: terminal identification, group identification, quality of service QoS related information, second information; the second information is used for at least one of the following: modifying QoS related information, adjusting transmission rate, adjusting bit rate, caching data and / or caching messages; and / or the second information includes at least one of the following items: QoS related information, transmission rate, bit rate.

[0028] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: receiving fourth information sent by the first network function and / or receiving fourth information sent by the first network function via one or more network functions, the fourth information including one or more of the following: signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information, QoS related information, second information, and an association between at least two of the above.

[0029] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: performing an operation corresponding to the second information based on the received terminal identifier, group identifier, QoS related information, second information, and fourth information.

[0030] In some embodiments, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0031] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

[0032] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a third function or entity, and the communication method includes: the third function or entity receives at least one of the following items sent by the first network function: UE identifier, group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, the third function or entity receives at least one of the following items sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: UE identifier, group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, the third function or entity responds to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, the third function or entity sends at least one of the following items to the first network function: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, the third function or entity sends at least one of the following items to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information.

[0033] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: a third function or entity determines at least one of the following based on at least one of the following: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information, and energy related information.

[0034] In some embodiments, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0035] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or the third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, OAM, PCF, UDM.

[0036] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is executed by a terminal, and the communication method includes: receiving third information sent by a first network function and / or receiving third information sent by the first network function via one or more network functions; the third information is used by the terminal to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0037] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: receiving fifth information sent by the first network function and / or receiving fifth information sent by the first network function via one or more network functions, the fifth information including one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, third information, and an association relationship between at least two of the above.

[0038] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: based on the received third information and / or fifth information, performing at least one of the following: adjusting the transmission rate, adjusting the bit rate, caching data, and caching messages.

[0039] In some embodiments, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

[0041] According to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a first network function, and the communication method includes: generating and / or sending at least one of the following information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, third policy information or third operation information.

[0042] In some embodiments, the first policy information or the first operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: selecting a UPF, reselecting a UPF; and the UPF including a UPF that uses renewable energy. In some embodiments, the second policy information or the second operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: selecting a UPF, reselecting a UPF; the UPF serving a terminal that allows for reduced network performance, and / or the UPF serving a terminal whose energy consumption reaches or exceeds a preset threshold.

[0043] In some embodiments, the third strategy information or the third operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: reducing UPF energy consumption, adjusting UPF energy state, reducing UPF CPU usage, reducing UPF CPU resources, shutting down UPF, and releasing UPF.

[0044] In some embodiments, the UPF further includes: a terminal for serving a terminal that is allowed to use a green network function or a renewable energy network function.

[0045] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: sending at least one of the following to a fourth network function: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information; and / or, sending at least one of the following to a third function or entity: third policy information or third operation information.

[0046] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: generating and / or sending at least one of the following information based on the terminal contract information and / or UPF energy-related information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, third policy information or third operation information.

[0047] In some embodiments, the terminal signing information includes at least one of the following, or indicates at least one of the following: whether the terminal allows the use of green or renewable energy networks, whether the terminal allows lower performance to reduce energy consumption, and whether the terminal energy consumption reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold; wherein, the green or renewable energy network refers to a network or network function powered by renewable energy; and / or, the energy-related information of the UPF includes at least one of the following, or indicates at least one of the following: energy consumption information of network functions or entities, network configuration information, central processor resource information, equipment capacity information, renewable energy-related information, and carbon emission-related information.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

[0049] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a first network function. The communication method includes: generating and / or sending tenth information to a fourth network function, the tenth information including at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information.

[0050] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: generating and / or sending tenth information based on all or part of the contract information; and / or generating and / or sending tenth information based on all or part of the received first request information.

[0051] In some embodiments, the signing information includes at least one of the following, and / or the signing information indicates at least one of the following: allowing energy saving based on renewable energy related information, allowing energy saving based on green energy related information, allowing selection of UPF based on renewable energy related information, and allowing selection of UPF based on green energy related information.

[0052] In some embodiments, the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0053] In some embodiments, the first request information is sent by the application function AF, or the first request is sent by the AF via the network opening function NEF.

[0054] In some embodiments, the first threshold includes: when the energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when the renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, network energy saving needs to be performed; and / or, the first indication information includes: allowing the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information, or requiring the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information.

[0055] In some embodiments, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

[0056] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a fifth network function, and the communication method includes: selecting or reselecting a UPF based on at least one of the following: policy information, renewable energy related information, and green energy related information.

[0057] In some embodiments, the policy information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information.

[0058] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: receiving at least one of the following: all or part of the policy information, energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and equipment capacity information.

[0059] In some embodiments, the fifth network function includes: a session management function SMF.

[0060] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is executed by a fourth network function, and the communication method includes: receiving tenth information, the tenth information including at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information; and the fourth network function sends policy information.

[0061] In some embodiments, the policy information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information.

[0062] In some embodiments, the fourth network function includes: a policy control function PCF.

[0063] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is performed by a sixth network function. The communication method includes: receiving and sending first request information to a first network function, where the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0064] In some embodiments, the first threshold includes: when the energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when the renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, network energy saving needs to be performed; and / or, the first indication information includes: allowing the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information, or requiring the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information.

[0065] In some embodiments, the sixth network function includes: a network exposure function NEF.

[0066] According to the eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which is executed by an application function, and the communication method includes: sending or sending a first request information via at least one network function, the first request information including at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first threshold includes: when the energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when the renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, network energy saving needs to be performed; and / or, the first indication information includes: allowing the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information, or requiring the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information.

[0068] According to the twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a first network function, and the device includes: an acquisition module, which is used to obtain first information, and the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

[0069] According to the thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a second network function, and the device includes: a receiving module, which is used to receive sixth information from the first network function and / or receive sixth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, the sixth information being used to subscribe to and / or request at least one of the following: RAN coverage-related information, signal strength-related information, and energy-related information; a sending module, which is used to send first information to the first network function and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least signal strength-related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage-related information, and energy-related information.

[0070] According to the fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to RAN, and the device includes: a first receiving module, used to receive ninth information from a first network function, and / or receive ninth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, the ninth information being used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information; a first sending module, used to send first information to the first network function, and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least signal strength related information; a second receiving module, used to receive seventh information from a second network function, the seventh information being used to request RAN coverage related information; a second sending module, used to send eighth information to the second network function, wherein the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0071] According to the fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a third function or entity, and the device includes: a receiving module, used to receive at least one of the following items sent by the first network function: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, receiving at least one of the following items sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; a sending module, used to respond to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, respond to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, send at least one of the following items to the first network function: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, send at least one of the following items to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information.

[0072] According to the sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the device includes: a receiving module, which is used to receive third information sent by a first network function and / or received via one or more network functions; wherein the third information is used to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0073] According to the seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a first network function, and the device includes: a generation and sending module, which is used to generate and / or send at least one of the following information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, third policy information or third operation information.

[0074] According to the eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a first network function, and the device includes: a generation and sending module, which is used to generate and / or send tenth information to a fourth network function, and the tenth information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and equipment capacity information.

[0075] According to the nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to the fifth network function, and the device includes: a selection module, which is used to select or reselect the UPF based on at least one of the following: policy information, renewable energy related information, and green energy related information.

[0076] According to the twentieth aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a fourth network function, and the device includes: a receiving module for receiving tenth information, and the tenth information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and equipment capacity information; a sending module for sending policy information.

[0077] According to the twenty-first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a sixth network function, and the device includes: a receiving module, used to receive and send first request information to the first network function, the first request information including at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0078] According to the twenty-second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, which is applied to an application function, and the device includes: a sending module, used to send or send first request information via at least one network function, the first request information including at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0079] According to the twenty-third aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, including: a memory for storing computer-readable instructions; and a processor for executing the computer-readable instructions so that the electronic device performs the communication method as described above.

[0080] According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, characterized in that when the computer program is executed by a processor, the communication method as described above is implemented.

[0081] As will be described in detail below, according to the communication method of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network side instructs the terminal and / or wireless access network equipment to dynamically adjust the communication parameters based on the communication status of the communication network (for example: the first network function obtains the first information, the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, wireless access network RAN ​​coverage related information, energy related information), thereby achieving energy efficiency optimization of the communication network; and based on the current communication status information, flexible control of the energy consumption configuration of user-side related network elements is achieved.

[0082] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the technology as claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0083] The above and other purposes, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0084] FIG1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0085] 2A is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0086] 2B is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a second network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0087] FIG2C is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a RAN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0088] FIG2D is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a third function or entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0089] FIG2E is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0090] FIG3A is a signaling flow chart further illustrating a communication method 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0091] FIG3B is a signaling flow chart further illustrating the second communication method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0092] FIG4A is a signaling flow chart further illustrating a communication method 1 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0093] FIG4B is a signaling flow chart further illustrating a second communication method according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0094] FIG5 is a signaling flow chart further illustrating a communication method according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0095] FIG6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0096] FIG6B is a device diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a second network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0097] FIG6C is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a RAN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0098] FIG6D is a device diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a third function or entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0099] FIG6E is a device diagram illustrating a communication device of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0100] FIG7 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0101] FIG8 is a signaling flow chart illustrating a communication method according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0102] FIG9 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0103] FIG10 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a fifth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0104] FIG11 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a fourth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0105] FIG12 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a sixth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0106] FIG13 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to an application function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0107] FIG14 is a signaling flow chart illustrating a communication method according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG15 is a hardware block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0108] FIG16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer program product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0109] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent, the following will describe in detail exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.

[0110] First, an application scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is summarized with reference to FIG. 1 .

[0111] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1 , the application scenario at least includes: a terminal UE 101, a radio access network device RAN 102, a first network function, a second network function, and a third function or entity.

[0112] Specifically, the terminal UE 101 refers to a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, virtual reality terminal device, augmented reality terminal device, wireless terminal device used in industrial control, wireless terminal device used in unmanned driving, wireless terminal device used in telemedicine, wireless terminal device used in smart grid, wireless terminal device used in transportation safety, wireless terminal device used in smart city, or wireless terminal device used in smart home, etc. It should be noted that the present disclosure does not impose any specific restrictions on the type and data of the terminal UE 101.

[0113] Radio Access Network (RAN) 102: This refers to the equipment used to provide wireless connectivity between UE 101 and the core network. RAN 102 is responsible for transmitting data sent and received by UE 101 to the core network and enabling mobile communications via wireless signals. Specifically, it can be understood as a 5G base station node. It should be noted that this disclosure does not impose specific restrictions on the type or data of RAN 102.

[0114] The first network function includes at least one of the following: energy efficiency control function EECF, energy consumption function ECF, energy efficiency function EEF105, energy management function EMF, energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, energy efficiency management function EEMF, energy consumption management function ECMF, energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, session management function SMF, policy control function PCF, network data analysis function NWDAF.

[0115] Among them, the energy efficiency function EEF105 refers to the management related to providing energy-related information. For example, it manages the acquisition and / or disclosure of information such as energy consumption, energy efficiency, and renewable energy usage. It should be noted that due to the lack of research on the FS_EnergySys topic in the prior art, the naming of EEF is not unified. The specific name of EEF is not limited in this disclosure. As long as it is a network function used for the management related to providing energy-related information, it is within the scope of protection of this disclosure, such as the above-mentioned: energy efficiency control function EECF, energy consumption function ECF, energy management function EMF, energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, energy efficiency management function EEMF, energy consumption management function ECMF, energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, session management function SMF, policy control function PCF, and network data analysis function NWDAF.

[0116] Policy Control Function (PCF) 104: Responsible for policy control and management, such as developing and issuing policy rules to control UE 101's quality of service, traffic management, and access control. Specifically, PCF 104 optimizes and manages UE 101's traffic based on the network operator's policies and business requirements, ensuring efficient use of network resources and improving UE 101's experience.

[0117] The second network function includes at least one of the following: access and mobility management function AMF103, RAN, SMF, and non-3GPP interoperability function N3IWF.

[0118] The access and mobility management function (AMF) 103 is responsible for registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management, and provides authentication and authorization for the access of the terminal UE 101. The AMF 103 can perform signaling interaction with the RAN 102 and the UE 101.

[0119] AMF 103 is responsible for processing access requests from UE 101. When UE 101 attempts to connect to the 5G network, AMF 103 verifies its identity, authenticates it, and allocates relevant resources. It is also responsible for managing the mobility of UE 101 within the network. For example, when UE 101 moves from one location to another, AMF 103 tracks its location and updates information about relevant network functions to ensure seamless mobility.

[0120] The third function or entity includes at least one of the following: network data analysis function NWDAF, operation and maintenance management OAM, PCF, and unified data management UDM.

[0121] NWDAF is responsible for data perception and analysis, providing guidance for energy-saving optimization to improve network energy efficiency. OAM is responsible for monitoring, diagnosis, maintenance, and performance analysis to ensure efficient energy consumption and operational status of network devices. The specific communication methods are further described with reference to Figures 2-5.

[0122] Figure 2A is a flowchart illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2A, the communication method applied to the first network function includes at least the following steps.

[0123] In step S211, the first network function obtains first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information. As described above, the first network function includes at least one of the following: energy efficiency control function (EECF), energy consumption function (ECF), energy efficiency function EEF105 (Energy Efficiency Function), energy management function (EMF), energy consumption and efficiency function (ECEF), energy efficiency management function (EEMF), energy consumption management function (ECMF), energy consumption and efficiency management function (ECEMF), session management function (SMF), policy control function (PCF), and network data analysis function (NWDAF).

[0124] For ease of description, the present disclosure uses EEF 105 as an example. However, this is not intended to be limiting. For details, see S3-3 (FIG. 3A) and S3-3' (FIG. 3B) in Example 1, and S4-3 (FIG. 4A) and S4-6' (FIG. 4B) in Example 2. These details are omitted here.

[0125] Figure 2B is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a second network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2B, the communication method applied to the second network function includes at least the following steps.

[0126] In step S221, the second network function receives sixth information from the first network function, and / or receives sixth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, where the sixth information is used to subscribe to and / or request at least one of the following: RAN coverage-related information, signal strength-related information, and energy-related information; and / or the second network function sends first information to the first network function and / or sends first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, where the first information includes at least signal strength-related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage-related information, and energy-related information.

[0127] As described above, the second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, and N3IWF. For ease of description, this disclosure uses AMF 103 as an example, but it should be noted that this is not a limitation. For details, see S4-1 and / or S4-3 (in FIG. 4A ), S4-1′, and / or S4-6′ (in FIG. 4B ) in the following second embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0128] Figure 2C is a flowchart illustrating a communication method applied to a RAN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2C, the communication method applied to a RAN includes at least the following steps.

[0129] In step S231, the RAN receives ninth information from the first network function and / or receives it from the first network function via one or more network functions, where the ninth information is used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information; and / or the RAN sends first information to the first network function and / or sends it to the first network function via one or more network functions, where the first information includes at least: signal strength related information; and / or the RAN receives seventh information from the second network function, where the seventh information is used to request RAN coverage related information; and / or the RAN sends eighth information to the second network function, where the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0130] For details, please refer to S3-1 and / or S3-3 (in Figure 3A), S3-1' and / or S3-3' (in Figure 3B) in the following embodiment 1, and S4-2a and / or S4-2b (in Figure 4A), S4-2a' and / or S4-2b' (in Figure 4B) in the following embodiment 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0131] Figure 2D is a method flow chart illustrating a communication method applied to a third function or entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2D, the communication method applied to the third function or entity includes at least the following steps.

[0132] In step S241, the third function or entity receives at least one of the following items sent by the first network function: UE identifier, group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, the third function or entity receives at least one of the following items sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: UE identifier, group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, the third function or entity responds to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, the third function or entity responds to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, the third function or entity sends at least one of the following items to the first network function: energy related information, QoS related information; and / or, the third function or entity sends at least one of the following items to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy related information, QoS related information.

[0133] As described above, the third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, OAM, PCF, and UDM. For the convenience of description, the present disclosure uses NWDAF / OAM as an example for introduction, but it should be noted that this does not constitute a limitation.

[0134] For details, please refer to S3-4a and / or S3-4b (in Figure 3A), S3-4a' and / or S3-4b' (in Figure 3B) in the following embodiment 1, S4-4a and / or S4-4b (in Figure 4A), S4-7a' and / or S4-7b' (in Figure 4B) in the following embodiment 2, and no further details will be given here.

[0135] Figure 2E is a flowchart illustrating a communication method of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2E, the communication method applied to the terminal includes at least the following steps.

[0136] In step S251, the terminal receives third information sent by the first network function and / or receives third information sent by the first network function via one or more network functions; wherein the third information is used by the terminal to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0137] For details, please refer to S3-6 (in FIG. 3A ) and S3-7′ (in FIG. 3B ) in the following embodiment 1 and S4-6 and S4-9′ in the following embodiment 2, which will not be described in detail here.

[0138] It should be noted that the details of the above steps S211 to S251 will be further described with reference to Figures 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, and 5. Among them, Figures 3A and 3B correspond to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, Figures 4A and 4B correspond to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, and Figure 5 corresponds to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure. Figure 3A is a signaling flow chart that further illustrates the communication method 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3A, the execution subjects of the communication method 1 of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure may include: UE101, RAN102, AMF103, EEF105, and may also include PCF104, a third function and / or entity. As mentioned above, the third function may be NWDAF and / or OAM. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution subjects in the communication method 1 of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0139] S3-1: EEF105 sends ninth information to RAN102 and / or to RAN102 via one or more NFs (e.g., AMF103), where the ninth information is used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information.

[0140] It should be noted that this step is optional. As described above, the signal strength-related information is obtained by EEF 105 from RAN 102. Specifically, EEF 105 may send ninth information to RAN 102 and / or send it to RAN 102 via one or more NFs (e.g., AMF 103). The ninth information requests RAN 102 to at least detect and report the signal strength-related information of UE 101. Alternatively, RAN 102 may proactively detect the signal strength-related information of UE 101 and report it to EEF 105. If RAN 102 proactively detects and reports, S3-1 is not executed and S3-2 is executed directly.

[0141] Optionally, the ninth information sent by EEF105 to RAN102 may include one or more of the following: an identifier of at least one UE101, a group identifier of at least one group of UE101, and indication information of any UE101; the above identifiers and / or indication information are used to indicate which and / or which UE101 signal strength-related information the ninth information requests and / or subscribes to.

[0142] Optionally, the signal strength related information may be signal strength (e.g., dB number), signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength being higher than a threshold, information related to signal strength being lower than a threshold, or event notification of weak / strong signal (e.g., rising / falling edge trigger event lower than / higher than a certain dB number), wherein the signal strength related information is any information that can indicate or characterize high signal strength; the signal weakness related information is any information that can indicate or characterize low signal strength.

[0143] Optionally, the EEF 105 may also request the RAN 102 to perform a periodic update subscription. In this case, the ninth information may further include a reporting period.

[0144] It should be noted that if S3-1 is executed and the ninth information sent is subscription information, after S3-1 is executed, RAN102 can return subscription response information to EEF105 (or return it to EEF105 via one or more NFs), where the subscription response information includes a first subscription identifier (not marked in Figure 3A).

[0145] S3-2: RAN102 detects signal strength related information of UE101. As described above, the object of the signal strength related information detected by RAN102 in this step is the UE101 (which may be at least one UE101 or a group of UE101) that requested and / or subscribed in S3-1.

[0146] In addition, if S3-1 is not executed or the executed step S3-1 does not include any of the identifiers of at least one UE101, the group identifiers of at least one group of UE101, or the indication information of any UE101, RAN102 can detect the signal strength-related information of any at least one UE101 it serves or the signal strength-related information of all UE101.

[0147] Furthermore, if this process is nested in a process executed at a specific granularity, or is an enhancement of a process at a specific granularity, then in this step, the range of UEs 101 detected by RAN 102 cannot exceed the UE range of the granularity of the process in which this process is nested or used for the enhancement.

[0148] For example, if this step is nested within the registration process or is an enhancement to the registration process, since the registration process is UE-granular, any enhancements to the registration process should not be nested within the registration process or have a granularity coarser than the UE granularity. This means that the RAN 102 can only detect signal strength information related to the UE 101 related to the registration process.

[0149] For another example, if the process is nested in a multicast / broadcast service (MBS) related process, or is an enhancement of an MBS related process, since the MBS related process may be at the MBS group granularity, the signal strength detected by RAN102 must be signal strength related information related to at least one UE101 or all UE101 in the MBS group.

[0150] S3-3: RAN102 sends first information to EEF105 and / or sends first information to EEF105 via one or more NFs (eg AMF103), where the first information includes at least signal strength related information.

[0151] As described above, in S3-2, RAN 102 has detected the signal strength related information of UE 101. In this step, RAN 102 sends first information to EEF 105, which includes the signal strength related information detected in S3-2.

[0152] Optionally, the first information includes an identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or a group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101 , and the identifiers can be used to distinguish which UEs 101 and / or which UE 101 groups are detected.

[0153] Specifically, if S3-1 is executed and EEF 105 sends a request message to RAN 102, then in this step, the first message sent by RAN 102 to EEF 105 is a response message. If S3-1 is executed and EEF 105 sends a subscription message to RAN 102, then in this step, the first message sent by RAN 102 to EEF 105 is a notification message and includes the subscription identifier. If S3-1 is not executed, in this step, RAN 102 proactively reports the first message to EEF 105 after detection.

[0154] S3-4: EEF 105 determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the signal strength-related information. As described above, EEF 105 has already obtained the signal strength-related information in S3-3. This step determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the obtained signal strength-related information.

[0155] Among them, QoS related information may include one or more of the following: 5G Quality Index (5QI), Access Mobility Bandwidth Limit (AMBR), Congestion Point Locator (PDB), and Bit Error Rate (PER).

[0156] Optionally, QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate can be locally configured and determined by EEF105 based on signal strength-related information, or can be received from a third function and / or entity (e.g., NWDAF and / or OAM) (e.g., S3-4a and S3-4b).

[0157] S3-4a: EEF 105 sends signal strength-related information to a third function and / or entity for obtaining QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate. Optionally, the information sent by EEF 105 to the third function and / or entity may also include the identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or the group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101. This function functions in the same manner as in S3-3 and is not further described here.

[0158] S3 - 4b: The third function and / or entity sends the QoS related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate determined based on the signal strength related information to the EEF 105 .

[0159] It should be noted that S3-4a and S3-4b are supporting execution actions. If S3-4a is not executed, S3-4b will not be executed either. S3-4 is determined by the local configuration of EEF105, and S3-4a and S3-4b are determined by other NFs and / or entities. Only one of them needs to be executed.

[0160] S3-5: EEF 105 sends the QoS-related information and / or the second information to RAN 102 and / or sends it to RAN 102 via one or more NFs (e.g., PCF 104). As described above, the QoS-related information and / or the transmission rate and / or the bit rate have been determined in S3-4. In this step, EEF 105 sends the acquired QoS-related information and / or the transmission rate and / or the bit rate and / or the second information to RAN 102 and / or sends it to RAN 102 via one or more NFs (e.g., PCF 104).

[0161] Specifically, the second information can be used by the RAN to modify QoS-related information and / or adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the second information includes QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate. Adjustment means that when the signal is weak, the RAN 102 can be instructed to modify QoS-related information and / or reduce the transmission rate and / or reduce the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages. Furthermore, when the information recovers well, the RAN 102 can be instructed to modify QoS-related information again and / or increase the transmission rate and / or increase the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages to ensure service quality. Modifying QoS-related information and / or adjusting transmission rate and / or adjusting bit rate and / or caching data and / or cache messages in the following text is similar and will not be repeated.

[0162] S3-6: EEF 105 sends third information to UE 101 and / or sends third information to UE 101 via one or more NFs (e.g., AMF 103 and / or RAN 102). The third information instructs UE 101 to adjust the transmission rate and / or bit rate and / or buffer data and / or buffer messages, and / or the third information includes the QoS-related information and / or the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0163] It should be noted that the difference between the second information in S3-5 and the third information in this step is that the second information instructs RAN102 to perform downlink rate limiting and / or downlink caching and / or modify QoS related information, and the third information instructs UE101 to perform uplink rate limiting and / or uplink caching.

[0164] Specifically, the transmission manner in which the EEF 105 sends the third information to the UE 101 via one or more NFs may include but is not limited to the following manners:

[0165] 1) EEF 105 sends the third information to AMF 103, or EEF 105 sends the third information to AMF 103 via at least one NF, and then AMF 103 sends the third information to UE 101 through non-access stratum (NAS) information;

[0166] 2) EEF 105 sends the third information to RAN 102, or EEF 105 sends the third information to RAN 102 via at least one NF, and then RAN 102 sends the third information to UE 101 through Radio Resource Control (RRC) information;

[0167] 3) EEF 105 sends the third information to a user plane function (UPF), or EEF 105 sends the third information to UPF via at least one NF, and then UPF sends the third information to the UE through the user plane.

[0168] It should be noted that either S3-5 or S3-6 can be executed separately or both can be executed.

[0169] At this point, the signaling process of the communication method 1 of the first embodiment of the present disclosure has been introduced. It should be noted that the process shown in Figure 3A can be executed independently, or it can be executed nested in other processes, or it can be executed as an enhancement of other processes, and this disclosure does not limit it. Any process that executes all or part of the steps shown in Figure 3A (existing process enhancement or new process, and is not limited to executing the steps of this embodiment through one process) is within the scope of protection of this disclosure. The following Figures 3B, 4A, 4B, and 5 are also the same, and will not be repeated later.

[0170] Optionally, the signaling process of the communication method 2 of the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG3B . The first embodiment of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to FIG3B .

[0171] Figure 3B is a signaling flow chart further illustrating the second communication method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3B , the execution entities of the second communication method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure are the same as those of the first communication method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, namely, they may include: UE 101, RAN 102, AMF 103, EEF 105, and may also include PCF 104 and a third function and / or entity. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution entities in the second communication method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0172] S3-1': Same as S3-1 above, no further details will be given here;

[0173] S3-2': same as above S3-2;

[0174] S3-3': same as above S3-3;

[0175] S3-4': EEF 105 determines energy-related information based on the signal strength-related information, wherein the energy-related information may include at least one of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

[0176] Optionally, the energy-related information may be determined by the EEF 105 in a local configuration based on the signal strength-related information, or may be received from other functions and / or entities (eg, S3 - 4 a ′ and S3 - 4 b ′).

[0177] S3-4a': Similar to the above S3-4a, the EEF 105 sends signal strength related information to the third function and / or entity for obtaining energy related information.

[0178] Optionally, what the EEF 105 sends to the third function and / or entity may also include an identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or a group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101 .

[0179] S3 - 4b ′: The third function and / or entity sends energy-related information determined based on the signal strength-related information to the EEF 105 .

[0180] It should also be noted that S3-4a' and S3-4b' are supporting execution actions. If S3-4a' is not executed, S3-4b' will not be executed either; S3-4' is determined by the local configuration of EEF105, and S3-4a' and S3-4b' are determined by other NFs and / or entities. Only one of the two needs to be executed.

[0181] S3-5': EEF 105 determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the energy-related information. As described above, the energy-related information has already been determined in S3-4' or S3-4a' and S3-4b'. In this step, EEF 105 can determine QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the acquired energy-related information.

[0182] S3-6': same as above S3-5;

[0183] S3-7': Same as above S3-6.

[0184] At this point, the signaling processes of the communication method 1 and the method 2 of the first embodiment of the present disclosure have been introduced. The specific content of the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be continued below.

[0185] Figure 4A is a signaling flow chart further illustrating communication method 1 according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4A , the execution entities of communication method 1 according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure may include: UE 101, RAN 102, AMF 103, EEF 105, and may also include PCF 104 and a third function and / or entity. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution entities in communication method 1 according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0186] S4-1: EEF 105 sends sixth information to AMF 103 and / or to AMF 103 via one or more NFs (eg, PCF 104), where the sixth information may at least include an indication request and / or subscription to RAN coverage related information.

[0187] Optionally, the sixth information sent by EEF105 to AMF103 may include one or more of the following: an identifier of at least one UE101, a group identifier of at least one group of UE101, and indication information of any UE101; the above identifiers and / or indication information are used to indicate which and / or which UE101's RAN coverage-related information the sixth information requests and / or subscribes to.

[0188] Optionally, the RAN coverage related information may be RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, range related information where the signal strength is higher than a threshold, range related information where the signal strength is weaker than a threshold. If it is location information or the coverage information includes location information, the location information may be represented by a geographic location and / or a topological location.

[0189] Optionally, EEF 105 may also request AMF 103 to perform periodic update subscription. In this case, the sixth information may also include a reporting period.

[0190] It should be noted that if the sixth information sent in S4-1 is subscription information, after S4-1 is executed, AMF103 can return subscription response information to EEF105 (or return it to EEF105 via one or more NFs), where the subscription response information includes a subscription identifier (not marked in Figure 4A).

[0191] S4-2: AMF103 obtains RAN coverage related information of UE101. As described above, the object of the RAN coverage related information obtained by AMF103 in this step refers to the UE101 requested and / or subscribed in S4-1 (which can be at least one UE101, a group of UE101, or any UE101).

[0192] Optionally, the RAN coverage related information can be obtained by local configuration of AMF103, or obtained from RAN102 (for example, S4-2a and S4-2b).

[0193] S4-2a: AMF 103 sends seventh information to RAN 102, where the seventh information is used to indicate a request for RAN coverage related information.

[0194] Specifically, the implementation may include but is not limited to the following:

[0195] 1) AMF 103 sends an indication message to RAN 102, where the indication message is used to request RAN coverage related information;

[0196] 2) The seventh information itself serves as implicit coverage request information, for example, the seventh information is sent via an NF service related to requesting RAN coverage related information;

[0197] 3) The seventh information does not include any indication information and does not have an implicit request function. Instead, the RAN 102 returns the RAN coverage related information after receiving the seventh information according to local configuration and / or internal logic.

[0198] S4-2b: RAN102 sends eighth information to AMF103, where the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0199] Optionally, AMF103 can also obtain and / or request RAN coverage-related information of a specific UE101, such as locally configuring RAN coverage-related information of at least one UE101 or at least one group of UE101 groups, or including the identifier of at least one UE101 and the group identifier of at least one group of UE101 in the seventh information sent in S4-2a.

[0200] It should be noted that S4-2a and S4-2b are supporting execution actions. If S4-2a is not executed, S4-2b will not be executed either. S4-2 is obtained by AMF103 local configuration, and S4-2a and S4-2b are obtained from RAN102. Only one of the two needs to be executed.

[0201] S4-3: The AMF 103 sends first information to the EEF 105 and / or sends first information to the EEF 105 via one or more NFs (eg, the PCF 104), where the first information may include at least RAN coverage related information.

[0202] This step can be understood as step S201 described above. As described above, in S4-2 or S4-2a and S4-2b, AMF 103 has already obtained the RAN coverage information of UE 101. In this step, AMF 103 sends a first message to EEF 105, which includes the RAN coverage information obtained in S4-2 and / or S4-2a and S4-2b.

[0203] Optionally, the first information sent includes an identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or a group identifier of at least one group of UE 101 , and the identifier can be used to distinguish which UEs 101 and / or which UE 101 groups are obtained.

[0204] Specifically, if EEF105 sends a request message to AMF103 in the above S4-1, the first message sent by AMF103 to EEF105 in this step is a response message; if EEF105 sends a subscription message to AMF103 in S4-1, the first message sent by AMF103 to EEF105 in this step is a notification message, and includes the above-mentioned subscription identifier.

[0205] S4-4: EEF 105 determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the RAN coverage-related information. As described above, EEF 105 has already obtained the RAN coverage-related information in S4-3. This step determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the obtained RAN coverage-related information.

[0206] Among them, QoS related information may include one or more of the following: 5G Quality Index (5QI), Access Mobility Bandwidth Limit (AMBR), Congestion Point Locator (PDB), and Bit Error Rate (PER).

[0207] Optionally, the QoS related information and / or transmission rate may be locally configured and determined by the EEF 105 based on the RAN coverage related information, or may be received from other functions and / or entities (eg, S4-4a and S4-4b).

[0208] S4-4a: EEF 105 sends RAN coverage-related information to a third function and / or entity to obtain QoS-related information and / or a transmission rate and / or bit rate. The third request information includes the RAN coverage-related information. Optionally, the information sent by EEF 105 to the third function and / or entity may also include the identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or the group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101. S4-4b: The third function and / or entity sends the QoS-related information and / or the transmission rate and / or bit rate determined based on the RAN coverage-related information to EEF 105.

[0209] It should be noted that S4-4a and S4-4b are supporting execution actions. If S4-4a is not executed, S4-4b will not be executed either. S4-4 is determined by the local configuration of EEF105, and S4-4a and S4-4b are determined by other NFs and / or entities. Only one of them needs to be executed.

[0210] S4-5: The same as S3-5 in the first embodiment above, which will not be described again here;

[0211] S4-6: The same as S3-6 in the above embodiment 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0212] It should be noted that S4-5 and S4-6 can be executed either alone or both.

[0213] At this point, the signaling process of the communication method 1 of the second embodiment of the present disclosure has been introduced. Optionally, the signaling process of the communication method 2 of the second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG4B , and the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to FIG4B .

[0214] Figure 4B is a signaling flow chart illustrating the second communication method according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4B , the execution entities of the second communication method of the second embodiment of the present disclosure are the same as the execution entities of the first communication method of the second embodiment of the present disclosure, namely, they may include: UE 101, RAN 102, AMF 103, EEF 105, and may also include PCF 104 and a third function and / or entity. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution entities in the second communication method of the second embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0215] S4-1': Same as S4-1 above, no further details will be given here;

[0216] S4-2': same as above S4-2;

[0217] S4-2a': Same as above S4-2a;

[0218] S4-2b': Same as above S4-2b;

[0219] S4-3': AMF 103 obtains the location information of UE 101. As described above, the location information of UE 101 may also be a geographical location and / or a topological location. When there are multiple UEs 101 or a group of UEs 101, AMF 103 may obtain the location information of multiple UEs 101.

[0220] Optionally, the location information of UE101 can be determined through a mobility management process (for example, determining the cell or tracking area (TA) of UE101) or obtained from other NFs (for example, location management function (LMF)).

[0221] Specifically, determining location information through the mobility management process can be understood as the interaction between AMF 103 and UE 101 to manage its mobility during the mobility management process. UE 101 can periodically report its location updates, including the cell or TA it is in, to AMF 103, and AMF 103 can determine the current location of UE 101 based on these reports.

[0222] The LMF can be an independent NF that is responsible for managing and maintaining information about the location of the UE 101. The LMF can collect and store data related to the location of the UE 101, such as the cell, TA, location area, etc. The AMF 103 can query the LMF for the UE's location information to obtain accurate location data.

[0223] S4-4': AMF 103 determines signal strength information based on the RAN coverage information and the location information of UE 101. As described above, the RAN coverage information has been obtained in S4-2' or S4-2a' and S4-2b', and the location information of UE 101 has also been obtained in S4-3'. In this step, AMF 103 determines signal strength information based on the above information.

[0224] Optionally, the signal strength related information may be signal strength (e.g., dB number), signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength being higher than a threshold, information related to signal strength being lower than a threshold, or event notification of weak / strong signal (e.g., rising / falling edge trigger event lower than / higher than a certain dB number), wherein the signal strength related information is any information that can indicate or characterize high signal strength; the signal weakness related information is any information that can indicate or characterize low signal strength.

[0225] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific manner in which AMF103 determines signal strength related information based on RAN coverage related information and UE101 location information, for example, it can be obtained from OAM.

[0226] S4-5': AMF 103 determines energy-related information based on the signal strength-related information. The energy-related information may include at least one of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information. Note that this step is optional.

[0227] S4-6': AMF103 sends first information to EEF105 and / or sends first information to EEF105 via one or more NFs (eg PCF104), where the first information may include RAN coverage related information and / or signal strength related information and / or location information of UE101 and / or energy related information.

[0228] As described above, RAN coverage related information has been obtained in S4-2' or S4-2a' and S4-2b', UE101 location information has been obtained in S4-3', signal strength related information has been obtained in S4-4', and energy related information has been obtained in S4-5'. In this step, AMF103 sends first information to EEF105, which includes RAN coverage related information and / or signal strength related information and / or UE101 location information and / or energy related information obtained in the above steps.

[0229] Optionally, the first information further includes an identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or a group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101 , and the identifiers can be used to distinguish which UEs 101 and / or which UE 101 groups are obtained.

[0230] Optionally, if the above S4-5' is executed, the first information includes energy-related information; if the above S4-5' is not executed, the first information does not include energy-related information.

[0231] It should be noted that there are multiple types of first information that AMF 103 can send to EEF 105. The difference between S4-6' and S4-3 is that the RAN coverage-related information sent by AMF 103 to EEF 105 in S4-3 is unprocessed, while the signal strength-related information and / or energy-related information sent by AMF 103 to EEF 105 in S4-6' is obtained through different processing.

[0232] S4-7': EEF 105 determines QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate based on the RAN coverage-related information and / or signal strength-related information and / or energy-related information. Optionally, the QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate may be locally configured and determined by the EEF 105 based on the RAN coverage-related information and / or signal strength-related information and / or energy-related information, or may be received from other functions and / or entities (e.g., S4-7a' and S4-7b').

[0233] S4-7a': EEF 105 sends RAN coverage related information and / or signal strength related information and / or location information and / or energy related information of UE 101 to a third function and / or entity for obtaining QoS related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0234] Optionally, what the EEF 105 sends to the third function and / or entity may also include an identifier of at least one UE 101 and / or a group identifier of at least one group of UEs 101 .

[0235] Optionally, if the above S4-5' is executed, the above information includes energy-related information; if the above S4-5' is not executed, the above information does not include energy-related information.

[0236] S4-7b′: The third function and / or entity sends the QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate determined based on the RAN coverage-related information and / or signal strength-related information and / or the location information and / or energy-related information of the UE 101 to the EEF 105 .

[0237] It should be noted that S4-7a' and S4-7b' are supporting execution actions. If S4-7a' is not executed, S4-7b' will not be executed either. S4-7 is determined by the local configuration of EEF105, and S4-7a' and S4-7b' are determined by other NFs and / or entities. Only one of them needs to be executed.

[0238] S4-8': Same as S4-5 above, no further details will be given here;

[0239] S4-9': Same as above S4-6, and will not be repeated here.

[0240] It should be noted that either S4-8' or S4-9' can be executed separately or both can be executed.

[0241] At this point, the signaling processes of communication method 1 and method 2 of embodiment 2 of the present disclosure have been introduced.

[0242] The following further describes the signaling process of the communication method according to Embodiment 3 with reference to Figure 5. Embodiment 3 may include the pre-steps and subsequent execution steps of Embodiment 1 and / or Embodiment 2.

[0243] Figure 5 is a signaling flow chart further illustrating the communication method according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the execution entities of the communication method according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least: UE 101, RAN 102, and EEF 105, and may also include AMF 103 and PCF 104. Specifically, the signaling flow between the various execution entities of the communication method according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0244] S5-1: EEF 105 sends fourth information to RAN 102 and / or sends fourth information to RAN 102 via one or more NFs (e.g., PCF 104). The fourth information includes at least one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, RAN coverage-related information, energy-related information, QoS-related information, the second information, and an association between at least two of the above. This step is intended to configure specific actions to be performed by RAN 102 in response to different signal strength-related information and / or different RAN coverage scenarios, which may include multiple actions.

[0245] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth information may be, for example:

[0246] {

[0247] 10dB, 100Hz, 10Mbps;

[0248] 0dB, ​​70Hz, 5Mbps;

[0249] -10dB, 50Hz, 2Mbps;

[0250] …

[0251] }

[0252] This means that when the signal strength-related information reaches 10dB, it can be transmitted using a bandwidth of 100Hz and a rate of 10Mbps; when the signal strength-related information reaches 0dB, it can be transmitted using a bandwidth of 70Hz and a rate of 5Mbps; when the signal strength-related information reaches -10dB, it can be transmitted using a bandwidth of 50Hz and a rate of 2Mbps, and so on. It should be noted that the above fourth information can be sent in a separate form or in the form of an associated relationship.

[0253] S5-2: EEF 105 sends fifth information to UE 101 and / or sends fifth information to UE 101 via one or more NFs (eg, AMF 103, RAN 102). The fifth information includes at least one or more of the following: signal strength related information, the third information, and an association between the above two items.

[0254] The purpose of this step is to configure the UE 101 with specific actions to be performed when different signal strength related information is configured. The configuration may include multiple actions. For specific forms, refer to the description of S5-1.

[0255] It should be noted that the transmission method in which EEF105 sends the fifth information to UE101 via one or more NFs can be referred to S3-6, that is, AMF103 sends the fifth information to UE101 through NAS information, RAN102 through RRC information, and UPF through the user plane.

[0256] S5-3: RAN 102 performs an operation corresponding to the second information based on the signal strength-related information and / or RAN coverage-related information, and the fourth information. As described above, RAN 102 performs an operation corresponding to the second information based on the signal strength-related information and / or RAN coverage-related information detected and / or acquired in Embodiment 1 and / or Embodiment 2, and the fourth information in S5-1, namely, performs at least one of the following: modifying QoS-related information and / or adjusting transmission rate and / or bit rate and / or buffering data and / or buffering packets.

[0257] S5-4: UE 101 performs an operation corresponding to the third information based on the signal strength-related information and the fifth information. As described above, UE 101 performs an operation corresponding to the third information based on its own signal strength-related information and the fifth information in S5-2. This includes performing at least one of the following: adjusting the transmission rate and / or adjusting the bit rate and / or buffering data and / or buffering messages.

[0258] It should be noted that the above S5-1 and S5-3 form one group, and S5-2 and S5-4 form another group. One or both of the groups can be executed.

[0259] FIG6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6A , the communication device 610 applied to the first network function may include at least:

[0260] The acquisition module 611 is configured to acquire first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

[0261] The communication device 610 applied to the first network function may further include:

[0262] A first sending module 612 is configured to send, based on the first information, at least one of the following to the RAN and / or send to the RAN via one or more network functions: a terminal identifier, a group identifier, quality of service (QoS) related information, and second information; the second information is used for at least one of the following: modification of QoS related information by the RAN, adjustment of a transmission rate by the RAN, adjustment of a bit rate by the RAN, or buffering of data and / or buffered messages by the RAN; and / or the second information includes at least one of the following: QoS related information, transmission rate, and bit rate;

[0263] The second sending module 613 is used to send to the UE according to the first information, and / or send third information to the UE via one or more functions or entities according to the first information, wherein the third information is used by the UE to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes QoS-related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0264] A first requesting module 614 is configured to request and / or subscribe to signal strength related information from the RAN, and / or request and / or subscribe to signal strength related information from the RAN via one or more network functions;

[0265] The first receiving module 615 is configured to receive signal strength related information sent by the RAN, and / or receive signal strength related information sent by the RAN via one or more network functions.

[0266] A second requesting module 616 is configured to request and / or subscribe to RAN coverage related information from a second network function, and / or request and / or subscribe to RAN coverage related information from a second network function via one or more network functions;

[0267] The second receiving module 617 is configured to receive the RAN coverage related information sent by the second network function, and / or receive the RAN coverage related information sent by the second network function via one or more network functions.

[0268] The determination module 618 is configured to determine, based on at least one item of the first information, at least one of the following: signal strength related information, energy related information, QoS related information, second information, and third information.

[0269] The third request module 619 is configured to request at least one of the following from a third function or entity: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or, via one or more functions or entities, request at least one of the following from a third function or entity: energy-related information, QoS-related information;

[0270] The third receiving module 61W is used to receive at least one of the following items sent by a third function or entity: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or receive at least one of the following items sent by a third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: energy-related information, QoS-related information.

[0271] The third sending module 61X is used to send at least one of the following items to a third function or entity: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information; and / or, to send at least one of the following items to a third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: UE identification, group identification, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, energy related information.

[0272] a fourth sending module 61Y, configured to send fourth information to the RAN and / or send fourth information to the RAN via one or more network functions, where the fourth information includes one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, RAN coverage-related information, energy-related information, QoS-related information, the second information, or an association between at least two of the above;

[0273] The fifth sending module 61Z is used to send fifth information to the UE and / or send fifth information to the UE via one or more network functions or entities. The fifth information includes one or more of the following: signal strength related information, third information, and an association between at least two of the above.

[0274] In the above, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0275] In addition, the above-mentioned first network function includes at least one of the following: energy efficiency control function EECF, energy consumption function ECF, energy efficiency function EEF, energy management function EMF, energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, energy efficiency management function EEMF, energy consumption management function ECMF, energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, session management function SMF, policy control function PCF, network data analysis function NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: access and mobility management function AMF, RAN, SMF, non-3GPP interoperability function N3IWF; the third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, operation and maintenance management OAM, PCF, unified data management UDM.

[0276] FIG6B is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a second network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6B , the communication device 620 applied to the second network function may include at least:

[0277] A first receiving module 621 is configured to receive sixth information from the first network function and / or receive sixth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, where the sixth information is used to subscribe to and / or request at least one of the following: RAN coverage-related information, signal strength-related information, and energy-related information;

[0278] The first sending module 622 is configured to send first information to the first network function and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

[0279] The communication device 620 applied to the second network function may further include:

[0280] The first acquisition module 623 is used to locally configure, locally acquire, or locally determine the first information.

[0281] A first request module 624 is configured to send seventh information to the RAN, wherein the seventh information is used to request RAN coverage related information;

[0282] The second receiving module 625 is configured to receive eighth information from the RAN, where the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0283] The second acquisition module 626 is configured to acquire the location information of the terminal.

[0284] The first determining module 627 is configured to determine signal strength related information based on the RAN coverage related information and the terminal location information.

[0285] The second determining module 628 is configured to determine energy-related information based on the signal strength-related information.

[0286] In the above, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0287] In addition, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

[0288] FIG6C is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a RAN according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6C , the communication device 630 applied to a RAN may include at least:

[0289] A first receiving module 631 is configured to receive ninth information from the first network function and / or receive ninth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, where the ninth information is used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information;

[0290] A first sending module 632 is configured to send first information to the first network function and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least signal strength related information;

[0291] A second receiving module 633 is configured to receive seventh information from the second network function, where the seventh information is used to request RAN coverage related information;

[0292] The second sending module 634 is configured to send eighth information to the second network function, where the eighth information includes RAN coverage related information.

[0293] The communication device 630 applied to the RAN may further include:

[0294] The third receiving module 635 is used to receive at least one of the following items determined based on the first information and sent by the first network function and / or received by the first network function via one or more network functions: terminal identification, group identification, quality of service QoS related information, and second information; the second information is used for at least one of the following: RAN modification of QoS related information, RAN adjustment of transmission rate, RAN adjustment of bit rate, RAN cached data and / or cached messages; and / or, the second information includes at least one of the following: QoS related information, transmission rate, bit rate.

[0295] The fourth receiving module 636 is used to receive fourth information sent by the first network function and / or received via one or more network functions. The fourth information includes one or more of the following: signal strength-related information, RAN coverage-related information, energy-related information, QoS-related information, second information, and an association between at least two of the above.

[0296] An execution module is configured to perform an operation corresponding to the second information based on the received terminal identifier, group identifier, QoS-related information, second information, and fourth information. The signal strength-related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibels, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength exceeding a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or the RAN coverage-related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength exceeds a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or the energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

[0297] In addition, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, the second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

[0298] FIG6D is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device applied to a third function or entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6D , the communication device 640 applied to the third function or entity may include at least:

[0299] The receiving module 641 is configured to receive at least one of the following sent by the first network function: a UE identifier, a group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, and energy related information; and / or receive at least one of the following sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: a UE identifier, a group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, and energy related information;

[0300] A response module 642 is configured to respond to at least one of the following requested by the first network function: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or respond to at least one of the following requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy-related information, QoS-related information;

[0301] The sending module 643 is used to send at least one of the following to the first network function: energy-related information, QoS-related information; and / or, to send at least one of the following to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: energy-related information, QoS-related information.

[0302] The communication means 640 applied to the third function or entity may further include:

[0303] The determination module 644 is configured to determine at least one of the following: energy related information and QoS related information based on at least one of the following: UE identifier, group identifier, signal strength related information, RAN coverage related information, and energy related information.

[0304] In the above, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0305] In addition, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or,

[0306] The third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, OAM, PCF, UDM

[0307] FIG6E is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication device of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6E , a communication device 650 applied to a terminal may include at least:

[0308] The first receiving module 651 is used to receive third information sent by the first network function and / or received via one or more network functions; wherein the third information is used by the terminal to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

[0309] The communication device 650 applied to the terminal may further include:

[0310] The second receiving module 652 is used for the terminal to receive fifth information sent by the first network function and / or received by the terminal via one or more network functions, where the fifth information includes one or more of the following: signal strength related information, third information, and an association between at least two of the above.

[0311] The execution module 653 is configured to enable the terminal to execute at least one of the following based on the received third information and / or fifth information: adjusting the transmission rate, adjusting the bit rate, caching data, and caching messages.

[0312] In the above, the signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, information related to signal strength above a threshold, information related to signal strength below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; and / or, the energy related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption related information, energy efficiency related information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, carbon efficiency related information, and energy type related information.

[0313] In addition, the first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

[0314] Figure 7 is a flowchart further illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, the communication method applied to the first network function includes at least the following steps.

[0315] In step S701, a first network function generates and / or sends at least one of the following information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, and third policy information or third operation information. As described above, the first network function includes at least one of the following: an energy efficiency control function EECF, an energy consumption function ECF, an energy efficiency function EEF105, an energy management function EMF, an energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, an energy efficiency management function EEMF, an energy consumption management function ECMF, an energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, a session management function SMF, a policy control function PCF, and a network data analysis function NWDAF.

[0316] Specifically, the first policy information or the first operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: selecting UPF, reselecting UPF; UPF includes UPF using renewable energy and / or is used to serve terminals that allow the use of green network functions or renewable energy network functions.

[0317] The second policy information or the second operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: selecting UPF, reselecting UPF; UPF is a terminal service that allows the reduction of network performance, and / or UPF is a terminal service whose energy consumption reaches or exceeds a preset threshold.

[0318] The third strategy information or the third operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: reducing UPF energy consumption, adjusting UPF energy state, reducing UPF CPU usage, reducing UPF CPU resources, shutting down UPF, and releasing UPF.

[0319] Figure 8 is a signaling flow chart illustrating a communication method according to embodiment 4 of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the execution subjects of the communication method of embodiment 4 of the present disclosure may include: application function (AF), NEF (Network Exposure Function), first network function (EECF is taken as an example in this embodiment), third function and / or entity, unified data management (UDM), fourth network function (such as PCF), session management function (SMF), at least one UPF (such as UPF-1, UPF-2, UPF-3 in Figure 8). As described above, the third function may be NWDAF and / or OAM. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution subjects in the communication method of embodiment 4 of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0320] S8-1: The AF generates and sends energy-saving request information to the NEF. Specifically, the energy-saving request information may include at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), data network name (DNN), and UPF energy consumption threshold.

[0321] S8-2: The NEF sends the information included in the energy saving request information in S8-1 to the EECF. As a possible implementation, the energy saving request information is sent via Neecf_EnergySaving information.

[0322] S8-3: The EECF triggers UPF energy conservation and UPF energy-related information collection. The UPF is powered by renewable energy, or the UPF is powered by non-renewable energy. As a possible implementation, this step is performed based on local policy.

[0323] S8-4: The EECF obtains energy-related UE subscription information from the UDM. The UE subscription information includes at least one of the following, and / or the energy-related UE subscription information indicates at least one of the following: whether the user allows the use of a green or renewable energy network, whether the UE allows the use of a green or renewable energy network, whether the user allows lower performance to reduce energy consumption, whether the UE allows lower performance to reduce energy consumption, and whether the UE energy consumption reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold. The green or renewable energy network refers to a network or network function powered by renewable energy.

[0324] S8-5: The EECF obtains energy-related information of the UPF from the third function and / or entity. The energy-related information of the UPF includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information of the network function or entity, network configuration information, CPU resource information, device capacity information, renewable energy information, and carbon emission information.

[0325] S8-6: The EECF obtains energy-related information of at least one UPF from the SMF. As described above, the energy-related information of the UPF is the same as S8-5. As a possible implementation, the SMF obtains energy-related information and / or energy consumption-related information of the at least one UPF from the UPF.

[0326] S8-7: EECF calculates the energy-related information of UPF. As mentioned above, the energy-related information of UPF is the same as S8-5.

[0327] It should be noted that the above steps S8-3 to S8-8 are performed in parallel, and one or more of them can be selected for execution.

[0328] S8-8: The EECF generates first policy information or first operation information, and / or second policy information or second operation information. Optionally, it may also generate third policy information or third operation information. The first policy information or first operation information, and / or the second policy information or second operation information, and / or the third policy information or third operation information are generated based on the UPF energy consumption-related information and / or the UE subscription information obtained in steps S8-3 to S8-7. The specific information included is as described above in the description of Figure 7 and is not repeated here.

[0329] The first policy information or first operation information, the second policy information or second operation information can be used to adjust the UPF path. The third policy information or third operation information is used to trigger a third function and / or entity to perform UPF energy-saving related operations.

[0330] S8-9a: The EECF sends third policy information or third operation information to the third function and / or entity. The third policy information or third operation information is used to instruct the third function and / or entity to adjust the UPF configuration. Adjusting the configuration may include at least one of the following: reducing the CPU usage or CPU resources of the UPF, shutting down the UPF, or releasing the UPF.

[0331] S8-9b: The EECF sends the first policy information or first operation information, and / or the second policy information or second operation information to the PCF. This step is identical to step S701 described above. The first policy information or first operation information, and / or the second policy information or second operation information, may instruct the PCF or SMF to generate a rule for adjusting the UPF path.

[0332] Adjusting the UPF path may include: selecting a UPF and reselecting a UPF.

[0333] S8-10: The PCF sends fourth policy information or fourth operation information to the SMF. The fourth policy information or fourth operation information may include at least one of the following: a UE address, a session ID, and at least one Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) information. This disclosure does not limit the manner in which the PCF sends the fourth policy information or fourth operation information to the SMF.

[0334] S8-11: The third function and / or entity, PCF, or SMF reconfigures and / or selects a UPF. As described above, based on the first policy information or first operation information, the second policy information or second operation information, the third policy information or third operation information, and the fourth policy information or fourth operation information in S8-9a, S8-9b, and S8-10, the third function and / or entity, PCF, or SMF reconfigures and / or selects a suitable UPF.

[0335] Figure 9 is a flowchart further illustrating a communication method applied to a first network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the first network function may include at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF. The communication method applied to the first network function may include at least the following steps.

[0336] In step S901, the first network function generates and / or sends tenth information to the fourth network function. The tenth information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information. For details, see FIG14 for a detailed description.

[0337] Figure 10 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a fifth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the fifth network function may include: a session management function SMF. The communication method applied to the fifth network function may include at least the following steps.

[0338] In step S1001, the fifth network function selects or reselects a UPF based on at least one of the following: policy information, renewable energy related information, and green energy related information. For details, see FIG14 for detailed description.

[0339] Figure 11 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a fourth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the fourth network function may include: a policy control function (PCF). The communication method applied to the fourth network function may include at least the following steps.

[0340] In step S1101, the fourth network function receives tenth information, which includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and device capacity information. The fourth network function then sends policy information. The policy information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and device capacity information. For details, see FIG14 for a detailed description.

[0341] Figure 12 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to a sixth network function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the sixth network function may include: a network open function (NEF). The communication method applied to the sixth network function may include at least the following steps.

[0342] In step S1201, the sixth network function receives and sends a first request message to the first network function, where the first request message includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information. For details, see FIG14 for a detailed description.

[0343] 13 is a method flow chart further illustrating a communication method applied to an application function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the communication method applied to an application function (AF) may include at least the following steps.

[0344] In step S1301, a first request message is sent or sent via at least one network function, the first request message including at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information. For details, see FIG14 for a detailed description.

[0345] Figure 14 is a signaling flow chart illustrating the communication method according to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 14, the execution subjects of the communication method of the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure may include: application function (AF), NEF (Network Exposure Function), first network function (EECF is taken as an example in this embodiment), third function and / or entity, unified data management (UDM), fourth network function (such as PCF), session management function (SMF), at least one UPF (such as UPF-1, UPF-2, UPF-3 in Figure 14). As described above, the third function may be NWDAF and / or OAM. Specifically, the flow of signaling between the various execution subjects in the communication method of the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0346] S14-1: The AF sends a first request message to the EECF and / or to the EECF via the NEF. Specifically, the first request message may include at least one of the following: at least one UE identity, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

[0347] Among them, the first threshold includes: when the energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when the renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, network energy saving needs to be performed; and / or, the first indication information includes: allowing the UPF to be selected / reselected based on the renewable energy related information, or it is necessary to select / reselect the UPF based on the renewable energy related information.

[0348] S14-2: The EECF obtains subscription information from the UDM. The subscription information may include: energy-related UE subscription information, including at least one of the following, and / or indicating at least one of the following: allowing energy saving based on renewable energy-related information, allowing energy saving based on green energy-related information, allowing UPF selection based on renewable energy-related information, and allowing UPF selection based on green energy-related information.

[0349] S14-3: The EECF obtains energy-related information from other NFs and / or from a third function and / or entity. The energy-related information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy information, green energy information, carbon emission information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and device capacity information.

[0350] S14-4: The EECF generates and sends tenth information to the PCF. The tenth information may include selecting or reselecting a UPF that uses renewable energy. A UPF that uses renewable energy may also be described as at least one of the following: a UPF powered by renewable energy, a UPF related to renewable energy, a UPF that uses green energy, a UPF powered by green energy, or a UPF related to green energy.

[0351] The tenth information may be generated based on all or part of the contract information, and / or based on all or part of the received tenth request information.

[0352] S14-5: The PCF sends policy information. The policy establishment information or the policy update information includes at least one of the tenth information. That is, the policy information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and device capacity information.

[0353] As a possible implementation manner, the policy information is sent via policy establishment information or policy update information.

[0354] S14-6: The SMF selects or reselects the UPF based on at least one of the following: the strategy information, renewable energy related information, and green energy related information.

[0355] Figure 15 is a hardware block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least a processor; and a memory for storing computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are loaded and executed by the processor, the processor executes the communication method described above.

[0356] The electronic device 1500 shown in Figure 15 specifically includes: a central processing unit (CPU) 1501, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1502, and a memory 1503. These units are interconnected via a bus 1504. The central processing unit (CPU) 1501 and / or the graphics processing unit (GPU) 1502 can be used as the above-mentioned processor, and the memory 1503 can be used as the above-mentioned memory for storing computer-readable instructions. In addition, the electronic device 1500 may further include a communication unit 1505, a storage unit 1506, an output unit 1507, an input unit 1508, and an external device 1509, which are also connected to the bus 1504.

[0357] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer program product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 16, a computer program product 1600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has a computer program 1601 stored thereon. When executed by a processor, computer program 1601 performs the communication method described with reference to the above figures. The computer program product includes, but is not limited to, volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, flash memory, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, etc. The communication method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer program product according to the embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying figures. According to the communication method of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network side instructs a terminal and / or a radio access network device to dynamically adjust communication parameters based on the communication status of the communication network (for example, a first network function obtains first information, the first information including at least one of the following: signal strength information, radio access network (RAN) coverage information, and energy information), thereby optimizing the energy efficiency of the communication network. Furthermore, based on the current communication status information, flexible control of the energy consumption configuration of user-plane-related network elements is achieved.

[0358] 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. Professionals and technicians 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 disclosure.

[0359] The basic principles of the present disclosure have been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, strengths, and effects mentioned in this disclosure are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and should not be construed as necessarily possessed by each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the specific details disclosed above are provided for illustrative purposes and to facilitate understanding, rather than as limitations. These details do not limit the present disclosure to necessarily being implemented using these specific details.

[0360] The block diagrams of the devices, devices, equipment, and systems involved in this disclosure are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, or configured in the manner shown in the block diagrams. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these devices, devices, equipment, and systems can be connected, arranged, or configured in any manner. Words such as "include," "comprise," "have," and the like are open-ended words, meaning "including but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith. The words "or" and "and" used herein refer to the words "and / or" and can be used interchangeably therewith, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The word "such as" used herein refers to the phrase "such as but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith.

[0361] Additionally, as used herein, "or" used in a list of items beginning with "at least one" indicates a separate list, so that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C, or AB or AC or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Furthermore, the word "exemplary" does not mean that the example described is preferred or better than other examples.

[0362] It should also be noted that in the system and method of the present disclosure, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present disclosure.

[0363] Various changes, substitutions, and modifications may be made to the technology described herein without departing from the teachings defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the claims of this disclosure is not limited to the specific aspects of the processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of things, means, methods, and actions described above. Currently existing or later developed processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of things, means, methods, or actions that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same results as the corresponding aspects described herein may be utilized. Accordingly, the appended claims include within their scope such processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of things, means, methods, or actions.

[0364] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0365] The above description has been provided for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although a number of example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, alterations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A communication method, performed by a first network function, the method comprising: First information is obtained, where the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises, Sending, according to the first information, to the RAN and / or sending, via one or more network functions, at least one of the following to the RAN: a terminal identifier, a group identifier, quality of service (QoS) related information, and second information; The second information is used for at least one of the following: The RAN modifies the QoS related information, the RAN adjusts the transmission rate, the RAN adjusts the bit rate, the RAN caches data and / or caches messages; and / or, The second information includes at least one of the following: the QoS related information, transmission rate, and bit rate; and / or, Sending to the UE according to the first information, and / or sending third information to the UE via one or more functions or entities; the third information is used by the UE to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the QoS related information and / or transmission rate and / or bit rate.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Obtaining the first information includes: The first information is locally configured, locally acquired, or locally determined.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The method further comprises: requesting and / or subscribing to the signal strength related information from the RAN, and / or requesting and / or subscribing to the signal strength related information from the RAN via one or more network functions; and / or, The signal strength related information is received from the RAN, and / or the signal strength related information is received from the RAN via one or more network functions.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The method further comprises: Requesting and / or subscribing to the RAN coverage related information from the second network function, and / or requesting and / or subscribing to the RAN coverage related information from the second network function via one or more network functions; receiving the RAN coverage related information sent by the second network function, and / or receiving the RAN coverage related information sent by the second network function via one or more network functions.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The method further comprises: Based on at least one item of the first information, determine at least one of the following: The signal strength related information, the energy related information, the QoS related information, the second information, and the third information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The method further comprises: Requesting at least one of the following from a third function or entity: the energy related information, the QoS related information; and / or, Requesting, via one or more functions or entities, from a third function or entity at least one of the following: the energy related information, the QoS related information; and / or, receiving at least one of the following sent by the third function or entity: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information; and / or, At least one of the following items sent by the third function or entity is received via one or more functions or entities: the energy-related information and the QoS-related information.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The method further comprises: Sending at least one of the following to the third function or entity: the UE identifier, the group identifier, the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information; and / or, At least one of the following is sent to the third function or entity via one or more functions or entities: the UE identifier, the group identifier, the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: sending fourth information to the RAN and / or sending fourth information to the RAN via one or more network functions, the fourth information including one or more of the following: the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, the energy related information, the QoS related information, the second information, or an association between at least two of the above; and / or, Send fifth information to the UE and / or send fifth information to the UE via one or more network functions or entities, where the fifth information includes one or more of the following: the signal strength related information, the third information, and an association between at least two of the above.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, related information about signal strength being above a threshold, related information about signal strength being below a threshold; and / or, The RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is higher than a threshold, information related to a range where signal strength is lower than a threshold; and / or, The energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: energy efficiency control function EECF, energy consumption function ECF, energy efficiency function EEF, energy management function EMF, energy consumption and efficiency function ECEF, energy efficiency management function EEMF, energy consumption management function ECMF, energy consumption and efficiency management function ECEMF, session management function SMF, policy control function PCF, network data analysis function NWDAF; and / or, The second network function includes at least one of the following: access and mobility management function AMF, RAN, SMF, non-3GPP interoperability function N3IWF; and / or, The third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, operation and maintenance management OAM, PCF, and unified data management UDM.

12. A communication method, performed by a second network function, the method comprising: receiving, from the first network function, and / or receiving, from the first network function via one or more network functions, sixth information for subscribing to and / or requesting at least one of the following: RAN coverage related information, signal strength related information, and energy related information; And / or, sending first information to the first network function and / or sending first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The method further comprises: Acquire the first information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The acquiring of the first information includes: The first information is locally configured, locally acquired, or locally determined.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The method further comprises: sending seventh information to the RAN, wherein the seventh information is used to request the RAN coverage related information; and / or, receiving eighth information from the RAN, wherein the eighth information includes the RAN coverage related information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The method further comprises: Acquire location information of the terminal.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The method further comprises: The signal strength related information is determined based on the RAN coverage related information and the location information of the terminal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: The method further comprises: The energy-related information is determined based on the signal strength-related information.

19. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein: The signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, related information about signal strength exceeding a threshold, related information about signal strength falling below a threshold; Furthermore, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, and information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; Furthermore, the energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, The second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

21. A communication method, performed by a RAN, the method comprising: receiving, from the first network function, and / or receiving from the first network function via one or more network functions, ninth information for subscribing to and / or requesting signal strength related information; and / or, sending first information to the first network function and / or sending first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least: the signal strength related information; and / or, receiving seventh information from the second network function, where the seventh information is used to request the RAN coverage related information; and / or, sending eighth information to the second network function, wherein the eighth information includes the RAN coverage related information.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein The method further comprises: receiving at least one of the following items determined based on the first information and sent by the first network function and / or received by the first network function via one or more network functions: an identifier of the terminal, a group identifier, quality of service (QoS) related information, and second information; The second information is used for at least one of the following: Modify the QoS related information, adjust the transmission rate, adjust the bit rate, cache data and / or cache messages; and / or, the second information includes at least one of the following: the QoS related information, transmission rate, bit rate.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein The method further comprises: Receive fourth information sent by the first network function and / or received via one or more network functions, where the fourth information includes one or more of the following: the signal strength-related information, the RAN coverage-related information, the energy-related information, the QoS-related information, the second information, and an association between at least two of the above.

24. A method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein The method further comprises: Based on the received terminal identifier, the group identifier, the QoS-related information, the second information, and the fourth information, an operation corresponding to the second information is performed.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein: The signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, related information about signal strength exceeding a threshold, related information about signal strength falling below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, and information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; And / or, the energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, The second network function includes at least one of the following: AMF, RAN, SMF, N3IWF.

27. A communication method, performed by a third function or entity, the method comprising: receiving at least one of the following sent by the first network function: a UE identifier, a group identifier, signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information; and / or, receiving at least one of the following sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: a UE identifier, a group identifier, signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information; and / or, Responding to at least one of the following requested by the first network function: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information; and / or, responding to at least one of the following requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: the energy related information, the QoS related information; and / or, At least one of the following information sent to the first network function: the energy-related information and the QoS-related information; and / or, At least one of the following is sent to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein The method further comprises: Based on at least one of the following: the UE identifier, the group identifier, the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information, at least one of the following: the energy related information and the QoS related information is determined.

29. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 28, wherein The signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, related information about signal strength exceeding a threshold, related information about signal strength falling below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, and information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; And / or, the energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

30. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF; and / or, The third function or entity includes at least one of the following: NWDAF, OAM, PCF, UDM.

31. A communication method, performed by a terminal, the method comprising: receiving third information sent by the first network function and / or receiving third information sent by the first network function via one or more network functions; The third information is used by the terminal to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

32. The method according to claim 30, wherein The method further comprises: Receive fifth information sent by the first network function and / or received by the first network function via one or more network functions, where the fifth information includes one or more of the following: the signal strength-related information, the third information, and an association between at least two of the above.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, wherein The method further comprises: Based on the received third information and / or the received fifth information, perform at least one of the following: adjust the transmission rate, adjust the bit rate, cache data, and cache messages.

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein: The signal strength related information includes one or more of the following: signal strength, signal decibel number, signal strength data, one or more signal strength classification data, related information about signal strength exceeding a threshold, related information about signal strength falling below a threshold; and / or, the RAN coverage related information includes one or more of the following: RAN location information, coverage radius, coverage range, information related to a range where signal strength is above a threshold, and information related to a range where signal strength is below a threshold; And / or, the energy-related information includes one or more of the following: energy consumption-related information, energy efficiency-related information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, carbon efficiency-related information, and energy type-related information.

35. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 34, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

36. A communication method, performed by a first network function, comprising: Generate and / or send at least one of the following information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, third policy information or third operation information.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein The first policy information or the first operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: Selecting a user plane function UPF and reselecting the UPF; The UPF includes a UPF using renewable energy.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein: The second policy information or the second operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: Selecting a UPF, reselecting the UPF; The UPF is a terminal service that allows network performance to be reduced, and / or the UPF is a terminal service whose energy consumption reaches or exceeds a preset threshold.

39. The method according to claim 36, wherein The third policy information or the third operation information includes at least one of the following and / or is used for at least one of the following: Reduce UPF energy consumption, adjust the UPF energy state, reduce the UPF's central processing unit usage, reduce the UPF's central processing unit resources, shut down the UPF, and release the UPF.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein The UPF further comprises: Used for terminals that allow the use of green network functions or renewable energy network functions.

41. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 40, wherein: The method further comprises: Sending at least one of the following to a fourth network function: the first policy information or the first operation information, the second policy information or the second operation information; and / or, Send at least one of the following to a third function or entity: the third policy information or the third operation information.

42. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 41, wherein: The method further comprises: Generate and / or send at least one of the following information based on the terminal contract information and / or UPF energy-related information: the first policy information or first operation information, the second policy information or second operation information, the third policy information or third operation information.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein The terminal contract information includes at least one of the following, or indicates at least one of the following: Whether the terminal allows the use of green or renewable energy networks, whether the terminal allows lower performance to reduce energy consumption, and whether the terminal's energy consumption reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold; wherein the green or renewable energy network refers to a network or network function powered by renewable energy; and / or, The energy-related information of the UPF includes at least one of the following, or indicates at least one of the following: Energy consumption information of network functions or entities, network configuration information, CPU resource information, device capacity information, renewable energy related information, and carbon emission related information.

44. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 43, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

45. A communication method, performed by a first network function, comprising: Generate and / or send tenth information to the fourth network function, where the tenth information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein The method further comprises: Generate and / or send the tenth information based on all or part of the contract information; and / or, The tenth information is generated and / or sent based on all or part of the received first request information.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein The contract information includes at least one of the following, and / or the contract information indicates at least one of the following: Energy conservation based on information related to renewable energy is allowed, energy conservation based on information related to green energy is allowed, selection of UPF is allowed based on information related to renewable energy, and selection of UPF is allowed based on information related to green energy.

48. The method according to claim 46 or 47, wherein The first request information includes at least one of the following: At least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

49. The method according to any one of claims 46 to 48, wherein The first request information is sent by an application function AF, or the first request is sent by the AF via a network opening function NEF.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein The first threshold includes: when energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, it is necessary to perform network energy saving; and / or, The first indication information includes: allowing to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information, or requiring to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information.

51. The method according to any one of claims 45 to 50, wherein: The first network function includes at least one of the following: EECF, ECF, EEF, EMF, ECEF, EEMF, ECMF, ECEMF, SMF, PCF, NWDAF.

52. A communication method, performed by a fifth network function, comprising: Select or reselect UPF based on at least one of the following: strategy information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein: The policy information includes at least one of the following: Energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and equipment capacity information.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein: The method further comprises: Receive at least one of the following: all or part of the policy information, the energy consumption information, the energy efficiency information, the renewable energy related information, the green energy related information, the carbon emission related information, the network configuration information, the central processing unit resource information, and the device capacity information.

55. The method according to any one of claims 52 to 54, wherein: The fifth network function includes: a session management function SMF.

56. A communication method, performed by a fourth network function, comprising: receiving tenth information, the tenth information including at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information; Send policy information.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein The policy information includes at least one of the following: Energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, CPU resource information, and equipment capacity information.

58. The method according to claim 56 or 57, wherein The fourth network function includes: a policy control function PCF.

59. A communication method, performed by a sixth network function, comprising: Receive and send first request information to the first network function, where the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein The first threshold includes: when energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, it is necessary to perform network energy saving; and / or, The first indication information includes: allowing to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information, or requiring to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information.

61. The method according to claim 59 or 60, wherein The sixth network function includes: a network opening function NEF.

62. A communication method, performed by an application function, the method comprising: Send or send first request information via at least one network function, where the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein: The first threshold includes: when energy consumption information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, or when renewable energy related information of the terminal and / or session and / or network function reaches or exceeds the first threshold, it is necessary to perform network energy saving; and / or, The first indication information includes: allowing to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information, or requiring to select / reselect the UPF according to the renewable energy related information.

64. A communication device, applied to a first network function, comprising: The acquisition module is configured to acquire first information, where the first information includes at least one of the following: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

65. A communication device, applied to a second network function, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive sixth information from the first network function, and / or receive sixth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the sixth information is used to subscribe to and / or request at least one of the following: RAN coverage-related information, signal strength-related information, and energy-related information; A sending module is used to send first information to the first network function and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information includes at least: signal strength related information, radio access network RAN ​​coverage related information, and energy related information.

66. A communication device, applied to a RAN, comprising: a first receiving module, configured to receive ninth information from the first network function, and / or receive ninth information from the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the ninth information is used to subscribe to and / or request signal strength related information; A first sending module is configured to send first information to the first network function and / or send first information to the first network function via one or more network functions, wherein the first information at least includes: the signal strength related information; A second receiving module is configured to receive seventh information from a second network function, where the seventh information is used to request the RAN coverage related information; The second sending module is configured to send eighth information to the second network function, where the eighth information includes the RAN coverage related information.

67. A communication device, applied to a third function or entity, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive at least one of the following sent by the first network function: the UE identifier, the group identifier, the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information; and / or receive at least one of the following sent by the first network function via one or more network functions: the UE identifier, the group identifier, the signal strength related information, the RAN coverage related information, and the energy related information; a sending module, configured to respond to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function: the energy-related information and the QoS-related information; and / or, responding to at least one of the following items requested by the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information; and / or, sending at least one of the following items to the first network function: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information; And / or, sending at least one of the following to the first network function via one or more network functions or entities: the energy-related information, the QoS-related information.

68. A communication device, applied to a terminal, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive third information sent by the first network function and / or received via one or more network functions; The third information is used by the terminal to adjust the transmission rate and / or adjust the bit rate and / or cache data and / or cache messages, and / or the third information includes the transmission rate and / or bit rate.

69. A communication device, applied to a first network function, comprising: The generating and sending module is used to generate and / or send at least one of the following information: first policy information or first operation information, second policy information or second operation information, and third policy information or third operation information.

70. A communication device, applied to a first network function, comprising: A generating and sending module is used to generate and / or send tenth information to the fourth network function, where the tenth information includes at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy-related information, green energy-related information, carbon emission-related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information.

71. A communication device, applied to a fifth network function, comprising: The selection module is used to select or reselect the UPF based on at least one of the following: strategy information, renewable energy related information, and green energy related information.

72. A communication device, applied to a fourth network function, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive tenth information, the tenth information comprising at least one of the following: energy consumption information, energy efficiency information, renewable energy related information, green energy related information, carbon emission related information, network configuration information, central processing unit resource information, and device capacity information; A sending module is used for the fourth network function to send policy information.

73. A communication device, applied to a sixth network function, comprising: A receiving module is used to receive and send a first request information to a first network function, where the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

74. A communication device, used for application functions, comprising: A sending module is used to send or send a first request information via at least one network function, where the first request information includes at least one of the following: at least one UE identifier, at least one UE address, S-NSSAI, DNN, a first threshold, and first indication information.

75. An electronic device comprising: a memory for storing computer-readable instructions; as well as A processor, configured to execute the computer-readable instructions so that the electronic device performs the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 63.

76. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein When the computer program is executed by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 63 is implemented.

Images