Communication method, system and related device

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a communication method, a system and a related device. The method comprises: determining a first paging time period corresponding to a first user equipment, the first paging time period being a time period within the valid time period of a service link; and transmitting within the first paging time period a first paging message for the first user equipment. In this way, identifiers of different user equipments usually differ, such that the start times of paging time periods determined on the basis of the identifiers of the different user equipments by a satellite network equipment for the different user equipments usually differ, which can reduce the number of paging messages that the satellite network equipment needs to transmit at the same paging occasion, that is, paging messages corresponding to a plurality of user equipments can be distributed to different paging occasions for transmission, thus alleviating or solving the problem of paging congestion caused when the satellite network equipment transmits paging messages for a large number of user equipments at the same paging occasion.

Description

Communication method, system and related device

[0001] This application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410694350.6 filed on May 30, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, system and related device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a communication method, system and related device. BACKGROUND

[0003] In non-terrestrial networks (NTN), a core network can usually find user equipment (UE) in an idle state or an inactive state by sending a paging message, so that the core network can subsequently communicate data with the terminal.

[0004] Generally, satellite network devices such as satellites or aircrafts in the NTN move above the land, which makes the signal coverage range of the satellite network devices change with the movement of the satellite network devices. Therefore, when the core network needs to send a paging message to the UE in a specified area (such as a certain urban area), if the service link between the satellite network device and the UE located in the specified area is invalid, that is, the signal coverage range of the satellite network device does not reach the specified area, the core network will send the paging message to the satellite network device through the ground gateway for storage. When the service link is valid, that is, the signal coverage range (or called service area) of the satellite network device reaches the specified area, the satellite network device forwards the stored paging message to multiple UEs in the specified area.

[0005] However, in actual application scenarios, the satellite network device usually stores a large number of paging messages, which makes the satellite network device have a large number of paging messages to be sent to multiple UEs in the signal coverage range, thereby easily causing the problem of paging congestion. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, system and related device, which aims to alleviate the problem of paging congestion caused by the satellite network device forwarding the paging message.

[0007] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a satellite network device, and the method comprises: determining a first paging time period corresponding to a first user equipment according to an identifier of the first user equipment, the first paging time period being a time period within a service link valid time period, the service link valid time period being a time period during which the satellite network device can send paging messages for multiple user equipments, wherein the first user equipment refers to one of the multiple user equipments for which the satellite network device needs to forward paging messages; and sending a first paging message for the first user equipment within the first paging time period. Similarly, for a second user equipment of the multiple user equipments, the satellite network device can determine a second paging time period corresponding to the second user equipment based on a similar manner, and send a second paging message for the second user equipment within the second paging time period.

[0009] Thus, since the satellite network device determines the paging time period corresponding to a user equipment according to an identifier of the user equipment, and the identifiers of different user equipments are usually different, the starting time of the paging time period determined by the satellite network device for different user equipments is usually different, that is, the satellite network device determines different starting times for the paging time periods of different user equipments within the service link valid time period, so that the satellite network device sends paging messages for different user equipments within different paging time periods, which can reduce the number of paging messages that the satellite network device needs to send at the same paging occasion, that is, the paging messages corresponding to multiple user equipments can be sent at different paging occasions, so as to alleviate or solve the problem of paging congestion caused by the satellite network device sending paging messages for a large number of user equipments at the same paging occasion.

[0010] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment, the satellite network device can specifically obtain a first number of radio frames included in the service link valid time period, and determine the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the first number. Thus, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipments according to the identifiers of the user equipments and the first number of radio frames included in the service link valid time period, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward paging messages for multiple user equipments, thereby alleviating the problem of paging congestion of the satellite network device.

[0011] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the first number, the satellite network device can specifically perform a modulo operation on the first number according to the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a first modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment, and determine a radio frame corresponding to the first modulo value in the service link valid time period as the first radio frame in the first paging time period. In this way, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipment according to the modulo operation on the identifier of the user equipment, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward the paging messages of multiple user equipment, thereby relieving the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0012] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment, the satellite network device can specifically obtain a second number of a DRX (Discontinuous Reception) cycle used by the first user equipment to listen to the paging message in the service link valid time period, and determine the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the second number. In this way, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipment according to the identifier of the user equipment and the second number of the DRX cycle used by the first user equipment to listen to the paging message in the service link valid time period, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward the paging messages of multiple user equipment, thereby relieving the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the second number, the satellite network device can specifically perform a modulo operation on the second number according to the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a second modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment, and determine a radio frame corresponding to the second modulo value in the service link valid time period as the first radio frame in the first paging time period. In this way, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipment according to the modulo operation on the identifier of the user equipment, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward the paging messages of multiple user equipment, thereby relieving the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0014] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment, the satellite network device can specifically acquire a third quantity of paging frames used by the first user equipment to listen to paging messages in a DRX cycle, and determine the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity. In this way, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipment according to the identifier of the user equipment and the third quantity of paging frames used by the first user equipment to listen to paging messages in a DRX cycle, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward paging messages of multiple user equipment, thereby alleviating the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, when determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment according to the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity, the satellite network device can specifically perform a modulo operation on the third quantity according to the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a third modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment, and determine a radio frame corresponding to the third modulo value in the service link valid time period as the first radio frame of the first paging time period. In this way, the satellite network device can determine different paging time periods for different user equipment according to the modulo operation on the identifier of the user equipment, so as to disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward paging messages of multiple user equipment, thereby alleviating the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the satellite network device can further broadcast a first message, and the first message includes the service link valid time period. For example, the first message can be a system message. In this way, the satellite network device can notify each user equipment of the service link valid time period through broadcasting.

[0017] In a possible implementation, each user equipment in the multiple user equipment is configured with a paging priority, and the paging priority is used to indicate the priority of the user equipment being paged. The satellite network device determines the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment by determining a first sub-time period in the service link valid time period in which the first user equipment listens to paging messages according to the paging priority of the first user equipment, configuring user equipment with different paging priorities to listen to paging messages in different sub-time periods in the service link valid time period, and determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment from the first sub-time period. In this way, the satellite network device can further disperse the paging occasions used by the satellite network device to forward paging messages of multiple user equipment according to the paging priority of the user equipment, thereby being able to improve the effect of alleviating the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0018] In one possible implementation, when the satellite network device determines the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the paging message of the first user equipment (UAE) is being monitored, based on the paging priority of the first UAE, it may specifically query a first mapping relationship according to the paging priority of the first UAE to obtain the first sub-time period corresponding to the paging priority of the first UAE; wherein, the first mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of at least one paging priority. In this way, the satellite network device can determine the paging time period within different sub-time periods based on the paging priority of the UAE, which can further distribute the paging timing used by forwarding paging messages from multiple UAEs, thereby improving the effectiveness of alleviating the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the satellite network device may also broadcast a second message, which includes a second mapping relationship and a category to which each paging priority belongs in at least one paging priority. For example, the second message may be a system message. Thus, the user equipment can determine its corresponding sub-time period based on the broadcast mapping relationship, so that the user equipment can determine the paging message within that sub-time period, thereby further dispersing the paging timing used by the satellite network device to forward the paging message.

[0020] In one possible implementation, when the satellite network device determines the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment (User Equipment) is listening for paging messages based on the paging priority of the first User Equipment, specifically, it may determine the first category to which the paging priority of the first User Equipment belongs; query a second mapping relationship based on the first category to obtain the first sub-time period corresponding to the first category; and the first User Equipment listens for paging messages within the first sub-time period. The second mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each category in at least one category, and the first category is one of the at least one categories. In this way, the satellite network device can determine the paging time period within different sub-time periods based on the paging priority of the User Equipment. This can further distribute the paging timing used by forwarding paging messages from multiple User Equipments, thereby improving the effectiveness of alleviating the paging congestion problem of the satellite network device.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the satellite network device may also broadcast a third message, which includes a second mapping relationship and a category to which each paging priority belongs. For example, the third message may be a system message. Thus, the user equipment can determine its corresponding sub-time period based on the broadcast mapping relationship and the category to which each paging priority belongs, so that the user equipment can determine the paging message within that sub-time period, thereby further dispersing the paging timing used by the satellite network device to forward paging messages.

[0022] In one possible implementation, among multiple user equipments (UEs), some UEs have eDRX (Extended Discontinuous Receiver) functionality. The satellite network equipment can also broadcast a fourth message instructing the UEs to disable the eDRX function; or, broadcast a fifth message instructing UEs with eDRX parameters greater than a threshold value to disable the eDRX function, where the eDRX parameters indicate the time interval between two adjacent PTW (Paging Transmission Window). For example, the fourth or fifth message can specifically be a system message. Thus, the satellite network equipment can instruct UEs to disable the eDRX function or instruct some UEs to disable the eDRX function by broadcasting messages. This avoids the problem of a UE not having a PTW during the paging period, thereby preventing the UE from being unable to receive paging messages based on the PTW.

[0023] In one possible implementation, when the satellite network device sends a first paging message for a first user equipment (User Equipment) during the first paging time period, specifically, if the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first User Equipment is greater than a threshold value, the first paging message is sent based on DRX mode during the first paging time period; if the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first User Equipment is less than or equal to the threshold value, the first paging message is sent based on eDRX mode during the first paging time period. This avoids the problem of User Equipment with eDRX parameters greater than the threshold value not having a PTW (Paging Placement Warp) during the paging time period, thus preventing the User Equipment from being unable to receive paging messages based on PTW.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the satellite network device may also broadcast a sixth message, which includes a threshold value. In this way, the satellite network device can notify each user device of the threshold value via broadcast.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first user equipment has an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) function, and the start time of the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is the start time of PTW (Paging Time Warp). Thus, by using the start time of the paging time period as the start time of PTW, the problem of the user equipment not having PTW during the paging time period can be avoided, thereby preventing the user equipment from being unable to receive paging messages based on PTW.

[0026] Secondly, this application provides a communication method applied to a first user equipment. The method includes: determining a first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment, wherein the first paging time period is a time period within the effective time period of the service link; and obtaining a first paging message for the first user equipment within the first paging time period.

[0027] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: obtaining a first number of radio frames included in the valid time period of the service link, and determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first number.

[0028] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first quantity includes: performing a modulo operation on the first quantity based on the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a first modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; and determining the radio frame corresponding to the first modulo value within the effective time period of the service link as the first radio frame within the first paging time period.

[0029] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: obtaining a second number of DRX (Discontinuous Receive) cycles used by the first user equipment to listen to paging messages during the effective time period of the service link, and determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second number.

[0030] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second quantity includes: performing a modulo operation on the second quantity based on the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a second modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; and determining the time corresponding to the second modulo value within the effective time period of the service link as the start time of the first paging time period.

[0031] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: obtaining a third number of paging frames used by the first user equipment to listen for paging messages within a DRX cycle, and determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third number.

[0032] In one possible implementation, determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity includes: performing a modulo operation on the third quantity based on the identifier of the first user equipment to obtain a third modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; and determining the time corresponding to the third modulo value within the effective time period of the service link as the start time of the first paging time period.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: obtaining a first message, the first message including a valid time period of the service link.

[0034] In one possible implementation, each of the multiple user equipments is configured with a paging priority, which indicates the priority of a user equipment being paged; determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: determining a first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment; user equipments configured with different paging priorities listening for paging messages in different sub-time periods within the effective time period of the service link; and determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment from the first sub-time period.

[0035] In one possible implementation, determining a first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: querying a first mapping relationship based on the paging priority of the first user equipment to obtain the first sub-time period corresponding to the paging priority of the first user equipment; wherein, the first mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of at least one paging priority.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: obtaining a second message, the second system message including the first mapping relationship.

[0037] In one possible implementation, determining a first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening to paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: determining a first category to which the paging priority of the first user equipment belongs; querying a second mapping relationship based on the first category to obtain the first sub-time period corresponding to the first category; and listening to paging messages within the first sub-time period for the first user equipment; wherein the second mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each category in at least one category, and the first category is one of the at least one categories.

[0038] In one possible implementation, a third message is obtained, which includes a second mapping relationship and a category to which each of the at least one paging priority belongs.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the first user equipment has an eDRX (Extended Discontinuous Receive) function, and the method further includes: acquiring a fourth message, the fourth message being used to instruct the first user equipment to disable the eDRX function; or, acquiring a fifth message, the fifth message being used to instruct the first user equipment with an eDRX parameter greater than a threshold value to disable the eDRX function, the eDRX parameter being used to indicate the time interval between two adjacent PTWs (Paging Transmission Windows).

[0040] In one possible implementation, sending a first paging message for a first user equipment during a first paging time period includes: when the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is greater than a threshold value, obtaining a first paging message for the first user equipment based on the DRX mode during the first paging time period; when the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is less than or equal to the threshold value, obtaining a first paging message for the first user equipment based on the eDRX mode during the first paging time period.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: obtaining a sixth message, the sixth message including a threshold value.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the first user equipment has an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) function, and the start time of the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is the start time of PTW.

[0043] Thirdly, this application provides a satellite network device, which includes a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is used to perform the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect; and the processor is used to perform other operations in the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect besides the receiving operation and the transmitting operation.

[0044] Fourthly, this application provides a user equipment including a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to perform the receiving and transmitting operations in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect; and the processor is configured to perform other operations in the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect besides the receiving and transmitting operations.

[0045] Fifthly, this application provides a communication system including a satellite network device and a user equipment. The satellite network device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any embodiment thereof, and the user equipment is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0046] Sixthly, this application provides a computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, implements the communication method provided in any one of the first to second aspects of this application.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on at least one computing device, causes the at least one computing device to implement the communication method provided in any one of the first to second aspects of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0048] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of an exemplary communication system provided in this application;

[0049] Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of the process by which the core network 2 forwards the paging message corresponding to UE1 from multiple paging messages to UE1 through the satellite network device 1;

[0050] Figure 2b is a schematic diagram of paging congestion caused by satellite network device 1 forwarding paging messages to multiple UEs when the service link starts to take effect;

[0051] Figure 2c is a schematic diagram of paging blocking caused by satellite network device 1 forwarding paging messages for multiple UEs within a radio frame;

[0052] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this application;

[0053] Figure 4a is a schematic diagram of how satellite network device 1 determines different paging time periods for different UEs;

[0054] Figure 4b is another schematic diagram of satellite network device 1 determining different paging time periods for different UEs;

[0055] Figure 4c is a schematic diagram of different radio frames within the effective service link time period, where the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponds to different UEs.

[0056] Figure 4d is a schematic diagram showing the different start times of PTW for different UEs;

[0057] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of determining the sub-time period corresponding to each UE based on the mapping relationship between paging priority and sub-time period 1;

[0059] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the mapping relationship between the paging priority category and the sub-time period to determine the sub-time period corresponding to each UE;

[0060] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing the determination of different paging time periods for UE1 and UE2 within the same sub-time period 1;

[0061] Figure 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a satellite network device provided in this application;

[0062] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a UE provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0063] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0064] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0065] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying order.

[0066] This application provides a communication system, which can be a fifth-generation (5G) communication system, a 5G New Radio (5G NR) system, or other new communication systems emerging in future communication developments. The communication system includes multiple devices, and these devices can exchange signals to achieve data interaction. For example, the multiple devices included in the communication system may be satellite network equipment and a UE (User Equipment), where the satellite network equipment can be a satellite or an aircraft. The following description uses a communication system including satellite network equipment and a UE as an example.

[0067] An example of a communication system is shown in Figure 1, including a satellite network device 1 and n UEs, UE1 to UEn, as shown in Figure 1. Here, n is a positive integer greater than 1. Furthermore, the communication system may also include a core network 2, as shown in Figure 1, which is responsible for handling call and data requests, and providing functions such as user connection, user management, and service carrying.

[0068] In the embodiments provided in this application, the satellite network device 1 can be any device located on the network side and having wireless transceiver capabilities, including but not limited to: satellites or aircraft in non-territorial networks (NTNs), or other possible satellite network devices.

[0069] In a communication system, a UE, such as UE1, can take various forms. For example, a UE can be a mobile phone, tablet, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal device, wireless terminal in self-driving technology, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grids, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart cities, wireless terminal in smart homes, wearable terminal devices, and so on. A UE can also be referred to as a terminal device, access terminal device, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. A terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0070] Core network 2 may include one or more network elements, such as access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, etc. The network elements in core network 2 can provide paging messages for a large number of UEs to satellite network equipment 1 so that the satellite network equipment 1 can store and forward the paging messages.

[0071] In practical applications, as shown in Figure 2a, the core network 2 can page the UE through the satellite network device 1. Taking UE1 as an example, the process of the core network 2 paged UE1 can specifically include the following steps.

[0072] S201: Core network 2 sends multiple paging messages corresponding to UEs to satellite network device 1, including the paging message corresponding to UE1.

[0073] S202: Satellite network device 1 stores the paging messages corresponding to the multiple UEs.

[0074] In real-world applications, the service link between satellite network device 1 and n UEs may fail. For example, satellite network device 1 may move over land, causing its signal coverage area to change. Consequently, when satellite network device 1's signal coverage area no longer covers UE1's location, the service link between satellite network device 1 and UE1 fails. In this case, if the core network needs to page UE1 (e.g., if UE1 is in an idle or inactive state), the core network will send a paging message to satellite network device 1. Because the service link between satellite network device 1 and UE1 has failed, satellite network device 1 temporarily stores the paging message.

[0075] Furthermore, the signal coverage area of ​​satellite network device 1 typically includes a large number of UEs, meaning the value of n is relatively large. Therefore, satellite network device 1 may store a large number of paging messages during service link failures.

[0076] S203: When the service link starts to function, satellite network device 1 forwards the paging message corresponding to UE1 from the multiple paging messages corresponding to UEs stored in the database to UE1.

[0077] S204: UE1 listens for paging messages when the service link becomes active.

[0078] Furthermore, satellite network device 1 will also forward the paging messages corresponding to other UEs (i.e., UE2 to UEn) stored in the service link to other UEs when the service link becomes active. At the same time, other UEs will also listen for paging messages when the service link becomes active.

[0079] When the service link between satellite network device 1 and UE1 becomes active, if the signal coverage of satellite network device 1 once again covers the location of UE1, satellite network device 1 will begin to determine the paging frame for transmitting paging messages for UE1 and the paging timing within that paging frame, and will send the stored paging message corresponding to UE1 to UE1 based on the determined paging timing. For other UEs, satellite network device 1 can also use a similar method to send the paging messages corresponding to each other UE to the other UEs when the service link becomes active.

[0080] Simultaneously, when the service link becomes active, the n UEs will also begin listening for paging messages sent by satellite network device 1; correspondingly, satellite network device 1 will also begin the process of forwarding paging messages to the n UEs. Since the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 can forward at a single paging time is limited, when the number of stored paging messages is large, paging blockage will occur, as shown in Figure 2b, that is, a large number of paging messages will fail to be forwarded to the corresponding UE at that paging time.

[0081] For example, as shown in Figure 2c, assuming the service link is active for 16 radio frames, and multiple UEs located within the service area are identified as UEs 0, 2, 9, 16, 18, 25, 32, 34, and 41, then when the service link becomes active, satellite network device 1 can determine to send paging messages to these UEs in the first radio frame. Since the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 can send in a single radio frame is limited, some UEs' paging messages fail to be forwarded using the paging messages in the first radio frame, resulting in paging congestion.

[0082] Meanwhile, each UE is unaware of the paging blockage in satellite network device 1. This means that during the period when satellite network device 1 is blocked, the UE will be in a state of listening for paging messages for a long time until it finally hears the paging message, which will result in high power consumption for the UE.

[0083] Based on this, this application provides a communication method to alleviate the problem of paging blockage sent by satellite network device 1, and further, to reduce the power consumption generated by the UE listening to paging messages.

[0084] Specifically, in the communication system shown in Figure 1, when the service link between satellite network device 1 and n UEs is active, for UE1 among the n UEs, satellite network device 1 determines the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on UE1's identifier. The paging time period corresponding to UE1 is a period within the active service link time period, which refers to the time period during which satellite network device 1 can send paging messages to the n UEs (including UE1). For example, it can be the time period during which the service link is active. Therefore, satellite network device 1 can send a paging message for UE1 within the paging time period corresponding to UE1. Correspondingly, UE1 will also determine the paging time period in which it receives the paging message and obtain the paging message sent by satellite network device 1 within that paging time period. Similarly, for each UE from UE2 to UEn, satellite network device 1 will also determine the paging time period corresponding to that UE based on its identifier and send the corresponding paging message within that paging time period.

[0085] Since the identifiers of different UEs from UE1 to UEn are usually different, the start times of the paging time periods determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs based on their identifiers will usually differ. In other words, satellite network device 1 will determine different paging time periods for different UEs within the effective service link time period, thus satellite network device 1 will send paging messages to different UEs in different paging time periods. This can reduce the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 needs to send at the same paging time. That is, the paging messages corresponding to n UEs can be distributed to different paging times for transmission, thereby alleviating or solving the paging congestion problem caused by satellite network device 1 sending paging messages to a large number of UEs at the same paging time.

[0086] In addition, when paging congestion is alleviated or resolved, each UE can receive paging messages during the paging period, which eliminates the need for each UE to maintain a state of listening for paging messages, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the UE.

[0087] It is worth noting that the above explanation is based on a communication system consisting of one satellite network device and two UEs. In actual applications, the number of satellite network devices and UEs can be any number.

[0088] Referring to Figure 3, a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application is illustrated. The communication method shown in Figure 3 can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1, or it can be applied to other possible communication systems. For ease of understanding and explanation, the following description uses the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example. As shown in Figure 3, the process of this communication method includes the following steps:

[0089] S301: Core network 2 sends paging messages corresponding to multiple UEs to satellite network equipment 1.

[0090] In this embodiment, if the core network 2 needs to page n UEs in a specified area, the core network 2 can send multiple paging messages corresponding to each UE to the satellite network device 1, so that the satellite network device 1 can forward the paging message to each UE.

[0091] The link between core network 2 and satellite network equipment 1 is usually called a feeder link. During the period when the feeder link is active, core network 2 can send paging messages corresponding to multiple UEs to satellite network equipment 1.

[0092] S302: Satellite network device 1 stores paging messages corresponding to multiple UEs respectively.

[0093] The service link between satellite network device 1 and n UEs may fail. For example, satellite network device 1 may move over land, causing changes in its signal coverage. If the signal coverage of satellite network device 1 does not cover the locations of the n UEs, the service link between satellite network device 1 and those n UEs will fail. Alternatively, the service link may temporarily fail for other reasons. Therefore, when satellite network device 1 receives multiple paging messages from core network 2 during the period of service link failure, satellite network device 1 can store these paging messages so that they can be forwarded to the corresponding UEs later when the service link is restored.

[0094] S303: Satellite network device 1 broadcasts message 1, which includes the valid time period of the service link.

[0095] The effective service link time period is the period during which satellite network device 1 can send paging messages to multiple satellite network devices. In practical application scenarios, after satellite network device 1 has moved for a period of time, its signal coverage can once again cover the locations of n UEs. At this time, the service link between satellite network device 1 and the n UEs can become effective, and satellite network device 1 can communicate with the n UEs.

[0096] In this embodiment, satellite network device 1 can broadcast message 1 to notify each UE located within the signal coverage area of ​​relevant information required for receiving paging messages. In this embodiment, message 1 pre-broadcast by satellite network device 1 may include a service link validity period, so that each UE receiving the broadcast message 1 can know the service link validity period for forwarding paging messages.

[0097] In one possible implementation, satellite network device 1 can determine the effective service link time period based on an ephemeris chart. Specifically, satellite network device 1 can determine the start time t0 of entering the service area and the end time t1 of leaving the service area based on the ephemeris chart, thus defining the time interval between t0 and t1 as the effective service link time period. Alternatively, satellite network device 1 can define a period between t0 and t1 as the effective service link time period. For example, satellite network device 1 can define the time interval between time tx and time ty as the effective service link time period, where tx is later than t0 and ty is earlier than t1. The effective service link time period can be represented by a start time and a duration, allowing satellite network device 1 to start timing at the start time and determine the end of the effective service link time period when the duration is reached. Alternatively, the effective service link time period can also be represented by a start time and an end time, allowing satellite network device 1 to determine the start of the effective service link time period when the current time reaches the start time and the end time when the current time reaches the end time.

[0098] After determining the effective time period of the service link, satellite network device 1 can generate and broadcast message 1 indicating the effective time period of the service link. Message 1 may include, for example, the start and end times of the effective time period of the service link, thereby indicating the effective time period of the service link; or, message 1 may include, for example, the start time and duration of the effective time period of the service link, thereby indicating the effective time period of the service link. Thus, each UE located within the signal coverage area of ​​satellite network device 1 can learn the effective time period of the service link from message 1 broadcast by satellite network device 1.

[0099] As some implementation examples, the message 1 broadcast by satellite network device 1 may be, for example, a system information (SI) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message, or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message, or may be other types of messages, without limitation.

[0100] It is worth noting that in this embodiment, satellite network device 1 notifies multiple UEs of the effective service link time period via broadcast message 1. In other embodiments, the UE can also obtain the effective service link time period through other implementation methods. For example, since satellite network device 1 moves periodically relative to the land, it can calculate the time period for its next one or more entry into the service area based on an ephemeris chart and send it to the UE through the service link established with the UE. Thus, when satellite network device 1 leaves the service area and thereby disconnects the service link with the UE, the UE can determine the time period for satellite network device 1 to re-enter the service area based on locally stored information, thereby determining the effective service link time period for sending paging messages when satellite network device 1 re-enters the service area.

[0101] S304: Satellite network device 1 determines the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1, wherein the paging time period corresponding to UE1 is the time period within the valid time period of the service link.

[0102] Similarly, for each of the n UEs, the satellite network device can determine the corresponding paging time period based on the UE's identifier. Since the identifiers of different UEs are usually different, the start times of the paging time periods determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs will differ. For example, the paging time periods determined by satellite network device 1 for UE1, UE2, and UE3 can be as shown in Figure 4a or Figure 4b, where the start times of the paging time periods for different UEs are different. The end times of the paging time periods for different UEs can also differ, as shown in Figure 4a; or, the end times of the paging time periods for different UEs can be the same, such as the end time of the effective service link time period.

[0103] It is understandable that when satellite network device 1 restores the service link, if satellite network device 1 simultaneously determines the paging occasion (PO) for forwarding paging messages for multiple UEs, it is easy for satellite network device 1 to need to forward paging messages for a large number of UEs on the same PO. At the same time, the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 can forward on a single PO is limited, which can easily lead to paging congestion.

[0104] To address this, satellite network device 1 can determine different paging time periods for different UEs, and within each paging time period, it can determine the PO (Point of Purchase) to forward paging messages for different UEs. In this way, the POs for which satellite network device 1 forwards paging messages for different UEs can be distributed across different paging time periods. This avoids a large number of paging messages needing to be forwarded in the short period immediately following the recovery of the service link, thus preventing paging congestion.

[0105] As examples, this embodiment provides the following non-limiting implementation methods to determine different paging time periods for different UEs.

[0106] In the first implementation example, satellite network device 1 can determine different radio frames for different UEs within the effective service link time period, and use the determined radio frame as the first radio frame in the paging time period corresponding to that UE.

[0107] In specific implementation, taking the determination of the paging time period corresponding to UE1 as an example, satellite network device 1 can obtain the identifier of UE1, such as by parsing the identifier of UE1 from the paging message to be sent to UE1. This identifier of UE1 could be, for example, its International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). Furthermore, satellite network device 1 can also count the number M of radio frames included within the effective time period of the service link, where M is a positive integer greater than 1. Thus, satellite network device 1 can determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on UE1's identifier and this number M.

[0108] For example, satellite network device 1 can perform a modulo operation on the quantity M based on the identifier of UE1 to obtain the modulo value corresponding to UE1, and determine the radio frame corresponding to this modulo value within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to UE1. For example, when the modulo value is 0, satellite network device 1 can take the first radio frame within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to UE1; when the modulo value is 4, satellite network device 1 can take the fifth radio frame within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to UE1. Accordingly, the starting time of the paging time period corresponding to UE1 can be the starting position of the radio frame corresponding to this modulo value in the time domain. Furthermore, the paging time periods for different UEs can be the same or different. Therefore, satellite network device 1 can determine the duration of the paging time period corresponding to UE1, such as 10 minutes. After determining the start time of the paging time period corresponding to UE1, satellite network device 1 can determine the end time of the paging time period based on the duration of the paging time period, and determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the start time and end time.

[0109] For example, assuming the effective time period of the service link is 200 milliseconds (ms), including 16 radio frames (i.e., M is 16), and the service area includes UEs with identifiers of 0, 2, 9, 16, 18, 25, 32, 34, and 41, the modulo value of the UE's identifier relative to 16 can be calculated using the following formula (1): FN = UE_ID mod 16 Formula (1)

[0110] Where FN is the modulus, UE_ID is the identifier of the UE, and mod refers to the modulo operation.

[0111] As shown in Figure 4c, for UEs identified as 0, 16, and 32, satellite network device 1 can use the first radio frame within the effective service link time period (i.e., the radio frame corresponding to a modulus value of 0) as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to these UEs.

[0112] As shown in Figure 4c, for UEs identified as 2, 18 and 34, satellite network device 1 can use the third radio frame (that is, the radio frame corresponding to the modulus value of 2) within the effective time period of the service link as the first radio frame within the paging time period of these UEs.

[0113] As shown in Figure 4c, for UEs identified as 9, 25 and 41, satellite network device 1 can use the 10th radio frame (that is, the radio frame corresponding to the modulus value of 9) within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to these UEs.

[0114] Similarly, based on the above method, satellite network device 1 can also determine the paging time period corresponding to each UE. Since the identifiers of different UEs differ in their modulus relative to the data volume M, the start time (or the first radio frame) of the paging time period determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs will differ. Thus, the POs (Paging Points) for sending paging messages to multiple UEs within different paging time periods can be distributed across different radio frames, effectively reducing the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 needs to send on the same PO. For example, assuming there is a 4-radio-frame interval between the paging time period corresponding to UE1 and the paging time period corresponding to UE2, the PO for forwarding paging messages determined by satellite network device 1 for UE1 within the paging time period corresponding to UE1 can also be spaced 4 radio frames (or other numbers of radio frames) apart from the PO for forwarding paging messages determined by satellite network device 1 for UE2 within the paging time period corresponding to UE2. This effectively avoids forwarding paging messages corresponding to UE1 and UE2 on the same PO, thus avoiding paging blocking between UE1 and UE2.

[0115] In the second implementation example, satellite network device 1 can determine the first radio frame in the paging time period corresponding to the UE based on the discontinuous reception (DRX) period used by each UE to listen to paging messages.

[0116] In specific implementation, taking the determination of the paging time period corresponding to UE1 as an example, satellite network device 1 can determine the identifier of UE1 and obtain the number N of DRX cycles used by UE1 when listening to paging messages, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. The number N of DRX cycles can be a default number, such as the number defined in the communication standard protocol, or it can be a number configured by satellite network device 1 / core network (and satellite network device 1 can notify UE1 of this number). Then, satellite network device 1 can determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1 and the number N. For example, satellite network device 1 can perform a modulo operation on the number N based on the identifier of UE1 to obtain the modulo value corresponding to UE1, and determine the radio frame corresponding to this modulo value within the effective time period of the service link as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to UE1, and determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the first radio frame within the paging time period.

[0117] Similarly, based on the above method, satellite network device 1 can also determine the paging time period corresponding to each UE. Since the modulus of the identifiers of different UEs relative to the data volume N differs, the start times of the paging time periods determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs will also differ. Thus, the POs (Paging Points) for sending paging messages to multiple UEs within different paging time periods can be distributed across different radio frames, which effectively reduces the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 needs to send on the same PO.

[0118] In the third implementation example, satellite network device 1 can determine the first radio frame in the paging time period corresponding to a UE based on the paging frame (PF) used by each UE to listen for paging messages in a DRX cycle.

[0119] In specific implementation, taking the determination of the paging time period corresponding to UE1 as an example, satellite network device 1 can determine the identifier of UE1 and obtain the number O of PFs used by UE1 when listening for paging messages within a DRX cycle, where O is a positive integer greater than 1. The number O of PFs can be a default number, such as the number defined in the communication standard protocol, or it can be a number configured by satellite network device 1 / core network (and this number can be notified to UE1 by satellite network device 1). Then, satellite network device 1 can determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1 and the number O. For example, satellite network device 1 can perform a modulo operation on the number O based on the identifier of UE1 to obtain the modulo value corresponding to UE1, and determine the radio frame corresponding to this modulo value within the effective time period of the service link as the first radio frame within the paging time period corresponding to UE1, and determine the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the first radio frame within the paging time period.

[0120] Similarly, based on the above method, satellite network device 1 can also determine the paging time period corresponding to each UE, and the start time of the paging time period determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs differs. In this way, the PO for sending paging messages to multiple UEs within different paging time periods can be distributed across different radio frames, which can effectively reduce the number of paging messages that satellite network device 1 needs to send on the same PO.

[0121] It should be noted that, in addition to the three implementation examples mentioned above, satellite network device 1 can also determine different paging time periods for multiple UEs in other ways, and there is no limitation on this. For example, in the three implementation examples mentioned above, the modulo operation is performed using the UE's identifier. In other implementation methods, satellite network device 1 can also use the UE's identifier to determine the start time / first radio frame of the paging time period through other operations, and there is no limitation on this.

[0122] S305: UE1 determines the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1.

[0123] It is understandable that, since the paging time periods determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs are different, each UE also needs to determine the time period in which it listens for paging messages. This time period is also the paging time period determined by satellite network device 1 for that UE, so that satellite network device 1 and UE can complete the paging process within the same paging time period.

[0124] The specific implementation process for determining the paging time period for each UE from UE1 to UEn can be found in the description of the relevant part of step S304 above, where satellite network device 1 determines the paging time period for UE1, and will not be repeated here.

[0125] S306: Satellite network device 1 sends a paging message for UE1 during the paging time period corresponding to UE1.

[0126] S307: UE1 listens for paging messages during the paging time period corresponding to UE1.

[0127] After determining different paging time periods for each UE, satellite network device 1 can determine the PO for forwarding paging messages within the paging time period corresponding to each UE, and send the paging message for the UE on the PO.

[0128] In one possible implementation, taking the example of satellite network device 1 sending a paging message for UE1 within paging time period 1, satellite network device 1 can first determine the PF within paging time period 1. For example, satellite network device 1 can determine the PF used to send the paging message using the following formula (2): SFN mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) Formula (2)

[0129] In this context, SFN refers to the frame number of the PF; T refers to the DRX period; N refers to the number of PFs included in one DRX period; UE_ID refers to the UE identifier; and mod refers to modulo operation. Thus, the radio frame indicated by SFN is the PF used to send paging messages, and satellite network device 1 can determine that a paging message is sent within this PF.

[0130] Since a PF can typically include multiple POs, after determining the PF, satellite network device 1 can further determine a PO for sending paging messages from among the multiple POs included in the PF.

[0131] Among them, satellite network device 1 can determine PO based on a preset formula. For example, satellite network device 1 can determine PO based on the following formula (3): i_s=floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns Formula (3)

[0132] Where i_s refers to the PO number, that is, the PO number in the PF; it refers to the number of POs included in a PF; floor refers to the floor operation.

[0133] In this way, satellite network device 1 can send a paging message for UE1 on the determined PO.

[0134] Correspondingly, UE1 can also determine the PF and the PO within the PF using the above method, and listen for paging messages sent by satellite network device 1 on the PO. In this way, satellite network device 1 and UE1 can determine the PO used to send / receive paging messages based on the same calculation logic, thereby enabling satellite network device 1 to send paging messages to UE1.

[0135] Similarly, for other UEs, satellite network device 1 can also determine the PO corresponding to that UE in a similar way, and other UEs can also determine the PO that receives the paging message in a similar way, thereby enabling satellite network device 1 to send the stored paging message to each UE.

[0136] In practical applications, some UEs may support Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX). These eDRX-enabled UEs determine their paging transmission window (PTW) within the 1024 PFs included in the hyper-super frame number (H-SFN), and only listen for paging messages in PFs within the PTW. For radio frames outside the PTW, the UE can remain in sleep or low-power state (not listening for paging messages). In this case, for these UEs, satellite network device 1 determines the PTW within the paging time period after determining it. However, if the time interval between two adjacent PTWs is too large (e.g., the interval is longer than the paging time period), it may prevent the PTW from being determined within the paging time period. This means the UE cannot have a PTW during the paging time period, thus preventing satellite network device 1 from paging the UE during that period. In real-world applications, the time interval between two connected PTWs can reach up to 2.9127 hours, which is usually much longer than the service link duration corresponding to satellite network device 1.

[0137] Based on this, this application provides the following implementation examples of satellite network equipment 1 sending paging messages to UEs that support eDRX features.

[0138] In the first implementation example, satellite network device 1 can broadcast message 2, such as before the service link becomes active. This message 2 is used to instruct UEs supporting eDRX to disable the eDRX function. After disabling eDRX, the UE can determine the PO (Point of Purchase) for listening to paging messages within the paging time period based on the DRX mode, such as by determining the PO in the manner described above. Simultaneously, satellite network device 1 can also uniformly determine the PO for each UE based on the DRX mode and send a paging message to the corresponding PO for each UE. In practical applications, message 2 can be a different message from message 1, or it can be combined with message 1. That is, message 1 broadcast by satellite network device 1 can simultaneously include the effective service link time period and information instructing UEs supporting eDRX to disable the eDRX function.

[0139] In the second implementation example, satellite network device 1 can broadcast message 3, such as before the service link becomes active. This message 3 is used to instruct UEs whose eDRX parameters are greater than a threshold value to disable the eDRX function. The eDRX parameter indicates the time interval between two adjacent PTWs. Both satellite network device 1 and the UE can calculate the time interval between two adjacent PTWs based on the eDRX parameter. The threshold value can be a value shorter than the paging time period, such as 1 minute. In practical applications, message 3 can be a different message from message 1, or it can be combined with message 1. That is, message 1 broadcast by satellite network device 1 can simultaneously include the effective time period and information instructing UEs whose eDRX parameters are greater than the threshold value to disable the eDRX function.

[0140] Thus, during the forwarding of paging messages by satellite network device 1, assuming UE1 is a UE supporting eDRX, satellite network device 1 can first parse the eDRX parameters from the paging message to be sent to UE1 and compare the value of the eDRX parameters with a preset threshold. When the eDRX parameter corresponding to UE1 is greater than the threshold, satellite network device 1 can send a paging message for UE1 based on DRX mode within the paging time period 1 corresponding to UE1. Conversely, when the eDRX parameter corresponding to UE1 is less than or equal to the threshold, satellite network device 1 can send a paging message for UE1 based on eDRX mode within the paging time period 1 corresponding to UE1. Furthermore, for other UEs that do not support eDRX, satellite network device 1 will send paging messages to those other UEs based on DRX mode.

[0141] It is understandable that for UEs with eDRX parameters less than or equal to the threshold value, since the duration of the paging time period corresponding to the UE is usually longer than the time interval indicated by the eDRX parameter, the UE can necessarily determine the PTW within the paging time period, and thus the UE can use the PO within the PTW to listen for paging messages. Correspondingly, satellite network device 1 can determine the PTW based on the same logic and use the PO within the PTW to send paging messages. For UEs with eDRX parameters greater than the threshold value, both the UE and satellite network device 1 can use the above method to transmit paging messages at the same paging timing within the paging time period.

[0142] The aforementioned threshold values ​​can be pre-broadcast by satellite network device 1 to each UE supporting eDRX. For example, message 1 broadcast by satellite network device 1 can include not only the effective service link time period but also the threshold values. Alternatively, satellite network device 1 can broadcast message 4, which includes the threshold values, etc. That is, the threshold values ​​and the aforementioned effective service link time period can be broadcast separately to each UE.

[0143] In this embodiment, each of the above messages 2 to 4 can be any one of system messages, RRC messages, PDCCH messages, and PDSCH messages, or it can be other types of messages, and there is no limitation on this.

[0144] In the third implementation example, for each UE supporting eDRX, satellite network device 1 can determine the start time of the paging time period corresponding to that UE as the start time of the PTW. Thus, regardless of whether the eDRX parameter corresponding to the UE is greater than a threshold value, the paging time period corresponding to that UE will always include at least one PTW, allowing satellite network device 1 and the UE to transmit paging messages based on the PO within that PTW. Furthermore, since the start times of the paging time periods for different UEs differ, the start times of the PTW determined by satellite network device 1 for different UEs supporting eDRX are different. This prevents paging congestion caused by an excessive number of paging messages needing to be forwarded on the same PO when satellite network device 1 forwards paging messages for multiple UEs.

[0145] For example, assuming the effective service link time period includes 16 radio frames, and the service area includes UEs with identifiers of 0, 2, 9, 16, 18, 25, 32, 34, and 41, the modulus of the UE's identifier relative to 16 can be calculated using the above formula (1). Thus, for UEs with identifiers of 0, 16, and 32, satellite network device 1 can take the first radio frame within the effective service link time period (i.e., the radio frame corresponding to the modulus of 0) as the first radio frame of the PTW corresponding to these UEs, that is, determine the start time of the PTW corresponding to UEs with identifiers of 0, 16, and 32 as the start time corresponding to the first radio frame within the effective service link time period, as shown in Figure 4d. For UEs identified as 2, 18, and 34, satellite network device 1 can use the third radio frame (i.e., the radio frame corresponding to a modulus of 2) within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame in the PTW corresponding to these UEs. In other words, the start time of the PTW corresponding to UEs identified as 2, 18, and 34 is determined as the start time of the third radio frame within the effective service link time period, as shown in Figure 4d. For UEs identified as 9, 25, and 41, satellite network device 1 can use the tenth radio frame (i.e., the radio frame corresponding to a modulus of 9) within the effective service link time period as the first radio frame in the PTW corresponding to these UEs. In other words, the start time of the PTW corresponding to UEs identified as 9, 25, and 41 is determined as the start time of the tenth radio frame within the effective service link time period, as shown in Figure 4d.

[0146] Thus, for both UEs supporting eDRX and those not supporting eDRX, satellite network device 1 can determine the PO (Point of Purchase) for sending paging messages within the paging time period. Simultaneously, the UE can also determine the PO for listening to paging messages within the same paging time period. This allows satellite network device 1 to forward paging messages sent by the core network to the corresponding UE. Furthermore, for different UEs, different POs within different paging time periods can be used to send paging messages, effectively mitigating or avoiding paging congestion issues for satellite network device 1.

[0147] In practical applications, satellite network device 1 can further divide the time period for sending paging messages to each UE into finer-grained segments based on the paging priority of each UE, so that multiple UEs can transmit paging messages more evenly within the effective service link time period. This will be explained in detail below with reference to Figure 5.

[0148] Referring to Figure 5, a flowchart of another communication method provided in this application is shown. As shown in Figure 5, the method may specifically include the following steps.

[0149] S501: Core network 2 sends multiple paging messages corresponding to UEs to satellite network equipment 1. Each paging message corresponding to a UE includes the UE's identifier and the UE's paging priority.

[0150] The paging priority is used to indicate the priority of a UE being paged. For example, satellite network device 1 can send paging messages to UEs with higher paging priority first, and then send paging messages to UEs with lower paging priority.

[0151] As an example of implementation, during the paging process of a UE, the core network can add the identifier of the UE being paging and the paging priority of the UE to the generated paging message. Then, the core network sends the paging message to satellite network device 1 so that the satellite network device 1 can forward the paging message to the UE being paging.

[0152] The paging priority of a UE can be determined based on attributes such as its service type and latency requirements. For example, a UE may have a higher paging priority for type A services and a lower paging priority for type B services. Similarly, a UE with high latency requirements may have a higher paging priority, while a UE with low latency requirements may have a lower paging priority. For instance, UEs identified as 1, 2, and 3 may have a paging priority of 1; UEs identified as 4, 5, and 6 may have a paging priority of 2; UEs identified as 7, 8, and 9 may have a paging priority of 3; and UEs identified as 10, 11, and 12 may have a paging priority of 4, etc., without any restrictions.

[0153] S502: Satellite network device 1 stores paging messages corresponding to multiple UEs respectively.

[0154] Among them, the core network 2 can forward the paging messages corresponding to multiple UEs to the satellite network device 1 during the time period when the feeder link is active, and store them in the satellite network device 1.

[0155] S503: Satellite network device 1 broadcasts message 1, which includes the valid time period of the service link.

[0156] Among them, satellite network device 1 can communicate with each UE when the service link between it and the UE is active.

[0157] S504: Satellite network device 1 determines the sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where UE1 is listening to paging messages, based on the paging priority of UE1.

[0158] In this way, UEs configured with different paging priorities can listen for paging messages in different sub-time periods within the effective time period of the service link, and the satellite network device 1 can determine the paging time period for UEs with different paging priorities in different sub-time periods.

[0159] In this embodiment, satellite network device 1 can divide the effective time period of the service link into multiple sub-time periods based on different paging priorities. Furthermore, satellite network device 1 can send paging messages to UEs with at least one paging priority within each sub-time period, and send paging messages to UEs with different paging priorities within different sub-time periods. By dividing the effective time period of the service link according to the UE's paging priority, satellite network device 1 can further distribute the paging timing of users corresponding to multiple UEs more evenly across different times within the effective time period of the service link, thereby further improving the effect of avoiding paging congestion for satellite network device 1.

[0160] In this embodiment, the following two are non-limiting implementation methods for the UE to determine the sub-time period in which the paging message is located.

[0161] In the first implementation, satellite network device 1 can be pre-configured with a mapping relationship 1, which indicates the sub-time period corresponding to each paging priority. For example, mapping relationship 1 can be a correspondence between the identifier of a paging priority and the identifier of a sub-time period, with each paging priority corresponding to one sub-time period. Thus, for multiple stored paging messages corresponding to UEs, satellite network device 1 can look up the mapping relationship 1 based on the paging priority in the paging message to determine the sub-time period corresponding to that paging priority, i.e., obtain the sub-time period in which the UE with that paging priority is listening for paging messages within the effective service link time period.

[0162] For example, suppose a UE's paging priority can include X types, ranging from paging priority 1 to paging priority X, where X is a positive integer greater than 1. Furthermore, the service area can include UEs with identifiers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. UEs with identifiers 1, 2, and 3 can have paging priority 1; UEs with identifiers 4, 5, and 6 can have paging priority 2; UEs with identifiers 7, 8, and 9 can have paging priority 3; and UEs with identifiers 10, 11, and 12 can have paging priority 4, etc., without limitation. Then, satellite network device 1 can divide the effective time period of the service link into X sub-time periods based on these X paging priorities, with no overlap between different sub-time periods. Then, satellite network device 1 can determine the corresponding sub-time period for each UE based on its paging priority by looking up mapping relationship 1, as shown in Figure 6. In this way, satellite network device 1 sends paging messages only to at least one UE with the same paging priority in each sub-time period, thereby evenly distributing the PO of paging messages sent by satellite network device 1 across X different sub-time periods. Correspondingly, multiple UEs to be paging can listen for paging messages in different sub-time periods. As shown in Figure 6, UEs labeled 1, 2, and 3 can listen for paging messages in sub-time period 1, UEs labeled 4, 5, and 6 can listen for paging messages in sub-time period 2, and so on.

[0163] Among them, paging priority 1 indicates the highest priority of being paging, and paging priority X indicates the lowest priority of being paging. Thus, for the UE with the highest latency requirement (i.e., paging priority 1), satellite network device 1 can quickly forward the paging message to the UE after the service link becomes active, so as to meet the UE's high latency requirement.

[0164] In the second implementation, satellite network device 1 can be pre-configured with a mapping relationship 2. This mapping relationship 2 indicates the mapping relationship between paging priority categories and sub-time periods. For example, the mapping relationship can specifically be a correspondence between category identifiers and sub-time period identifiers. Each category corresponds to a sub-time period, and each category includes one or more paging priorities. Thus, for multiple stored paging messages corresponding to UEs, satellite network device 1 can first determine the category to which the paging priority in the paging message belongs. Then, satellite network device 1 can look up the mapping relationship 2 according to the category to which the UE's paging priority belongs, determine the sub-time period corresponding to that category, and that is, obtain the sub-time period in which the UE with that paging priority is listening for paging messages within the effective time period of the service link.

[0165] For example, suppose a UE's paging priority can include 3Y types, ranging from paging priority 1 to paging priority 3Y, where Y is a positive integer greater than 1. Furthermore, the service area can include UEs with identifiers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. UEs with identifiers 1, 2, and 3 can have paging priority 1; UEs with identifiers 4, 5, and 6 can have paging priority 2; UEs with identifiers 7, 8, and 9 can have paging priority 3; and UEs with identifiers 10, 11, and 12 can have paging priority 4, etc., without limitation. Then, satellite network device 1 can divide the 3Y paging priorities into Y categories, each category including 3 paging priorities, and the paging priorities included in different categories can be non-overlapping. Furthermore, satellite network device 1 can divide the effective time period of the service link into Y sub-time periods based on these Y categories, and the sub-time periods can be non-overlapping. Then, satellite network device 1 can determine the category to which the paging priority of the UE belongs based on the paging priority of the UE to be paged, and can query the pre-configured mapping relationship 2 based on the category to determine the sub-time period corresponding to the category. This yields the sub-time period where the paging message to be listened to for the UE, as shown in Figure 7. Thus, satellite network device 1 sends paging messages only to at least one UE with a paging priority belonging to the same category in each sub-time period, thereby evenly distributing the PO of paging messages sent by satellite network device 1 across Y different sub-time periods; correspondingly, multiple UEs to be paged can listen to paging messages in different sub-time periods. As shown in Figure 6, UEs identified as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 all belong to category 1 in paging priority, therefore, these UEs can all listen to paging messages in sub-time period 1. For UEs identified as 10, 11, and 12, their paging priority belongs to category 2, therefore, these UEs can listen to paging messages in sub-time period 2, and so on.

[0166] Among them, paging priority 1 indicates the highest priority of being paging, and paging priority X indicates the lowest priority of being paging, in order to meet the UE's high requirements for paging latency.

[0167] The aforementioned mapping relationships 1 and 2 can be pre-configured by the core network in satellite network device 1. For example, core network 2 can establish mapping relationships 1 and 2 based on the paging priorities of multiple paged UEs, and send mapping relationships 1 and 2 to satellite network device 1 along with the paging message. Alternatively, mapping relationships 1 and 2 in satellite network device 1 can also be pre-configured by technicians in satellite network device 1, or they can be mapping relationships defined in communication standard protocols, etc., without limitation.

[0168] Furthermore, satellite network device 1 can broadcast messages to notify the UE of mapping relationship 1 or mapping relationship 2 and the classification of each paging priority. The message 2 broadcast by satellite network device 1 (including mapping relationship 1, or including mapping relationship 2 and the classification of each paging priority) can be a different message from message 1, or it can be combined with message 1. That is, message 1 can simultaneously include the effective service link time period and mapping relationship 1, or message 1 can simultaneously include the effective service link time period, mapping relationship 2, and the classification of each paging priority. For example, message 2 broadcast by satellite network device 1 can be any one of system messages, RRC messages, PDCCH messages, and PDSCH messages, or it can be other types of messages; there is no limitation on this.

[0169] It is understandable that, in addition to the two implementation examples mentioned above, in practical applications, satellite network device 1 can also determine the sub-time period corresponding to the UE based on the UE's paging priority in other ways. Thus, satellite network device 1 can determine the sub-time period corresponding to each of the n UEs (including UE1).

[0170] S505: Satellite network device 1 determines the paging time period corresponding to UE1 from the sub-time period and the identifier of UE1.

[0171] In one example, taking UE1 as an example, satellite network device 1 can determine the sub-time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1, and the sub-time period corresponding to UE1 can be used as the paging time period corresponding to UE1.

[0172] In another example, the paging time period corresponding to UE1 can be a portion of the sub-time period corresponding to UE1. For instance, suppose satellite network device 1 determines the sub-time periods corresponding to each UE by looking up mapping relationship 2, and UE1's paging priority is 1, UE2's paging priority is 2, and both UE1 and UE2 correspond to sub-time period 1. Then, satellite network device 1 can determine paging time period 1 for UE1 from sub-time period 1 as shown in Figure 8, and determine paging time period 2 for UE2 from sub-time period 2 as shown in Figure 8. The start times of paging time period 1 and paging time period 2 are different. For the specific implementation method of satellite network device 1 determining the paging time period corresponding to a UE from the sub-time periods corresponding to the UE, please refer to the description of determining the paging time period from the effective time period of the service link in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0173] S506: UE1 determines the paging time period corresponding to UE1 based on the identifier of UE1.

[0174] Each UE can determine its corresponding paging time period based on the same logic as satellite network device 1. The specific implementation method can be found in the description of how satellite network device 1 determines the paging time period for the UE, and will not be repeated here. The mapping relationship 1 or mapping relationship 2 used by the UE to determine the sub-time period can be broadcast to the UE in advance by satellite network device 1, or it can be pre-set based on communication standard protocols, etc.

[0175] S507: Satellite network device 1 sends a paging message for UE1 during the paging time period corresponding to UE1.

[0176] S508: UE1 listens for paging messages during the paging time period corresponding to UE1.

[0177] In this way, satellite network device 1 distributes the POs that send paging messages to different UEs to different sub-time periods within the effective time period of the service link according to the paging priority of each UE, and can further distribute the POs that send paging messages within each sub-time period, thereby effectively alleviating or avoiding paging congestion.

[0178] Furthermore, when paging priority is determined by paging delay, satellite network device 1 can send paging messages to UEs with higher paging priority based on the paging priority, which can reduce the impact of delay caused by the core network storing and forwarding paging messages through satellite network device 1.

[0179] Furthermore, the UE can listen for paging messages only during sub-time periods when paging priorities exist, based on the paging priority and the relationship between paging priorities and sub-time periods. During other sub-time periods, it can be in a low-power or sleep state, thereby further reducing the UE's power consumption.

[0180] The following sections, in conjunction with Figures 9 and 10, further describe the hardware implementation of satellite network equipment and UE.

[0181] Referring to Figure 9, a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a satellite network device is shown. This satellite network device can be used to execute the methods performed by satellite network device 1 in the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3. The satellite network device shown in Figure 9 includes at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112, at least one transceiver 113, at least one network interface 114, and one or more antennas 115. The processor 111, memory 112, transceiver 113, and network interface 114 are connected, for example, via a bus. In this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., and this embodiment is not limited in this respect. The antenna 115 is connected to the transceiver 113. The network interface 114 is used to enable the satellite network device to connect with other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 114 may include a network interface between the satellite network device and satellite network devices in the core network, such as an S1 interface. The network interface may also include a network interface between the satellite network device and other satellite network devices, such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0182] Specifically, the processor 111 shown in Figure 9 can perform the satellite network device processing actions in the above method, the memory 112 can perform the storage actions in the above method, the transceiver 113 and the antenna 115 can perform the air interface transmission and reception actions in the above method, and the network interface 114 can perform the interaction actions with the satellite network device or other satellite network devices / network elements in the above method.

[0183] The processor in this application embodiment, such as processor 111, may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, etc., which are various computing devices that run software. Each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing. The processor may be a separate semiconductor chip or integrated with other circuits into a single semiconductor chip. For example, it may form a SoC (System-on-a-Chip) with other circuits (such as encoding / decoding circuits, hardware acceleration circuits, or various bus and interface circuits), or it may be integrated as a built-in processor in an ASIC. The ASIC with the integrated processor may be packaged separately or packaged together with other circuits. In addition to including cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0184] The memory in the embodiments of this application may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions; random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices capable of storing information and instructions; or electrically erasable programmable-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0185] The memory 112 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 111. Optionally, the memory 112 can be integrated with the processor 111, for example, integrated into a single chip. The memory 112 can store program code that executes the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 111. The various types of computer program code being executed can also be considered as drivers for the processor 111. For example, the processor 111 executes the computer program code stored in the memory 112 to implement the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0186] Transceiver 113 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between satellite network equipment and other devices. Transceiver 113 can be connected to antenna 115. Transceiver 113 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 115 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of transceiver 113 is used to receive the radio frequency signals from the antennas, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 111 so that the processor 111 can perform further processing on the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in transceiver 113 is also used to receive the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 111, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 115. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of downmixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the radio frequency signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The order of the downmixing and IF conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of upmixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital IF signal to obtain a radio frequency signal. The order of the upmixing and IF conversion processes is also adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital IF signal can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0187] Figure 10 shows an example of the composition of a UE provided in an embodiment of this application. The UE may be, for example, a mobile phone, a smart wearable device (such as a smartwatch), etc. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the UE may include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display screen 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0188] It is understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the UE. In other embodiments, the UE may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0189] Processor 310 may include one or more processing units, such as: application processor (AP), modem processor, graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), controller, time-frequency codec, digital signal processor (DSP), baseband processor, and / or neural network processing unit (NPU), etc. Different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0190] It is understood that the interface connection relationships between the modules illustrated in this embodiment are merely illustrative and do not constitute a limitation on the structure of the UE. In other embodiments of this application, the UE may also adopt different interface connection methods or a combination of multiple interface connection methods as described in the above embodiments.

[0191] The external memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the UE's storage capacity. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 through the external memory interface 320 to perform data storage functions. For example, music, time and frequency files can be saved on the external memory card.

[0192] Internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program code, including instructions. Processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in internal memory 321. Internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, at least one application program required for a function (such as sound playback function, image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created by the UE during use (such as time-frequency stream data), etc. In addition, internal memory 321 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc. Processor 310 executes various functions and data processing of the UE by running instructions stored in internal memory 321 and / or instructions stored in memory disposed in the processor.

[0193] The UE's wireless communication function can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor, and baseband processor.

[0194] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the UE can be used to cover one or more communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be multiplexed to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be multiplexed as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with tuning switches.

[0195] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communication applications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G on the UE. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, switch, power amplifier, low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves via antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, and other processing on the received electromagnetic waves before transmitting them to a modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modem processor and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation via antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 may be housed in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 and at least some modules of the processor 310 may be housed in the same device.

[0196] In some embodiments, the UE initiates or receives call requests through the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1.

[0197] Furthermore, an operating system runs on top of the aforementioned components. Examples include iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems. Applications can be installed and run on this operating system. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, explanations and beneficial effects of any of the UE components described above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0198] Furthermore, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform the communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0199] Furthermore, this application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed by one or more computing devices, allows the computing devices to execute any of the aforementioned communication methods. The computer program product can be a software installation package; when any of the aforementioned communication methods is required, the computer program product can be downloaded and executed on a computer.

[0200] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware, or it can be implemented by special-purpose hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, special-purpose CPUs, special-purpose memory, special-purpose components, etc. Generally, any function performed by a computer program can be easily implemented by corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structure used to implement the same function can also be diverse, such as analog circuits, digital circuits, or special-purpose circuits. However, for this application, software program implementation is more often the preferred implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, USB flash drive, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, training equipment, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0201] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product.

[0202] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, training device, or data center to another website, computer, training device, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a training device or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0203] The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to satellite network equipment, and the method includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined, and the first paging time period is a time period within the effective time period of the service link; During the first paging time period, a first paging message is sent to the first user equipment.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the first number of wireless frames included within the effective time period of the service link; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the first quantity to obtain the first modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the first modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame within the first paging time period.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the second number of periods of discontinuous DRX reception used by the first user equipment to listen for paging messages during the effective time period of the service link; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the second quantity to obtain the second modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the second modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame of the first paging time period.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the third number of paging frames used by the first user equipment to listen for paging messages within a discontinuous DRX reception period; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the third quantity to obtain the third modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the third modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame of the first paging time period.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Broadcast the first message, which includes the effective time period of the service link.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of user equipments is configured with a paging priority, which is used to indicate the priority of the user equipment being paged; Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, a first sub-time period is determined within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages; The first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined from the first sub-time period.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The step of determining the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: The first sub-time period corresponding to the paging priority of the first user equipment is obtained by querying the first mapping relationship based on the paging priority of the first user equipment. The first mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of the at least one paging priorities.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second system message is broadcast, which includes the first mapping relationship.

12. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The step of determining the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: Determine the first category to which the paging priority of the first user equipment belongs; The first user equipment listens for paging messages during the first sub-time period by querying the second mapping relationship based on the first category. The second mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of the at least one category, where the first category is one of the at least one categories.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Broadcast a third message, the third message including the second mapping relationship and the category to which each of the at least one paging priority belongs.

14. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Among the plurality of user equipments, some user equipments have extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) functionality, and the method further includes: Broadcast a fourth message, which instructs the user equipment to disable the eDRX function; Alternatively, a fifth message may be broadcast, which instructs user equipment with eDRX parameters greater than a threshold value to disable the eDRX function, wherein the eDRX parameters indicate the time interval between two adjacent paging transmission windows (PTW).

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Sending a first paging message for the first user equipment during the first paging time period includes: When the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is greater than the threshold value, a first paging message for the first user equipment is sent based on the DRX mode during the first paging time period. When the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is less than or equal to the threshold value, a first paging message for the first user equipment is sent based on the eDRX mode during the first paging time period.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Broadcast a sixth message, which includes the threshold value.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first user equipment has extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) function, and the start time of the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is the start time of the paging transmission window (PTW).

18. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first user equipment, and the method includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined, and the first paging time period is a time period within the effective time period of the service link; During the first paging time period, a first paging message is obtained for the first user equipment.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the first number of wireless frames included within the effective time period of the service link; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the first quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the first quantity to obtain the first modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the first modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame within the first paging time period.

21. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the second number of periods of discontinuous DRX reception used by the first user equipment to listen for paging messages during the effective time period of the service link; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the second quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the second quantity to obtain the second modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the second modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame of the first paging time period.

23. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Obtain the third number of paging frames used by the first user equipment to listen for paging messages within a discontinuous DRX reception period; Based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity, the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The step of determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the third quantity includes: Based on the identifier of the first user equipment, a modulo operation is performed on the third quantity to obtain the third modulo value corresponding to the first user equipment; The radio frame corresponding to the third modulus value within the effective time period of the service link is determined as the first radio frame of the first paging time period.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the first message, which includes the effective time period of the service link.

26. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Each of the plurality of user equipments is configured with a paging priority, which is used to indicate the priority of the user equipment being paged; Determining the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment includes: Based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, a first sub-time period is determined within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages; The first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is determined from the first sub-time period.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The step of determining the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: The first sub-time period corresponding to the paging priority of the first user equipment is obtained by querying the first mapping relationship based on the paging priority of the first user equipment. The first mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of the at least one paging priorities.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain a second message, the second system message including the first mapping relationship.

29. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The step of determining the first sub-time period within the effective time period of the service link where the first user equipment is listening for paging messages, based on the paging priority of the first user equipment, includes: Determine the first category to which the paging priority of the first user equipment belongs; Based on the first category, query the second mapping relationship to obtain the first sub-time period corresponding to the first category, and listen for paging messages in the first user equipment during the first sub-time period. The second mapping relationship is used to indicate the sub-time period corresponding to each of the at least one category, where the first category is one of the at least one categories.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain a third message, which includes the second mapping relationship and the category to which each of the at least one paging priorities belongs.

31. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first user equipment has extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) functionality, and the method further includes: A fourth message is received, which instructs the first user equipment to disable the eDRX function; Alternatively, a fifth message may be obtained, which is used to instruct the first user equipment with an eDRX parameter greater than a threshold value to disable the eDRX function, wherein the eDRX parameter is used to indicate the time interval between two adjacent paging transmission windows (PTW).

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, Sending a first paging message for the first user equipment during the first paging time period includes: When the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is greater than the threshold value, the first paging message for the first user equipment is obtained based on the DRX mode during the first paging time period. When the eDRX parameter corresponding to the first user equipment is less than or equal to the threshold value, the first paging message for the first user equipment is obtained based on the eDRX mode during the first paging time period.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the sixth message, which includes the threshold value.

34. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, characterized in that, The first user equipment has extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) function, and the start time of the first paging time period corresponding to the first user equipment is the start time of the paging transmission window (PTW).

35. A satellite network device, characterized in that, include: A transceiver for performing the receiving and transmitting operations in the method according to any one of claims 1-17; A processor for performing operations other than the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method according to any one of claims 1-17.

36. A user equipment, characterized in that, include: A transceiver for performing the receiving and transmitting operations in the method of any one of claims 18-34; A processor for performing operations other than the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method of any one of claims 18-34.

37. A communication system, characterized in that, This includes satellite network equipment and user equipment; The satellite network device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-17; The user equipment is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 18-34.

38. A computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, implements the communication method according to any one of claims 1-34.

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