Method and apparatus for communicating user equipment and base station in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. Specifically, the disclosure related to a communication method, a user equipment and a base station. The method comprises: receiving, by the user equipment, system information on a first frequency subband, wherein the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and performing transmission on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, so that the transmission flexibility can be effectively improved, and the purpose of simplifying a system is achieved. The present disclosure relates to 5G or 6G communication systems for supporting higher data rates beyond 4G communication systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING USER EQUIPMENT AND BASE STATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, a user equipment (UE), and a base station.

[0002] Considering the development of wireless communication from generation to generation, the technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Following the commercialization of 5G (5th generation) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will exponentially grow. Increasingly, these will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machines, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form-factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6G (6th generation) era, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved 6G communication systems. For these reasons, 6G communication systems are referred to as beyond-5G systems.

[0003] 6G communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized around 2030, will have a peak data rate of tera (1,000 giga)-level bit per second (bps) and a radio latency less than 100μsec, and thus will be 50 times as fast as 5G communication systems and have the 1 / 10 radio latency thereof.

[0004] In order to accomplish such a high data rate and an ultra-low latency, it has been considered to implement 6G communication systems in a terahertz (THz) band (for example, 95 gigahertz (GHz) to 3THz bands). It is expected that, due to severer path loss and atmospheric absorption in the terahertz bands than those in mmWave bands introduced in 5G, technologies capable of securing the signal transmission distance (that is, coverage) will become more crucial. It is necessary to develop, as major technologies for securing the coverage, Radio Frequency (RF) elements, antennas, novel waveforms having a better coverage than Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), beamforming and massive Multiple-input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and multiantenna transmission technologies such as large-scale antennas. In addition, there has been ongoing discussion on new technologies for improving the coverage of terahertz-band signals, such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM), and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS).

[0005] Moreover, in order to improve the spectral efficiency and the overall network performances, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for enabling an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission to simultaneously use the same frequency resource at the same time; a network technology for utilizing satellites, High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), and the like in an integrated manner; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collision avoidance based on a prediction of spectrum usage; an use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in wireless communication for improvement of overall network operation by utilizing AI from a designing phase for developing 6G and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming the limit of UE computing ability through reachable super-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), clouds, and the like) over the network. In addition, through designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, developing mechanisms for implementing a hardware-based security environment and safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, attempts to strengthen the connectivity between devices, optimize the network, promote softwarization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications are continuing.

[0006] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems in hyper-connectivity, including person to machine (P2M) as well as machine to machine (M2M), will allow the next hyper-connected experience. Particularly, it is expected that services such as truly immersive eXtended Reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica could be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for security and reliability enhancement, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through the 6G communication system such that the technologies could be applied in various fields such as industry, medical care, automobiles, and home appliances.

[0007] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems and, more specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for communicating user equipment and base station in a wireless communication system.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure aim to improve transmission flexibility to achieve the purpose of simplifying a system.

[0009] According to one aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a UE in a communication system, the method comprises:

[0010] receiving system information on a first frequency subband, wherein the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and performing transmission on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands.

[0011] In another embodiment, for the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, each frequency subband is in different frequency bands, and said each frequency subband includes a segment of continuous frequency resources, and each segment of frequency resources is discontinuous.

[0012] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: reporting a type of the UE to a base station; the type of the UE includes at least two of the following: a first type of UE capable of simultaneous transmission and / or simultaneous reception on at least two frequency subbands; and a second type of UE only capable of transmission and / or reception on one frequency subband at the same time.

[0013] In another embodiment, the second frequency subbands can be activated or deactivated.

[0014] In another embodiment, the second frequency subbands are activated or deactivated via at least one of: indicating by first downlink control information (DCI); indicating by a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE); or controlling by a first timer.

[0015] In another embodiment, that the second frequency subbands are activated or deactivated via controlling by a first timer comprises at least one of: deactivating the second frequency subbands if the first timer expires or is not running; starting the first timer if an instruction indicating that the second frequency subbands are activated is received; stopping the first timer if an instruction indicating that the second frequency subbands are deactivated is received; starting or restarting the first timer if a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling new transmission is received on the second frequency subbands, a value of the first timer is configured by higher layer signaling.

[0016] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on the first frequency subband; and / or receiving the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on other second frequency subbands.

[0017] In another embodiment, if the second frequency subbands are deactivated, or if a duration of deactivating the second frequency subbands is greater than or equal to a first preset duration, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subbands comprises at least one of: stopping the first timer associated with the second frequency subbands; stopping a second timer associated with the second frequency subbands, wherein the second timer is used to control activation or deactivation of an active bandwidth part (BWP) on the second frequency subbands; deactivating the active BWP on the second frequency subbands; suspending or clearing configured downlink assignment on the second frequency subbands; suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 2 on the second frequency subbands; suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 1 on the second frequency subbands; clearing a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent channel state information (CSI) reporting on the second frequency subbands; flushing all hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers on the second frequency subbands; suspending or clearing a radio resource management (RRM) measurement on the second frequency subbands; canceling a persistent listen-before-talk (LBT) failure procedure triggered on the second frequency subbands; not transmitting an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on the second frequency subbands; not transmitting a random access channel (RACH) on the second frequency subbands; not transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) on the second frequency subbands; not transmitting a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on the second frequency subbands; not receiving a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) on the second frequency subbands; not monitoring any PDCCH on the second frequency subbands; not monitoring any PDCCH related to the second frequency subbands; not reporting the CSI on the second frequency subbands; not performing a beam management related operation on the second frequency subbands; or not performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subbands.

[0018] In another embodiment, if the second frequency subbands are activated, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subbands comprises at least one of: starting a first timer associated with the second frequency subbands; starting a second timer associated with the second frequency subbands; activating an active BWP on the second frequency subbands; initializing or reinitializing a preconfigured downlink allocation suspended on the second frequency subbands; initializing or reinitializing any configured uplink grant of Type 1 suspended on the second frequency subbands; initializing or reinitializing any configured uplink grant of Type 2 suspended on the second frequency subbands; initializing or reinitializing the RRM measurement suspended on the second frequency subbands; transmitting a UL-SCH on the second frequency subbands; transmitting a RACH on the second frequency subbands; transmitting an SRS on the second frequency subbands; transmitting a PUCCH on the second frequency subbands; receiving a DL-SCH on the second frequency subbands; monitoring the PDCCH on the second frequency subbands; monitoring the PDCCH related to the second frequency subbands; reporting CSI on the second frequency subbands; performing a beam management related operation on the second frequency subbands; or performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subbands.

[0019] In another embodiment, if the second frequency subbands are dormant, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subbands is a subset of an action set performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subbands.

[0020] In another embodiment, the action performed on the dormant second frequency subband includes at least one of: performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subbands; performing preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH transmission and / or periodic reference signal transmission on the second frequency subbands; transmitting a scheduling request (SR) on the second frequency subbands; or transmitting a RACH on the second frequency subbands.

[0021] In another embodiment, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE include at least one of: an index number and a state corresponding to at least one second frequency subband; or an index number and a state corresponding to at least one second frequency subband group, wherein the second frequency subband group includes the plurality of second frequency subbands, and each second frequency subband is configured with a corresponding index number of the second frequency subband group, the state is one of activation, deactivation, and dormancy.

[0022] In another embodiment, the first DCI is group common DCI including a plurality of information blocks, and an index number of an information block corresponding to the UE in the first DCI or a start bit location of the information block is preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0023] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, related information used to indicate and / or trigger measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands; and performing a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands, and reporting a measurement value on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station, a reference signal for measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands is a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) and / or a non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB).

[0024] In another embodiment, the measurement value includes at least one of: layer 3 reference signal received power (L3-RSRP), layer 3 reference signal received quality (L3-RSRQ), layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ), or channel state information (CSI).

[0025] In another embodiment, the reporting a measurement value on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station comprises: performing a measurement on a plurality of deactivated second frequency subbands, and reporting the best measurement value and / or an index number of a frequency subband corresponding to the best measurement value to the base station; and / or reporting the measurement value and / or the index number of the corresponding frequency subband on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station, when at least one of the following first preset conditions is satisfied: the measurement value exceeds a first preset threshold; a variation of the measurement value within a first preset time period exceeds a second preset threshold; a variation of the measurement value relative to a measurement value reported last time exceeds a third preset threshold; or a variation of the measurement value relative to a preset reference value exceeds a fourth preset threshold.

[0026] In another embodiment, for the second type of UE, the performing a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands comprises: switching from a current frequency subband to the deactivated second frequency subbands in a first measurement window to perform the measurement, and then returning to the current frequency subband,

[0027] wherein, a starting location of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of: preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling; determining a location satisfying a first preset gap after signaling for indicating or triggering measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location; or determining a location satisfying a second preset gap before a starting location of the reference signal to be measured on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location, a length of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of: preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling; or indicating by second DCI or a second MAC CE, that the second DCI or the second MAC CE is used to indicate or trigger measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands.

[0028] In another embodiment, for the second type of UE, if a current second frequency subband is deactivated, the method further comprises at least one of: switching to the first frequency subband; switching to a default second frequency subband if the current second frequency subband is not the default second frequency subband, where the default second frequency subband is predefined, or preconfigured by higher layer signaling; switching to the first frequency subband or another second frequency subband according to an indication of first signaling if the first signaling is received; or continuing to stay on the current second frequency subband, and monitoring second signaling used to activate the current second frequency subband, the default second frequency subband is at least one of: a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum index number; a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum bandwidth value; or a second frequency subband corresponding to a lowest frequency point.

[0029] In another embodiment, in case of switching to another second frequency subband according to an indication of first signaling, the another second frequency subband is activated by default.

[0030] In another embodiment, in case of continuing to stay on the current second frequency subband, the method further comprises: performing at least one of the following actions if a second preset condition is satisfied: switching to a first frequency subband, and transmitting third signaling on the first frequency subband; or transmitting the third signaling on the current second frequency subband;

[0031] In another embodiment, the third signaling includes information for requesting to activate or assisting in activating a current second frequency subband or another second frequency subband.

[0032] In another embodiment, the second preset condition includes at least one of the UE is a UE of a preset type and / or a UE supporting a preset capability.

[0033] In another embodiment, there is uplink data arrival.

[0034] In another embodiment, a remaining data packet delay budget (PDB) of arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold.

[0035] In another embodiment, a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority.

[0036] In another embodiment, a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold.

[0037] In another embodiment, a type of the arrival data is a preset data type.

[0038] In another embodiment, an index number of a logical channel of the arrival data or an index number of a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number; or a reference signal received power (RSRP) value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold.

[0039] In another embodiment, in case of continuing to stay on the current second frequency subband, the method further comprises: switching to the first frequency subband or the default second frequency subband if the duration for which the current second frequency subband is deactivated reaches a second preset duration.

[0040] In another embodiment, whether to switch to the first frequency subband, switch to the default second frequency subband, or continue to stay on the current second frequency subband is determined based on a preconfigured higher layer parameter.

[0041] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: transmitting fourth signaling on the first frequency subband, where the fourth signaling includes information for requesting or assisting in activating the second frequency subband, or information for requesting to switch to the second frequency subband.

[0042] In another embodiment, the fourth signaling is carried by a PRACH, an SR, or a MAC CE.

[0043] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving fifth signaling on the first frequency subband or starting to monitor the fifth signaling at a location satisfying a third preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband, where the fifth signaling includes information for confirming that the requested second frequency subband is activated, or the fifth signaling includes information that at least one second frequency subband is activated, or the fifth signaling includes information for switching to one second frequency subband.

[0044] In another embodiment, the method further comprises at least one of: activating the second frequency subband requested by default at a location satisfying a fourth preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband; or starting PDCCH monitoring on the requested second frequency subband at a location satisfying a fourth preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband.

[0045] In another embodiment, for the second type of UE, the UE switches from the first frequency subband to the requested second frequency subband at a location satisfying a fourth preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband.

[0046] In another embodiment, the transmitting fourth signaling on the first frequency subband comprises: transmitting the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband when a third preset condition is satisfied. The third preset condition includes at least one of: the UE is a UE of a preset type and / or a UE supporting a preset capability; there is uplink data arrival; a remaining PDB of the arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of the arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold.

[0047] In another embodiment, a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority.

[0048] In another embodiment, a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold.

[0049] In another embodiment, a type of the arrival data is a preset data type.

[0050] In another embodiment, an index number of a logical channel of the arrival data or an index number of a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number; or an RSRP value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold.

[0051] In another embodiment, the information for assisting in activating the second frequency subband includes at least one of: a type of the UE, a measurement value on the second frequency subbands, a priority value of the arrival data, a type of the arrival data, an index number of a logical channel or a logical channel group of the arrival data, a data volume of the arrival data, or a remaining PDB of the arrival data.

[0052] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: initiating a random access procedure on the second frequency subbands when a fourth preset condition is satisfied, otherwise, initiating a random access procedure on the first frequency subband; or selecting one second frequency subband from the at least one second frequency subband based on the fourth preset condition to initiate the random access procedure, the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband are both configured with PRACH resources.

[0053] In another embodiment, the fourth preset condition includes at least one of: a higher layer of the UE indicates to a physical layer the index number of the second frequency subband initiating the random access procedure; the UE is a UE of a preset type and / or a UE supporting a preset capability; there is uplink data arrival; the remaining PDB of the arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of the arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold; a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority; a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold; a type of the arrival data is a preset data type; an index number of a logical channel of the arrival data or an index number of a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number; an RSRP value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold; a data volume of a message 3 in the random access procedure is equal to or greater than a tenth preset threshold; or the event triggering the random access procedure is a preset event.

[0054] In another embodiment, for the second type of UE, the method further comprises at least one of: if the current frequency subband is a second frequency subband, switching to the first frequency subband to perform a radio resource management (RRM) measurement, and then returning to the current second frequency subband; performing the RRM measurement on the current first frequency subband; or performing the RRM measurement on the current second frequency subband.

[0055] In another embodiment, the switching to the first frequency subband to perform a RRM measurement comprises: switching to the first frequency subband within a preconfigured second measurement window to perform the RRM measurement; a period, a starting location, and / or a length of the second measurement window are preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0056] In another embodiment, the performing the RRM measurement on the current second frequency subband comprises: if a fifth preset condition is satisfied, switching to the first frequency subband to perform the RRM measurement, and then returning to the current second frequency subband; wherein, the fifth preset condition includes at least one of: a measurement value on the current second frequency subband is less than or equal to an eleventh preset threshold; a variation of the measurement value on the current second frequency subband within a second preset time period is greater than or equal to a twelfth preset threshold; a variation of the measurement value on the current second frequency subband relative to a preset reference value is greater than or equal to a thirteenth preset threshold; a measurement value on the current second frequency subband is less than the measurement value on the first frequency subband; or a difference between the measurement value on the current second frequency subband and the measurement value on the first frequency subband is greater than or equal to a fourteenth preset threshold, the measurement value includes at least one of L1-RSRP, L3-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L3-RSRQ, and CSI.

[0057] In another embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving third DCI and / or a third MAC CE on the first frequency subband, wherein the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE include an index number of at least one second frequency subband and / or scheduling transmission related information respectively corresponding to the at least one second frequency subband; and the scheduling transmission related information includes at least one of: information related to a PDCCH monitoring action on the second frequency subband; information related to transmission of a preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband, wherein the preconfigured grant PDSCH includes an SPS-PDSCH, and the preconfigured grant PUSCH includes at least one of a Type 1 CG-PUSCH and a Type 2 CG-PUSCH; information related to reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband, wherein the reference signal transmission includes at least one of a synchronization signal block SSB, a CSI-RS, a tracking reference signal TRS, an SRS, and a locationing reference signal PRS; CSI reporting related information on the second frequency subband; or CSI reporting related information related to the second frequency subband.

[0058] In another embodiment, the PDCCH monitoring action related information on the second frequency subband includes at least one of: information for starting or stopping the PDCCH monitoring on the second frequency subband; information for starting or stopping the PDCCH monitoring on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) on the second frequency subband; a first duration for which the PDCCH monitoring is started or stopped on the second frequency subband; a second duration for which the PDCCH monitoring on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) is started or stopped on the second frequency subband; or starting or stopping information about a corresponding first timer on the second frequency subband, wherein the first timer is used to control activation or deactivation of the second frequency subbands.

[0059] In another embodiment, the preset PDCCH search space set(s) is(are) predefined, preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or indicated by the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE.

[0060] In another embodiment, the information related to transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband includes at least one of: information that at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is activated; information that at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated; a third duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH is activated on the second frequency subband; or a fourth duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated.

[0061] In another embodiment, the information related to reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband includes at least one of: information that at least one reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated; or a fifth duration for which at least one reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated.

[0062] In another embodiment, for each of the first duration, the second duration, the third duration, the fourth duration, and the fifth duration, the duration is preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or the duration is one of a plurality of durations indicated by at least one of the third MAC CE and the third DCI, and the plurality of durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0063] In another embodiment, different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups are configured with different discontinuous reception (DRX); and / or different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different timing advances (TAs); and / or different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different transmit power control (TPC), one frequency subband group includes a plurality of frequency subbands, each frequency subband is configured with an index number of a corresponding frequency subband group, and frequency subbands within a same frequency subband group apply a same DRX, TA, and / or TPC.

[0064] In another embodiment, the starting or stopping of a DRX-related third timer is controlled based on a switching action of the UE between the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband, the third timer includes at least one of: DRX on duration timer drx-onDurationTimer; DRX inactivity timer drx-InactivityTimer; DRX downlink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL; DRX uplink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL; DRX downlink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; or DRX uplink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ- RTT-TimerUL.

[0065] In another embodiment, when the frequency subband before the UE switches and the frequency subband after the UE switches correspond to different TAs, so that the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the UE switches overlaps with the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the UE switches, the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the UE switches or the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the UE switches is droped.

[0066] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a base station in a communication system, the method comprises: transmitting system information on a first frequency subband, wherein the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and providing a transmission service for a UE on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands.

[0067] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a user equipment (UE), the UE comprises: a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the method performed by the UE in the communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0068] According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station, the base station comprises: a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform a method performed by a base station in a communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] According to a further aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, that when executed by a processor, implements a method performed by a UE or a base station in a communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0070] According to a further aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program, that when executed by a processor, implements a method performed by a UE or a base station in a communication system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] According to the communication method, the user equipment and the base station provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment can: receive system information on a first frequency subband, wherein the system information comprises configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and perform transmission on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, so that the transmission flexibility can be effectively improved, and the purpose of simplifying a system is achieved.

[0072] In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly described below.

[0073] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0074] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0075] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0076] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method performed by a UE in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0077] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a virtual carrier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0078] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a first frequency subband and second frequency subbands according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0079] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a method performed by a base station in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0080] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0081] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a terminal (or a user equipment (UE), according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0082] FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a base station, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0083] Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term "couple" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase "associated with," as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term "controller" means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one of," when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, "at least one of: A, B, and C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. Likewise, the term "set" means one or more. Accordingly, a set of items can be a single item or a collection of two or more items.

[0084] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

[0085] Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

[0086] Considering the development of wireless communication from generation to generation, the technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Following the commercialization of 5th-generation (5G) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will exponentially grow. Increasingly, these will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machines, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form-factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6th-generation (6G) era, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved 6G communication systems. For these reasons, 6G communication systems are referred to as beyond-5G systems.

[0087] 6G communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized around 2030, will have a peak data rate of tera (1,000 giga)-level bps and a radio latency less than 100μsec, and thus will be 50 times as fast as 5G communication systems and have the 1 / 10 radio latency thereof.

[0088] In order to accomplish such a high data rate and an ultra-low latency, it has been considered to implement 6G communication systems in a terahertz band (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands). It is expected that, due to severer path loss and atmospheric absorption in the terahertz bands than those in mmWave bands introduced in 5G, technologies capable of securing the signal transmission distance (that is, coverage) will become more crucial. It is necessary to develop, as major technologies for securing the coverage, radio frequency (RF) elements, antennas, novel waveforms having a better coverage than orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), beamforming and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and multiantenna transmission technologies such as large-scale antennas. In addition, there has been ongoing discussion on new technologies for improving the coverage of terahertz-band signals, such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0089] Moreover, in order to improve the spectral efficiency and the overall network performances, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for enabling an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission to simultaneously use the same frequency resource at the same time; a network technology for utilizing satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and the like in an integrated manner; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collision avoidance based on a prediction of spectrum usage; an use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wireless communication for improvement of overall network operation by utilizing AI from a designing phase for developing 6G and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming the limit of user equipment (UE) computing ability through reachable super-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as mobile edge computing (MEC), clouds, and the like) over the network. In addition, through designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, developing mechanisms for implementing a hardware-based security environment and safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, attempts to strengthen the connectivity between devices, optimize the network, promote softwarization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications are continuing.

[0090] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems in hyper-connectivity, including person to machine (P2M) as well as machine to machine (M2M), will allow the next hyper-connected experience. Particularly, it is expected that services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica could be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for security and reliability enhancement, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through the 6G communication system such that the technologies could be applied in various fields such as industry, medical care, automobiles, and home appliances.

[0091] In existing communication systems, the resources of multiple carriers are usually deployed through multiple cells to perform transmission, with each carrier corresponding to one cell, such as the carrier aggregation (CA) approach, leading to a more complex system.

[0092] The figures included herein, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system.

[0093] FIGS. 1-3 below describe various embodiments of the present disclosure implemented in wireless communications systems. The descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 are not meant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner in which different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arranged communications system.

[0094] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 could be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless network includes a base station (next generation nodeB, gNB or gNodeB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0096] The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a plurality of first user equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The plurality of first UEs includes a UE 111, which may be located in a small business; a UE 112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R1); a UE 115, which may be located in a second residence (R2); and a UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a plurality of second UEs within a coverage area 125 of the gNB 103. The plurality of second UEs include the UE 115 and the UE 116, as well as subscriber stations (SS, for example, UEs) 117, 118 and 119. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 may communicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using existing wireless communication techniques, and one or more of the UE 111-119 may communicate directly with each other (e.g., UEs 117-119) using other existing or proposed wireless communication techniques.

[0097] Depending on the network type, the term "base station" or "BS" can refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced (or "evolved") base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations may provide wireless access in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a base station-type apparatus and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remote terminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" (UE) can refer to any component such as a mobile station (MS), subscriber station (SS), remote terminal, wireless terminal, receive point, or user device. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a user equipment-type device and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normally considered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vending machine).

[0098] Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

[0099] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-119 include circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, and one or more of the gNBs 101-103 includes circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof.

[0100] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless network could include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Also, the gNB 101 could communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access to the network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 could communicate directly with the network 130 and provide UEs with direct wireless broadband access to the network 130. Further, the gNBs 101, 102, and / or 103 could provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0101] FIG. 2 illustrates an example base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2 is for illustration only, and the gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB.

[0102] As shown in FIG 2, the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 200a-200n, multiple radio frequency (RF) transceivers 201a-201n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 203, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 204. The gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 205, a memory 206, and a backhaul or network interface (IF) 207.

[0103] The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive, from the antennas 200a-200n, incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network 100. The RF transceivers 201a-201n down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to the RX processing circuitry 204, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 204 transmits the processed baseband signals to the controller / processor 205 for further processing.

[0104] The TX processing circuitry 203 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, web data, electronic mail, or interactive video game data) from the controller / processor 205. The TX processing circuitry 203 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TX processing circuitry 203 and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 201a-201n.

[0105] The controller / processor 205 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 205 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceivers 201a-201n, the RX processing circuitry 204, and the TX processing circuitry 203 in accordance with well-known principles. The controller / processor 205 could support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions.

[0106] For instance, the controller / processor 205 could support beam forming or directional routing operations in which outgoing signals from multiple antennas 200a-200n are weighted differently to effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of other functions could be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 205.

[0107] The controller / processor 205 is also capable of executing programs and other processes resident in the memory 206, such as an operating system (OS). The controller / processor 205 can move data into or out of the memory 206 as required by an executing process.

[0108] The controller / processor 205 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 207. The backhaul or network interface 207 allows the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connection or over a network. The interface 207 could support communications over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB 102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such as one supporting 5G, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate over a wired or wireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to a larger network (such as the Internet). The interface 207 includes any suitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

[0109] The memory 206 is coupled to the controller / processor 205. Part of the memory 206 could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of the memory 206 could include a Flash memory or other read only memory (ROM).

[0110] Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of gNB 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 2. For example, the gNB 102 could include any number of each component shown in FIG. 2. As a particular example, an access point could include a number of interfaces 207, and the controller / processor 205 could support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another particular example, while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry 203 and a single instance of RX processing circuitry 204, the gNB 102 could include multiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver). Also, various components in FIG. 2 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs.

[0111] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3 is for illustration only, and the UEs 111-115 and 117-119 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a UE.

[0112] As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 301, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 302, TX processing circuitry 303, a microphone 304, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 305. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 306, a controller or processor 307, an input / output (I / O) interface (IF) 308, an input device 309, a touchscreen display 310, and a memory 311. The memory 311 includes an OS 312 and one or more applications 313.

[0113] The RF transceiver 302 receives, from the antenna 301, an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 302 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to the RX processing circuitry 305, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry 305 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 306 (such as for voice data) or to the processor 307 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0114] The TX processing circuitry 303 receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone 304 or other outgoing baseband data (such as web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 307. The TX processing circuitry 303 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 302 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 303 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via the antenna 301.

[0115] The processor 307 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 312 stored in the memory 311 in order to control the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor 307 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 302, the RX processing circuitry 305, and the TX processing circuitry 303 in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor 307 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0116] The processor 307 is also capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory 311, such as processes for CSI reporting on uplink channel. The processor 307 can move data into or out of the memory 311 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, the processor 307 is configured to execute the applications 313 based on the OS 312 or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. The processor 307 is also coupled to the I / O interface 308, which provides the UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and handheld computers. The I / O interface 308 is the communication path between these accessories and the processor 307.

[0117] The processor 307 is also coupled to the touchscreen display 310. The user of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen display 310 to enter data into the UE 116. The touchscreen display 310 may be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

[0118] The memory 311 is coupled to the processor 307. Part of the memory 311 could include RAM, and another part of the memory 311 could include a Flash memory or other ROM.

[0119] Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of UE 116, various changes may be made to FIG. 3. For example, various components in FIG. 3 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs. As a particular example, the processor 307 could be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the UE 116 configured as a mobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate as other types of mobile or stationary devices.

[0120] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure and the technical effects resulted therefrom are explained below by describing several exemplary implementations. It should be noted that the following implementations may be referenced by, learned from, or combined with each other, and the same terms, similar features, and similar implementation steps in different implementations will not be repeatedly described again.

[0121] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a UE in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 4, the method comprises:

[0122] step S401: Receive system information on a first frequency subband, where the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and

[0123] step S402: Perform transmission on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands.

[0124] For the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, each frequency subband is in different frequency bands (i.e., corresponds to different frequency band numbers), each frequency subband includes a segment of continuous frequency resources respectively, and each segment of frequency resources is discontinuous.

[0125] Optionally, the first frequency subband is defined as a frequency subband for transmitting a cell defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB) and a first cell system information block (SIB 1), where the SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and frequency subbands other than the first frequency subband are referred to as second frequency subbands.

[0126] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, there are no large-bandwidth spectrums in the spectrums allocated to an operator, and there are only a few small-bandwidth spectrums spread in different frequency bands. In this case, the operator may deploy a plurality of small-bandwidth spectrums in a cell (which may also be referred to as a serving cell) to form a large-bandwidth spectrum to provide communication services for the UE, where each small-bandwidth spectrum may be referred to as a frequency subband, the frequency resources included in each frequency subband are continuous, and the plurality of frequency subbands may belong to different frequency bands. Each frequency subband may also be understood as a small-bandwidth carrier, and a large-bandwidth spectrum formed by the plurality of frequency subbands may be referred to as a virtual carrier, that is, the cell provides communication services for the UE by the virtual carrier, to achieve a service effect similar to that of the large-bandwidth carrier. A maximum difference between the virtual carrier and a normal carrier is that frequency domain resources in the virtual carrier are physically discontinuous and may span different frequency bands. The small-bandwidth carrier used to form the virtual carrier may also be referred to as a frequency segment, a frequency part, a carrier segment, a carrier part, a carrier subband, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0127] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 5, four frequency subbands with bandwidth values of 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, and 15 MHz may constitute a virtual carrier with a bandwidth value of 50 MHz, and the four frequency subbands may belong to different frequency band numbers. It can be seen from FIG. 5 that the virtual carrier is formed by aggregating a plurality of frequency subbands whose frequencies are discontinuous, and the bandwidth value of the virtual carrier is a sum of the bandwidth values of the plurality of frequency subbands.

[0128] In addition, there may be spectrums allocated to different communication systems in the plurality of frequency subbands constituting the virtual carrier. For example, one of the plurality of frequency subbands belongs to a spectrum of a 6G system, and the other frequency subband belongs to a spectrum of a 5G system, and the spectrum of the 5G system may be dynamically shared between the 5G system and the 6G system, or the spectrum of the 5G system is reassigned to the 6G system for use (refarming).

[0129] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may receive the service of the cell on at least one of the plurality of frequency subbands, for example, perform data transmission and / or control signaling transmission.

[0130] The plurality of frequency subbands constituting the virtual carrier include one first frequency subband and at least one second frequency subband, and functions of these frequency subbands may be different. For example, the first frequency subband may be used to transmit a synchronization signal block (SSB) and a system information block 1 (SIB1), the first frequency subband may be referred to as a primary frequency subband, and other second frequency subbands may be referred to as secondary frequency subbands.

[0131] Optionally, the first frequency subband (which may also be referred to as an anchor frequency subband) may have at least one of the following functions:

[0132] (1) Initial synchronization and basic system information transmission are provided for UEs in the cell. For example, a synchronization signal (SS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and a SIB1 should be transmitted at least periodically on a downlink first frequency subband, where the synchronization signal includes a primary synchronization signal (Primary SS, PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (Secondary SS, SSS). For example, the first frequency subband should transmit at least an SSB and a SIB1 that are used for cell defining (CD);

[0133] (2) An initial random access function is provided for UEs in the cell. For example, resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH) common to the cell should be configured on a uplink first frequency subband;

[0134] (3) A mobility management function is provided for UEs in the cell. For example, the UE performs a measurement for a radio resource management (RRM) purpose only based on a reference signal (for example, an SSB and / or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS)) on the downlink first frequency subband, and is not required to perform RRM measurement on other frequency subbands.

[0135] Optionally, to implement the foregoing functions, the first frequency subband has a lower frequency and a larger coverage than the other frequency subbands. In addition, the first frequency subband may further provide a basic data transmission function for UEs in the cell, but because a bandwidth of the first frequency subband is generally relatively small, a peak rate of the provided data transmission is relatively low.

[0136] Frequency subbands other than the first frequency subband (the second frequency subbands) may be used as a supplement to the first frequency subband, and thus, the second frequency subbands may also be referred to as supplemental frequency subbands. For a downlink second frequency subband, it is mainly used for supplementing a data transmission service, for example, providing a data transmission service with a higher peak rate than the first frequency subband. For an uplink second frequency subband, it is used for supplementing a data transmission service, and / or is used for supplementing the coverage, for example, providing a data transmission service with a higher peak rate than the first frequency subband, and / or providing a wider coverage than the first frequency subband.

[0137] As shown in FIG. 6, a frequency subband f1 is the first frequency subband, and may provide basic coverage and data transmission services for a cell, and a frequency subband f2 and a frequency subband f3 are the second frequency subbands, and may provide a supplement to data services for a hotspot area in the cell.

[0138] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first frequency subband may also be referred to as an anchor carrier, a primary carrier, or a normal carrier, etc., and the second frequency subbands may also be referred to as other technical terms such as a non-anchor carrier, a secondary carrier, a supplementary carrier, or a data carrier, and the like.

[0139] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, corresponding active bandwidth parts (BWPs) may be respectively configured on at least two frequency subbands (one first frequency subband and at least one second frequency subband). For example, one or more BWPs may be configured on each frequency subband, but only one of the BWPs is activated. That is, there may be at least two active BWPs respectively on different frequency subbands in one cell, and the multiple frequency subbands may be respectively on different frequency bands. In these active BWPs, an active BWP on the first frequency subband may be referred to as a primary active BWP or a primary BWP, other active BWPs other than the primary active BWP may be referred to as secondary active BWPs or secondary BWPs, and the primary active BWP may have at least one of the following functions:

[0140] (1) the UE may monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) related to the secondary active BWPs on the primary active BWP;

[0141] (2) the UE may transmit uplink control information (UCI) related to other secondary active BWPs on the primary active BWP;

[0142] (3) the UE may perform RRM measurement on the primary active BWP; or

[0143] (4) the primary active BWP cannot enter a dormant state, and correspondingly, the secondary active BWPs may enter the dormant state.

[0144] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of frequency subbands are deployed in one serving cell (that is, one cell includes a plurality of carriers), and as compared with a manner in which the plurality of carriers are deployed by multiple serving cells (that is, each carrier corresponds to one cell, for example, CA), there is at least one advantage as following.

[0145] 1. The broadcast signaling overhead is saved. For example, in a CA system, each carrier corresponds to one serving cell, and broadcast signaling such as SSB, SIB1, etc. of the corresponding serving cell needs to be transmitted on each carrier, but for a system in which a plurality of frequency subbands are deployed in one serving cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the broadcast signaling of the serving cell may be transmitted on one of the frequency subbands;

[0146] 2. The signaling for carrier activation is simplified. For example, in a CA system, a secondary cell may be activated / deactivated by radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling, and the activation / deactivation of the secondary cell may also be understood as the activation / deactivation of a carrier corresponding to the secondary cell, but for a system in which a plurality of frequency subbands are configured in one serving cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a certain frequency subband in the serving cell may be activated / deactivated by physical layer signaling (for example, downlink control information (DCI));

[0147] 3. The mobility measurement and management are simplified. For example, in a CA system, each carrier corresponds to one serving cell, and the mobility measurement and management of the corresponding serving cell needs to be performed on each carrier, but for a system in which a plurality of frequency subbands are deployed in one serving cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mobility measurement and management of the serving cell may be performed on one of the frequency subbands (for example, the first frequency subband or a preconfigured carrier, but is not limited thereto); or

[0148] 4. The UE is offloaded during an initial access stage. For example, in an existing system, at most two uplink carriers are deployed in one serving cell, which are a normal uplink carrier (NUL) and a supplementary uplink carrier (SUL), respectively, and the UE may select one of the uplink carriers to access the cell based on downlink path loss, but for a system in which more than two uplink frequency subbands are deployed in one serving cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, physical random access channel resources may be configured on each uplink frequency subband, and the UE may select one frequency subband from a plurality of uplink frequency subbands to initiate initial random access, and a criterion for selecting the frequency subband may not only be based on the downlink path loss, so as to offload the UE to a greater extent in the initial access stage and prevent initial access congestion.

[0149] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may report the type of the UE to a base station, and if a plurality of frequency subbands are deployed in a cell, the types of UEs that can be served include at least two of the following:

[0150] A first type of UEs (Type 1 UEs): The UEs may stay on a plurality of frequency subbands in the cell at a same moment, that is, the UEs can simultaneously transmit and / or receive on at least two frequency subbands. For example, the UEs may receive and / or transmit signals on a plurality of carriers, or the plurality of frequency subbands, or a plurality of active BWPs in the cell at the same moment. For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UEs of this type may be UEs having a plurality of radio frequency (RF) devices.

[0151] A second type of UEs (Type 2 UEs): The UEs can only stay on one frequency subband in the cell at a same moment, that is, the UEs can only transmit and / or receive on one frequency subband at the same moment. For example, the UEs can only receive and / or transmit signals on one carrier, or one frequency subband, or one active BWP in the cell at the same moment. For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UEs of this type may be UEs with only one radio frequency device.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second frequency subbands can be activated or deactivated, that is, the second frequency subband has at least two states: an activated state and a deactivated state.

[0153] Optionally, the second frequency subband may be activated or deactivated (that is, enter the activated state or the deactivated state) via at least one of:

[0154] (1) indicating by a first DCI;

[0155] (2) indicating by a first MAC CE; or

[0156] (3) controlling by a first timer;

[0157] For example, the first timer may be a timer used to control activation or deactivation of the second frequency subbands, and assuming that its name is sFrequencySubbandDeactivationTimer. If the first timer expires or is not running, the second frequency subband is deactivated, that is, when the first timer expires or is not running, the second frequency subband enters the deactivated state, and a value of the first timer is configured by higher layer signaling. If an instruction indicating the second frequency subband to be activated is received, the first timer is started, that is, when the second frequency subband is activated, the first time is started. If an instruction indicating the second frequency subband to be deactivated is received, the first timer is stopped, that is, when the second frequency subband is deactivated, the first time is stopped. In addition, if a PDCCH scheduling new transmission is received on the second frequency subbands, the first timer may be started or restarted.

[0158] The first DCI and the first MAC CE described above may be transmitted on the first frequency subband. That is, the UE receives the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on the first frequency subband, and the base station indicates one or more second frequency subbands to enter the activated state or the deactivated state, by the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE transmitted on the first frequency subband.

[0159] Alternatively, the first DCI and the first MAC CE described above may be transmitted on other second frequency subbands. That is, the UE receives the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on the other second frequency subbands, and the base station indicates the one or more other second frequency subbands to enter the activated state or the deactivated state, by the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE transmitted on a certain second frequency subband.

[0160] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the second frequency subbands are deactivated, or if a duration of deactivating the second frequency subbands is greater than or equal to a first preset duration, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subband include at least one of:

[0161] (1) stopping the first timer associated with the second frequency subband, for example, the first timer sFrequencySubbandDeactivationTimer is used to control the second frequency subband to enter the deactivated state, and when the first timer sFrequencySubbandDeactivationTimer expires or is not running, the corresponding second frequency subband enters the deactivated state;

[0162] (2) stopping a second timer associated with the second frequency subbands, where the second timer is used to control activation or deactivation of an active BWP on the second frequency subband, for example, the second timer may be a BWP inactivity timer bwp-InactivityTimer, where one or more BWPs may be configured on each second frequency subband, but only one BWP is activated at the same time, and the BWP inactivity timer bwp-InactivityTimer is used to control the BWP to enter the deactivated state. If the timer bwp-InactivityTimer expires or is not running, the corresponding BWP is deactivated;

[0163] (3) deactivating the active BWP on the second frequency subbands;

[0164] (4) suspending or clearing preconfigured downlink allocation on the second frequency subband, for example, suspending or clearing all preconfigured downlink allocation on the second frequency subband, including but not limited to a preconfigured semi-persistent scheduling physical downlink shared channel (SPS PDSCH);

[0165] (5) suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 2 on the second frequency subband, for example, suspending or clearing all preconfigured Type 2 uplink grants on the second frequency subband, where the preconfigured Type 2 uplink grant transmission may mean that a physical resource used for the uplink grant transmission is a configured grant physical uplink shared channel (CG-PUSCH) activated by using a DCI indication;

[0166] (6) suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 1 on the second frequency subband, where the preconfigured Type 1 uplink grant transmission mean that a physical resource used for the uplink grant transmission is a CG-PUSCH preconfigured by higher layer signaling;

[0167] (7) clearing a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent channel state information (CSI) reporting on the second frequency subbands;

[0168] (8) flushing hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers on the second frequency subband, for example, flushing all HARQ buffers on the second frequency subband;

[0169] (9) suspending or clearing RRM measurement (used for mobility management) on the second frequency subband, where a reference signal used for RRM measurement may be a cell defining SSB (CD-SSB), a non-cell defining SSB (NCD-SSB), and / or a CSI-RS;

[0170] (10) canceling a persistent listen-before-talk (LBT) failure procedure triggered on the second frequency subbands;

[0171] (11) transmitting no UL-SCH (Uplink Shared Channel) on the second frequency subband;

[0172] (12) transmitting no random access channel (RACH) on the second frequency subband, if there is a configured RACH transmission occasion (RO) on the second frequency subband;

[0173] (13) transmitting no sounding reference signal (SRS) on the second frequency subband;

[0174] (14) transmitting no physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on the second frequency subband;

[0175] (15) receiving no downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) on the second frequency subband;

[0176] (16) not monitoring any PDCCH on the second frequency subband;

[0177] (17) not monitoring any PDCCH related to the second frequency subband;

[0178] (18) not reporting CSI on the second frequency subband, for example, not reporting all CSI on the second frequency subband, including periodic CSI, semi-persistent CSI, and aperiodic CSI, or not reporting all CSI other than the periodic CSI, including the periodic CSI and the semi-persistent CSI;

[0179] (19) not performing a beam management-related operation on the second frequency subband, including but not limited to not performing beam measurement, beam failure monitoring, beam failure recovery, and / or the like; or

[0180] (20) not performing RRM a measurement related operation on the second frequency subband.

[0181] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an action performed by the UE on the deactivated second frequency subband are related to the length of the duration of deactivation of the second frequency subband. For example, from the moment that the second frequency subband is deactivated until the duration of deactivation reaches within a fifteenth preset threshold, the UE suspends the Type 2 CG-PUSCH transmission on the second frequency subband, and / or the UE continues to perform the Type 1 CG-PUSCH or SPS PDSCH transmission on the second frequency subband. Correspondingly, when the duration of deactivation of the second frequency subband is greater than or equal to the fifteenth preset threshold, the UE flushes a configuration related to the Type 2 CG-PUSCH transmission on the second frequency subband, and / or the UE suspends the Type 1 CG-PUSCH or SPS-PDSCH transmission on the second frequency subband.

[0182] Correspondingly, if the second frequency subbands are activated, an action performed by the UE on the (activated) second frequency subband include at least one of:

[0183] (1) starting a first timer associated with the second frequency subband, for example, the first timer may be the above sFrequencySubbandDeactivationTimer;

[0184] (2) starting a second timer associated with the second frequency subband, for example, the second timer may be the above BWP inactivity timer bwp-InactivityTimer;

[0185] (3) activating an active BWP on the second frequency subbands;

[0186] (4) initializing or re-initializing preconfigured downlink allocation suspended on the second frequency subbands;

[0187] (5) initializing or re-initializing any configured uplink grant of Type 1 suspended on the second frequency subband, for example, initializing or re-initializing all the preconfigured Type 1 CG-PUSCH transmissions suspended on the second frequency subbands;

[0188] (6) initializing or re-initializing any configured uplink grant of Type 2 suspended on the second frequency subband, for example, initializing or re-initializing all the preconfigured Type 2 CG-PUSCH transmissions suspended on the second frequency subbands;

[0189] (7) initializing or re-initializing the suspended RRM measurement on the second frequency subband, for example, initializing or re-initializing all the suspended RRM measurement configurations for mobility management on the second frequency subband;

[0190] (8) transmitting a UL-SCH on the second frequency subband;

[0191] (9) transmitting a RACH on the second frequency subband, if there is a configured RACH transmission occasion on the second frequency subband;

[0192] (10) transmitting an SRS on the second frequency subband;

[0193] (11) transmitting a PUCCH on the second frequency subband;

[0194] (12) receiving a DL-SCH on the second frequency subband;

[0195] (13) monitoring a PDCCH on the second frequency subband;

[0196] (14) monitoring a PDCCH related to the second frequency subband;

[0197] (15) reporting CSI on the second frequency subband, for example, reporting all CSI on the second frequency subband, including periodic CSI, semi-persistent CSI, and aperiodic CSI;

[0198] (16) performing a beam management related operation on the second frequency subband, including but not limited to performing beam measurement, beam failure monitoring and / or beam failure recovery, etc.; or

[0199] (17) performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subband.

[0200] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second frequency subband may have multiple states. For example, the second frequency subband may also be dormant, that is, the second frequency subband may have at least three states: an activated state, a deactivated state and a dormant state. Each state of the second frequency subband may be understood as a power saving state of a different degree. For example, the activated state may be referred to as a fully activated state, or may be referred to as a full ON state, and there is no limitation on channel / signal transmissions on the frequency subband. For example, the UE behaviour may be all of the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subband. For another example, the deactivated state may be referred to as a fully deactivated state, or may be referred to as a full OFF state, or a deep dormant state, and there is no transmission of any channel or signal on the frequency subband, so as to achieve an extremely power saving state, where neither NCD SS nor CSI-RS is transmitted, for example, the RRM measurement is also not supported. For example, the UE behaviour may be all of the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the deactivated second frequency subband. For another example, the dormant state may be referred to as the power saving state, or may be referred to as a light sleep state, and the frequency subband supports only transmission of necessary signals / channels. Optionally, if the second frequency subband is dormant, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subband are a part of the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subband, that is, a subset of an action set.

[0201] Optionally, the actions performed on the dormant second frequency subband include at least one of:

[0202] (1) performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subband;

[0203] (2) performing preconfigured grant physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or PUSCH transmission and / or periodic reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband;

[0204] (3) transmitting a scheduling request (SR) on the second frequency subband; or

[0205] (4) transmitting a RACH on the second frequency subband.

[0206] In other words, the signal / channel transmission allowed on the dormant second frequency subband may be one of the following:

[0207] (1) reference signals for RRM measurement, such as NCD-SSB and / or CSI-RS;

[0208] (2) preconfiguring a grant PDSCH or PUSCH and / or a periodic reference signal by higher layer signaling, for example, an SPS PDSCH, a Type 1 CG-PUSCH, a PUSCH or a PUCCH for reporting periodic CSI, a periodic CSI-RS, a periodic tracking reference signal (TRS), a periodic SRS, and / or a periodic PRS, etc.;

[0209] (3) a PUCCH for SR; or

[0210] (4) a PRACH for contention random access.

[0211] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE include at least one of:

[0212] (1) Index numbers and states respectively corresponding to at least one second frequency subband;

[0213] For example, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE are / is used to indicate index numbers and states of one or more second frequency subbands. For example, if the state is one of activation and deactivation, the state is indicated by a 1-bit indication value, the bit indication value of "1" indicates activation, and the bit indication value of "0" indicates deactivation. For another example, if the state is one of activation, deactivation, and dormancy, the state may be indicated by a 2-bit indication value. Alternatively, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE indicate, in a bitmap manner, a state corresponding to each second frequency subband, and each bit (or every two bits) in the bitmap correspond to state information of one second frequency subband.

[0214] (2) Index numbers and states respectively corresponding to at least one second frequency subband group, where the second frequency subband group includes the plurality of second frequency subbands, and each second frequency subband is configured with a corresponding index number of the second frequency subband group;

[0215] The second frequency subband group refers to a group of frequency subbands including at least two second frequency subbands, all the second frequency subbands in the cell are divided into N1 second frequency subband groups (N1 is a positive integer greater than 1), and each second frequency subband is associated to one second frequency subband group, for example, an index number of the configured second frequency subband group. When one second frequency subband group is indicated as a certain state, all the second frequency subbands included in the second frequency subband group are indicated as the state.

[0216] For example, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE are / is used to indicate index numbers and states of one or more second frequency subband groups. For example, if the state is one of activation and deactivation, a 1-bit indication value is used to indicate the stats, the bit indication value of "1" indicates activation, and the bit indication value of "0" indicates deactivation. For another example, if the state is one of activation, deactivation, and dormancy, a 2-bit bit indication value may be used to indicate the state. Alternatively, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE indicate, by using a bitmap, a state corresponding to each second frequency subband group, where each bit (or every two bits) in the bitmap correspond to state information of one second frequency subband group.

[0217] Optionally, if the state indicated by the base station is different from the current state of the second frequency subband, the second frequency subband needs to perform state switching.

[0218] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first DCI is group common DCI including a plurality of information blocks, that is, the state information of the second frequency subband is indicated by the group common DCI of the UE. For example, a newly defined first DCI format includes the plurality of information blocks, each information block corresponds to one UE, and an index number of an information block corresponding to one UE in the first DCI or a start bit location of the information block is preconfigured by higher layer signaling. That is, the UE determines, based on configuration of a higher layer parameter, the information block corresponding to the UE, where each information block includes index numbers of one or more activated second frequency subbands or a second frequency subband group, or each information block includes bitmap information used to respectively indicate state information corresponding to each second frequency subband.

[0219] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when a certain second frequency subband is not activated (i.e., in a deactivated state), the base station may configure or indicate or trigger the UE to perform a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, where the activated frequency subband of the second type and the deactivated frequency subband of the second type are different frequency subbands. The UE receives, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, related information used to indicate and / or trigger to measure on the deactivated second frequency subband, and performs a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband, and transmits (reports) a measurement value on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station. The base station determines, based on the reported measurement value, whether to activate the deactivated second frequency subband. A reference signal for measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands may be a CSI-RS and / or an NCD-SSB.

[0220] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the measurement value (that is, the measurement content related to the deactivated second frequency subband reported by the UE) may include at least one of: layer 3 reference signal receiving power (L3-RSRP), layer 3 reference signal receiving quality (L3-RSRQ), layer 1 reference signal receiving power (L1-RSRP), layer 1 reference signal receiving quality (L1-RSRQ), and CSI. The L1-RSRP refers to a reference signal received power (RSRP) value measured by a physical layer of the UE for a downlink reference signal (for example, NCD-SS, NCD-SSB, and / or CSI-RS) on the deactivated second frequency subband. The L3-RSRP means that the physical layer of the UE reports the L1-RSRP values obtained from measurement to a higher layer (e.g. Layer 3), and the higher layer performs filtering on multiple L1-RSRP values over a period of time, and the RSRP value filtered by the higher layer is called L3-RSRP, the L1-RSRQ is similar to the L3-RSRQ. The CSI refers to information such as a channel quality indicator (CQI), a rank indication (RI) and the like measured by the UE for the CSI-RS on the deactivated second frequency subband.

[0221] In an optional implementation, the measurement reporting content used by a secondary base station to determine whether to activate one deactivated second frequency subband is L3-RSRP. For example, the base station configures, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by RRC signaling, the UE to perform RSRP measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband based on the NCD-SS, the NCD-SSB, and / or the CSI-RS, and reports the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband. Alternatively, the base station configures, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by RRC signaling, the UE to perform the RSRP measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband based on the NCD-SS, the NCD-SSB, and / or the CSI-RS on the deactivated second frequency subband, but the configuration does not represent activation (effective), and the base station triggers, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the MAC CE, the UE to perform the RSRP measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband, that is, the UE starts to perform a measurement only after receiving the trigger signaling, and reports the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband. The UE may report the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband to the base station on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the RRC signaling or MAC CE.

[0222] In another optional implementation, the measurement reporting content used by the secondary base station to determine whether to activate one deactivated second frequency subband is L1-RSRP. For example, the base station indicates, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the MAC CE or the DCI, the UE to perform periodic RSRP measurement or one-shot RSRP measurement based on the NCD-SS, the NCD-SSB, and / or the CSI-RS on the deactivated second frequency subband, and reports semi-persistent L1-RSRP or aperiodic L1-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the MAC CE or the PUCCH.

[0223] In yet another optional implementation, the measurement reporting content used by the secondary base station to determine whether to activate one deactivated second frequency subband is CSI. For example, the base station indicates, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the MAC CE or the DCI, the UE to perform semi-persistent CSI reporting or aperiodic CSI reporting based on the NCD-SS on the deactivated second frequency subband. For example, the UE reports the CSI measured on the deactivated second frequency subband on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband by the MAC CE or the PUCCH.

[0224] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the reporting the measurement value to the base station on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband comprises: performing a measurement on a plurality of deactivated second frequency subbands, and reporting the best measurement value and / or an index number of a frequency subband corresponding to the best measurement value to the base station. That is, the reported L3-RSRP is the best one of corresponding L3-RSRPs on the measured plurality of deactivated second frequency subbands.

[0225] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the reporting the measurement value to the base station on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband comprises: reporting the measurement value and / or the index number of the corresponding frequency subband to the base station on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, when at least one of the following first preset conditions is satisfied:

[0226] (1) the measurement value exceeds a first preset threshold;

[0227] (2) a variation of the measurement value within a first preset time period exceeds a second preset threshold;

[0228] (3) a variation of the measurement value relative to a measurement value reported last time exceeds a third preset threshold; or

[0229] (4) a variation of the measurement value relative to a preset reference value exceeds a fourth preset threshold.

[0230] Taking L3-RSRP reporting as an example, the L3-RSRP reporting may be triggered only when some predefined conditions are satisfied. For example, the predefined conditions may be at least one of the following conditions:

[0231] (1) the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband exceeds a first preset threshold;

[0232] (2) a variation of the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband within a period of time (for example, a first preset time period) exceeds a second preset threshold;

[0233] (3) a variation of the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband relative to a measurement value reported last time exceeds a third preset threshold; or

[0234] (4) a variation of the L3-RSRP measured on the deactivated second frequency subband relative to a preset reference value exceeds a fourth preset threshold.

[0235] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for a second type of UE, the performing a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands comprises: switching from the current frequency subband to the deactivated second frequency subband in a first measurement window to perform the measurement, and then returning to the current frequency subband (that is, before the switching). Optionally, after the measurement is completed, the current frequency subband (that is, before the switching) is returned.

[0236] Since for a Type 2 UE, the transmission may be only performed on one frequency subband at the same time, when the Type 2 UE performs a measurement on the current deactivated second frequency subband, it cannot receive downlink signals on other frequency subbands. For the measurement reporting based on L3-RSRP, L3-RSRQ, L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, and CSI, the base station needs to configure a length of a corresponding measurement window or time gap, the UE switches to perform a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband within the gap, and the UE does not expect to receive the downlink signals on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subband within the gap. For the foregoing one-shot measurement reporting or aperiodic measurement reporting, there may be only one corresponding gap.

[0237] For the embodiment of the present disclosure, a starting location of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of:

[0238] (1) preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling;

[0239] (2) determining a location satisfying a first preset gap after signaling for indicating or triggering measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location; or

[0240] (3) determining a location satisfying a second preset gap before a starting location of the reference signal to be measured on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location, that is, the starting location of the gap may be a location satisfying the second preset gap before the starting location of a corresponding downlink reference signal required to be measured. For the foregoing periodic measurement reporting or semi-persistent measurement reporting, a corresponding gap is also periodic, a period of the gap is the same as a period of the corresponding downlink reference signal required to be measured, and the starting location of the gap satisfies a location of a preset gap before the starting location of the corresponding downlink reference signal required to be measured.

[0241] For the embodiment of the present disclosure, the length of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of:

[0242] (1) preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling; or

[0243] (2) indicating by second DCI or a second MAC CE, that the second DCI or the second MAC CE is used to indicate or trigger measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands.

[0244] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for a Type 2 UE, in one cell, the UE can only stay on one frequency subband at the same time, and the UE can switch between a first frequency subband and a second frequency subband or between multiple second frequency subbands. When the UE stays on a second frequency subband, if the second frequency subbands are deactivated, the base station indicates, for example by signaling, that the second frequency subband is deactivated, or if a first timer used to control activation of the second frequency subband expires or is not running, the UE may switch to the first frequency subband or other second frequency subbands, or the UE continues to stay on the second frequency subband. Specifically, for the second type of UE, if a current second frequency subband is deactivated, the method further comprises at least one of the following.

[0245] In a first optional implementation, when the second frequency subband on which the UE stays is deactivated, the UE autonomously switches to the first frequency subband.

[0246] In a second optional implementation, if the current second frequency subband is not the default second frequency subband, when the second frequency subband where the UE is currently located is deactivated, the UE autonomously switches to the default second frequency subband, where the default second frequency subband is predefined, or preconfigured by higher layer signaling. Optionally, the default second frequency subband is at least one of:

[0247] 1. a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum index number;

[0248] 2. a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum bandwidth value; or

[0249] 3. a second frequency subband corresponding to a lowest frequency point.

[0250] Alternatively, in combination with the first optional implementation, if the current second frequency subband is the default second frequency subband, the UE may autonomously switch to the first frequency subband.

[0251] Optionally, after the UE switches to the first frequency subband or the default second frequency subband, the UE may monitor, on the first frequency subband or the default second frequency subband, activation signaling related to other second frequency subbands or signaling indicating to switch to other second frequency subbands.

[0252] In a third optional implementation, when the second frequency subband on which the UE stays is deactivated, if the first signaling is received, the UE switches to the first frequency subband or another second frequency subband according to an indication of the first signaling.

[0253] That is, the UE may switch from the current second frequency subband to other frequency subbands according to an indication of the signaling (for example, MAC CE or DCI), and after the UE performs frequency subband switching, if the frequency subband before switching is the second frequency subband, the second frequency subband is deactivated by default, and the UE stops a preset UE behaviour (for example, the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the deactivated second frequency subband) on the deactivated second frequency subband. In case of switching to another second frequency subband according to an indication of first signaling, the another second frequency subband is activated by default. That is, if the frequency subband after switching is the second frequency subband, the frequency subband after switching is activated by default, and the UE may perform a preset action (for example, the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subband) on the frequency subband after switching.

[0254] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first frequency subband cannot be deactivated, and the activation / deactivation is only for the second frequency subband.

[0255] In a fourth optional implementation, when the second frequency subband on which the UE stays is deactivated, the UE may continue to stay on the current second frequency subband, and monitor second signaling used to activate the current second frequency subband. Optionally, in addition to monitoring the second signaling, the UE may do nothing.

[0256] Optionally, the UE continues to stay on the current second frequency subband, and if the second preset condition is satisfied, the UE may perform at least one of the following actions:

[0257] (1) switching to a first frequency subband, and transmitting third signaling on the first frequency subband, where the third signaling includes information for requesting to activate or assisting in activating the current second frequency subband or other second frequency subbands,

[0258] for example, the current second frequency subband or other second frequency subbands are activated through an SR request; or

[0259] (2) transmitting third signaling on the current second frequency subband, where the third signaling includes information for requesting to activate or assisting in activating the current second frequency subband or other second frequency subbands,

[0260] for example, the current second frequency subband is activated by an SR request.

[0261] If the second preset condition is not satisfied, the UE continues to stay on the deactivated current second frequency subband, and waits for the second frequency subband to enter an active time.

[0262] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in case of continuing to stay on the current second frequency subband, if the duration for which the current second frequency subband is deactivated reaches a second preset duration, the UE switches to the first frequency subband or the default second frequency subband.

[0263] Optionally, if the duration for which the current second frequency subband is deactivated reaches the second preset duration, and if the current second frequency subband of the UE is not the default second frequency subband, the UE autonomously switches to the default second frequency subband, otherwise if the current second frequency subband of the UE is the default second frequency subband, the UE continues to stay on the current second frequency subband, or autonomously switches to the first frequency subband.

[0264] In yet another optional implementation, when the second frequency subband where the UE is currently located is deactivated, whether to switch to the first frequency subband, switch to the default second frequency subband, or continue to stay on the current second frequency subband is determined based on a preconfigured higher layer parameter.

[0265] For example, the higher layer parameter is configured by RRC signaling, and is used to indicate an action of the UE after the current second frequency subband where the UE is currently located is deactivated.

[0266] Optionally, the switching of the UE between two frequency subbands in a same cell may be implemented by switching between two BWPs. For example, a plurality of BWPs may be configured on both the first frequency subband and the second frequency subband, the UE can only be activated with one BWP on each frequency subband, and when the UE is indicated or triggered to switch from the first BWP to the second BWP, wherein the first BWP and the second BWP are on different frequency subbands, then the BWP switching performed by the UE is actually switched from the frequency subband where the first BWP is located to the frequency subband where the second BWP is located.

[0267] In the embodiment of the disclosure, the UE may transmit fourth signaling on the first frequency subband, where the fourth signaling includes information for requesting or assisting in activating the second frequency subband, or information for requesting to switch to the second frequency subband.

[0268] That is, the fourth signaling may be understood as request signaling, and is used to request the base station to activate the second frequency subband. Alternatively, the fourth signaling may be understood as assistance information, and is used to assist the base station in activating the second frequency subband or other frequency subbands.

[0269] Optionally, for a Type 2 UE, the UE may request to activate the second frequency subband by requesting to switch to a target second frequency subband. For example, the UE transmits request signaling on the first frequency subband to request to switch to the target second frequency subband.

[0270] Optionally, the fourth signaling may be carried by a PRACH, an SR, or a MAC CE.

[0271] Optionally, the UE may further receive a fifth signaling on the first frequency subband or start to monitor the fifth signaling at a location satisfying a third preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband, where the fifth signaling includes information for confirming that the requested second frequency subband is activated, or the fifth signaling includes information that at least one second frequency subband is activated, or the fifth signaling includes information about switching to one second frequency subband.

[0272] That is, the fifth signaling may be understood as confirmation signaling or activation signaling. For example, the confirmation signaling is used to confirm that the second frequency subband requested by the UE is activated, and the activation signaling is used to separately indicate whether one or more second frequency subbands are activated.

[0273] Optionally, the UE starts PDCCH monitoring on the requested second frequency subband at a location satisfying a fourth preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband. If the UE monitors the DCI within a third preset time period, the UE considers that the second frequency subband is activated, otherwise, the UE considers that the second frequency subband is not activated. For a second type of UE, it switches from the first frequency subband to the requested second frequency subband at a location satisfying the fourth preset gap after transmitting the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband. That is, for a Type 2 UE, after transmitting the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband, it needs to switch from the first frequency subband to the requested second frequency subband to monitor the PDCCH. If the UE monitors the DCI within the third preset time period, the UE considers that the second frequency subband is activated, otherwise the UE considers that the second frequency subband is not activated.

[0274] Optionally, the UE may consider (by default) that the requested second frequency subband is activated at a location satisfying a fourth preset gap after the fourth signaling is transmitted on the first frequency subband. For a Type 1 UE, the UE may start to perform a preset UE behaviour (for example, the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subband) on the requested second frequency subband, and for a second type of UE, the UE switches from the first frequency subband to the requested second frequency subband at a location satisfying the fourth preset gap after transmitting the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband. That is, for a Type 2 UE, the UE may switch from the first frequency subband to the second frequency subband to start to perform a preset UE behaviour (for example, the foregoing actions performed by the UE on the activated second frequency subband).

[0275] Optionally, the UE transmitting the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband is triggered when the third preset condition is satisfied, that is, the UE transmits the fourth signaling on the first frequency subband when the third preset condition is satisfied.

[0276] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second preset condition and the third preset condition above include at least one of the following:

[0277] (1) the UE is a preset type of UE and / or a UE supporting a preset capability, for example, the preset type of UE may be an Internet of Things (IoT) UE;

[0278] (2) there is uplink data arrival;

[0279] (3) the remaining packet delay budget (PDB) of the arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of the arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold. Optionally, the fifth preset threshold and the sixth preset threshold are configured by the base station. Here, the arrival data of the UE has a delay requirement, and once the required delay cannot be met, data packets do not need to be transmitted, and the UE may drop the data packets. The remaining PDB of the arrival data is defined as the remaining time from the droped time, and the remaining PDB may also be referred to as the remaining time.

[0280] (4) a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority, that is, a value of the priority of the arrival data is less than or equal to a value of a preset priority, and a smaller value of the priority indicates that a corresponding priority is higher. Optionally, the value of the preset priority is configured by the base station;

[0281] (5) a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold, and optionally, the seventh preset threshold is configured by the base station;

[0282] (6) the type of the arrival data is a preset data type, for example, the preset data type is control plane (CP) data or user plane (UP) data;

[0283] (7) an index number of a logical channel or a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number, and optionally, the preset index number is configured by the base station; or

[0284] (8) an RSRP value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold. Optionally, the eighth preset threshold and the ninth preset threshold is configured by the base station.

[0285] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the information reported by the UE on the first frequency subband to assist in activating the second frequency subband may include at least one of the following related information:

[0286] (1) a UE type, for example, the UE type may be an Internet of Things UE;

[0287] (2) a measurement value on the second frequency subband, for example, the measurement value may be L3-RSRP, L3-RSRQ, L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, or CSI;

[0288] (3) a priority value of the arrival data;

[0289] (4) a type of the arrival data, for example, the data type may be control plane data or user plane data;

[0290] (5) an index number of a logical channel or a logical channel group of the arrival data;

[0291] (6) a data volume of the arrival data; or

[0292] (7) the remaining PDB of the arrival data. Here, the arrival data of the UE has a delay requirement, and once the required delay cannot be met, data packets do not need to be transmitted, the UE may drop the data packet, and the remaining PDB of the arrival data is defined as the remaining time from the time when the arrival data is droped.

[0293] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, both the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband of one cell are configured with PRACH resources.

[0294] Optionally, the UE initiates a random access procedure on the second frequency subband when a fourth preset condition is satisfied, or otherwise, initiates the random access procedure on the first frequency subband.

[0295] Alternatively, optionally, for a case where one cell includes a plurality of second frequency subbands and the PRACH resources are configured on each second frequency subband, the fourth preset condition may also be used by the UE to select one frequency subband from the plurality of frequency subbands to initiate the random access procedure. The UE selects one second frequency subband from the at least one second frequency subband based on the fourth preset condition to initiate the random access procedure.

[0296] The fourth preset condition includes at least one of:

[0297] (1) a higher layer of the UE indicates to a physical layer an index number of the second frequency subband that initiates the random access procedure, that is, the higher layer of the UE indicates which frequency subband the physical layer uses to initiate the random access procedure;

[0298] (2) the UE is a preset type of UE and / or a UE supporting a preset capability, for example, the preset type of UE may be an Internet of Things (IoT) UE;

[0299] (3) there is uplink data arrival;

[0300] (4) the remaining PDB of the arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of the arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold. Optionally, the fifth preset threshold and the sixth preset threshold are configured by the base station. Here, the arrival data of the UE has a delay requirement, and once the required delay cannot be met, data packets do not need to be transmitted, the UE may drop the data packets, and the remaining PDB of the arrival data is defined as the remaining time from the droped time.

[0301] (5) a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority, that is, a value of the priority of the arrival data is less than or equal to a value of the preset priority, and a smaller value of the priority indicates that a corresponding priority is higher. Optionally, the value of the preset priority is configured by the base station;

[0302] (6) a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold, and optionally, the seventh preset threshold is configured by the base station;

[0303] (7) the type of the arrival data is a preset data type, for example, the preset data type is control plane (CP) data or user plane (UP) data;

[0304] (8) an index number of a logical channel or a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number, and optionally, the preset index number is configured by the base station;

[0305] (9) an RSRP value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold. Optionally, the eighth preset threshold and the ninth preset threshold are configured by the base station;

[0306] (10) a data volume of the message 3 (Msg3) in the random access procedure is equal to or greater than a tenth preset threshold, and optionally, the tenth preset threshold is configured by the base station; or

[0307] (11) an event for triggering the random access procedure is a preset event, for example, the event for triggering the random access procedure may be small data transmission (SDT), that is, the UE does not need to establish an RRC_CONNECTED state, and transmits the arrival data to the base station through the random access procedure.

[0308] Optionally, if the UE needs to initiate the random access procedure based on the PRACH resources on the second frequency subband, and the second frequency subband is not activated (that is, in the deactivated state), or the PRACH resources on the second frequency subband are not activated (that is, in the deactivated state), the UE may request, on the first frequency subband by transmitting request signaling, the base station to activate the second frequency subband, or request the base station to activate the PRACH resources on the second frequency subband.

[0309] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the event for triggering the random access procedure may be at least one of the following events:

[0310] 1) an initial access procedure initiated from an RRC idle state (RRC_IDLE);

[0311] 2) RRC connection reestablishment procedure;

[0312] 3) during the RRC_CONNECTED state, or during an RRC_INACTIVE state, while the small data transmission procedure is in progress, and when an uplink synchronization state is asynchronous, there is uplink or downlink data arrival;

[0313] 4) during the RRC_CONNECTED state, or during the RRC_INACTIVE state, while the SDT procedure is in progress, and when there is no PUCCH resource for scheduling request, there is uplink data arrival;

[0314] 5) switching, except for a case where RACH-less switching is configured;

[0315] 6) SR failure;

[0316] 7) RRC synchronization reconfiguration explicit request;

[0317] 8) an RRC connection recovery procedure initiated from the RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0318] 9) establishing time alignment for a primary timing advance group (TAG) or a secondary TAG;

[0319] 10) requesting other system information;

[0320] 11) a beam failure recovery procedure;

[0321] 12) a continuous uplink LBT failure on a special cell (SpCell);

[0322] 13) small data transmission in the RRC inactive state;

[0323] 14) a random access procedure for locationing purposes during the RRC_CONNECTED state;

[0324] 15) early uplink synchronization on candidate cells managed by L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM); or

[0325] 16) RACH-based LTM cell switching.

[0326] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of frequency subbands are deployed in one cell.

[0327] Optionally, the reference signal on each frequency subband may be used for RRM measurement.

[0328] Alternatively, optionally, only the reference signal on the first frequency subband can be used for RRM measurement, but the reference signal on the second frequency subband cannot be used for RRM measurement. For example, the UE performs RRM measurement based on the SS (or SSB) on the first frequency subband, and only transmits the CD-SSB on the first frequency subband, and does not transmit the SS or SSB on the second frequency subband, including not transmitting the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB.

[0329] In an optional manner, for the above Type 2 UE, the UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state always performs RRM measurement based on an SS (or SSB) on a carrier (for example, an anchor carrier), a frequency subband (for example, the first frequency subband), or an active BWP (for example, a primary active BWP) in the cell, and does not transmit an SS (or SSB) on other carriers, other frequency subbands, or other active BWPs in the cell, especially does not transmit an SS (or SSB) used for cell defining. When the Type 2 UE performs data transmission on the supplementary carrier, the second frequency subband or the secondary active BWP, it is necessary to periodically return the anchor carrier, the first frequency subband or the primary active BWP to perform the RMM measurement. That is, for a second type of UE, if the current frequency subband is a second frequency subband, it switches to the first frequency subband to perform the RRM measurement, and then returns to the current second frequency subband (that is, before switching).

[0330] Optionally, the UE is switched to perform the RRM measurement on the first frequency subband, and after the RRM measurement is completed, returns to the current second frequency subband (that is, before switching).

[0331] In this case, the base station needs to configure, for the UE, a measurement window or a measurement gap for performing RRM measurement, and the UE switches to the first frequency subband within a preconfigured second measurement window to perform the RRM measurement. A period, a starting location, and / or a length of the second measurement window are preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0332] In another optional manner, for a Type 2UE in the RRC-CONNECTED state, the UE may perform RRM measurement on the current first frequency subband, or perform the RRM measurement on the current second frequency subband. That is, the UE may perform the RRM measurement on the current frequency subband, regardless of whether the current frequency subband is the first frequency subband. For example, when switching from the first frequency subband to the second frequency subband for data transmission, the mobility measurement of the UE is also switched from the first frequency subband to the second frequency subband. That is, the UE may perform the mobility measurement based on the second frequency subband. For example, the UE may perform the RRM measurement based on an SS / SSB and / or a CSI-RS of a non-defined cell on the second frequency subband. In other words, the UE always performs the RRM measurement based on the reference signal on the stayed frequency subband, and the UE does not need to switch the frequency subbands for RRM measurement.

[0333] Optionally, when the RRM measurement is performed on the current second frequency subband, if a fifth preset condition is satisfied, the UE is switched to perform the RRM measurement on the first frequency subband, and then returns to the current second frequency subband (that is, before switching).

[0334] The fifth preset condition includes at least one of the following conditions:

[0335] (1) a measurement value on the current second frequency subband is less than or equal to an eleventh preset threshold, that is, the measurement value (for example, L3-RSRP or L3-RSRQ) of the UE on the second frequency subband is less than or equal to the eleventh preset threshold;

[0336] (2) a variation of the measurement value on the current second frequency subband within a second preset time period is greater than or equal to a twelfth preset threshold, that is, the variation of the measurement value (for example, L3-RSRP or L3-RSRQ) of the UE on the second frequency subband within the second preset time period is greater than or equal to the twelfth preset threshold;

[0337] (3) a variation of the measurement value on the current second frequency subband relative to a preset reference value is greater than or equal to a thirteenth preset threshold, that is, a variation of the measurement value (for example, L3-RSRP or L3-RSRQ) of the UE on the second frequency subband relative to the preset reference value is greater than or equal to the thirteenth preset threshold;

[0338] (4) a measurement value on the current second frequency subband is less than the measurement value on the first frequency subband, that is, the measurement value (for example, RSRP or CSI) of the UE on the second frequency subband is worse than the measurement value on the first frequency subband; or

[0339] (5) a difference between the measurement value on the current second frequency subband and the measurement value on the first frequency subband is greater than or equal to a fourteenth preset threshold, that is, a difference between the measurement value (for example, RSRP or CSI) of the UE on the second frequency subband and the measurement value on the first frequency subband is greater than or equal to the fourteenth preset threshold.

[0340] The measurement value includes at least one of L1-RSRP, L3-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L3-RSRQ, and CSI.

[0341] Optionally, the UE is switched to perform RRM measurement on the first frequency subband, and after the RRM measurement is completed, returns to the current frequency subband.

[0342] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a PDCCH monitoring action of the UE on one second frequency subband or a PDCCH monitoring action related to one second frequency subband may be indicated by a MAC CE or DCI on the first frequency subband or another second frequency subband. In addition, periodic data transmission (including but not limited to SPS PDSCH, Type 1 CG-PUSCH, and Type 2 CG-PUSCH, etc.) preconfigured by the UE on one second frequency subband by RRC signaling may indicate activation or deactivation on the first frequency subband or another second frequency subband by the MAC CE or DCI.

[0343] Specifically, the UE receives third DCI and / or a third MAC CE on the first frequency subband, where the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE include an index number of at least one second frequency subband and / or scheduling transmission related information respectively corresponding to the at least one second frequency subband;

[0344] The scheduling transmission related information includes at least one of:

[0345] (1) information related to a PDCCH monitoring action on the second frequency subband, optionally including a PDCCH monitoring action used to indicate the second frequency subband, or a PDCCH monitoring action related to the second frequency subband, and the PDCCH monitoring action related to the second frequency subband refers to monitoring, on frequency subbands other than the second frequency subband, a PDCCH used to schedule the second frequency subband, including uplink scheduling and downlink scheduling;

[0346] (2) information related to transmission of a preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH (that is, periodic physical shared channel) on the second frequency subband, where the preconfigured grant PDSCH includes an SPS-PDSCH, and the preconfigured grant PUSCH includes at least one of a Type 1 CG-PUSCH and a Type 2 CG-PUSCH;

[0347] (3) information related to (periodic physical) reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband, where the reference signal transmission includes at least one of an SSB, a CSI-RS, a TRS, an SRS, or a locationing reference signal (PRS), for example, the periodic reference signal transmission (including the CSI-RS, the TRS, the SRS, the PRS, etc.) preconfigured by RRC signaling on one second frequency subband by the UE, and activation or deactivation may be indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI on the first frequency subband.

[0348] (4) CSI reporting related information on the second frequency subband; or

[0349] (5) CSI reporting related information related to the second frequency subband.

[0350] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the information related to the PDCCH monitoring action on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0351] (1) information for starting or stopping PDCCH monitoring on the second frequency subband,

[0352] that is, the information indicates to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring on the second frequency subband, or indicates to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring related to the second frequency subband;

[0353] (2) information for starting or stopping PDCCH monitoring on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) on the second frequency subband;

[0354] Optionally, the preset PDCCH search space set(s) is(are) predefined, preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or indicated by the third DCI and / or a second MAC CE.

[0355] For example, the information indicates to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring on a group of search space sets on the second frequency subband. Here, the UE may be configured with a plurality of search space sets on one second frequency subband, all search space sets on one second frequency subband may be divided into N2 groups of search space sets (N2 is a positive integer greater than 1, and may be equal to 2 or 3), configuration information of each search space set indicates which group of search space sets is associated with, and an index number of a search space set group (SSSG) that needs to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring may be indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0356] Alternatively, the information indicates to start or stop the PDCCH monitoring on one or more types of search space sets on the second frequency subband. For example, a category of the PDCCH search space set(s) may use that of an existing NR system. For example, the PDCCH search space set(s) may include at least one of the following types:

[0357] 1. Type0-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a SIB1 search space (searchSpaceSIB1) or a zero-number search space (searchSpaceZero) configured by an IE PDCCH-ConfigCommon, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is scrambled by a system information-radio network temporary identity (SI-RNTI); and a zero-number search space (searchSpaceZero) with a parameter searchSpacID=0 that is used for a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) control channel (MCCH) search space and a MBMS transmission channel (MTCH) search space, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by an MCCH-RNTI or a group (G)-RNTI;

[0358] 2. Type0A-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, other system information search space (searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation) configured by the IE PDCCH-ConfigCommon, i.e., a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the SI-RNTI;

[0359] 3. Type0B-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a configured MCCH search space (searchSpaceMCCH) and a MTCH search space (searchSpaceMTCH), that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the MCCH-RNTI or the G-RNTI;

[0360] 4. Type1-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a random access search space (ra-Search space) configured by the IE PDCCH-ConfigCommon, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by a random access (RA)-RNTI, an MsgB (Message B in the random access procedure)-RNTI or a temporary cell (TC)-RNTI;

[0361] 5. Type1A-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, small data transmission search space (sdt-SearchSpace) configured by the IE PDCCH-ConfigCommon, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by a cell (C)-RNTI or a configured scheduling (CS)-RNTI;

[0362] 6. Type2-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a paging search space (pagingSearchSpace) configured by the IE PDCCH-ConfigCommon, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by a physical (P)-RNTI;

[0363] 7. Type2A-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a paging early indication search space (pei-Search Space) configured by an IE pei-ConfigBWP, is used to monitor a search space in a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by a paging early indication (PEI)-RNTI;

[0364] 8. Type3-PDCCH cell-specific search space set, for example, a search space configured by an IE PDCCH-Config and with a parameter searchSpaceType=common, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by an interruption (INT)-RNTI, a slot format indication (SFI)-RNTI, a transmit power control (TPC)-PUSCH-RNTI, a TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, a TPC-SRS-RNTI, a cancellation indication (CI)-RNTI, or a network energy saving (NES)-RNTI, and a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the C-RNTI, a modulation coding scheme (MCS)-C-RNTI, the CS-RNTI, or a power saving (PS)-RNTI; a search space configured by an IE pdcch-ConfgMulticast, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the G-RNTI or the G-CS-RNTI; and a configured MCCH search space (searchSpaceMCCH) and MTCH search space (searchSpaceMTCH), that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the MCCH -RNTI or the G-RNTI; or

[0365] 9. UE-specific search space set, for example, a search space configured by the IE PDCCH-Config and with a parameter seachSpaceType=ue-Specific, that is, a search space used to monitor a DCI format in which the CRC is scrambled by the C-RNTI, the MCS-C-RNTI, a semi-persistent (SP)-CSI-RNTI, the CS-RNTI, a sidelink (SL)-RNTI, the SL-CSI-RNTI, a SL-semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)-Vehicle (V)-RNTI, or a network controlled repeater (NCR)-RNTI.

[0366] (3) a first duration for which the PDCCH monitoring is started or stopped on the second frequency subband;

[0367] That is, the information indicates to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring on the second frequency subband, or start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring related to the second frequency subband, and maintain an indicated UE behaviour for a preset first duration, where the preset first duration may be preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), or a plurality of preset first durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling, and then one of the plurality of preset first durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0368] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, to stop the PDCCH monitoring and maintain for the preset first duration may also be understood as skipping the PDCCH monitoring within the preset first duration.

[0369] (4) a second duration for starting or stopping the PDCCH monitoring on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) on the second frequency subband;

[0370] That is, the information indicates to start (or stop) the PDCCH monitoring on a group of search space sets on the second frequency subband, and maintain for a preset second duration, where the preset second duration may be preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), or a plurality of preset second durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling, and then one of the plurality of preset second durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI;

[0371] Alternatively, the information indicates to start or stop the PDCCH monitoring on a search space set of a specified type on a specified second frequency subband, and maintain for a preset second duration, where the second duration may be preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or a plurality of second durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), and then one of the plurality of second durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI;

[0372] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, to stop the PDCCH monitoring and maintain for the preset second duration may also be understood as skipping the PDCCH monitoring within the preset second duration.

[0373] (5) start or stop information of a corresponding first timer on the second frequency subband, where the first timer is used to control activation or deactivation of the second frequency subbands.

[0374] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first timer may be a timer drx-onDurationTimer in a connected-mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) configuration, where different second frequency subbands may be respectively configured with different first timers.

[0375] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above information related to transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0376] (1) information that at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is activated;

[0377] The activation refers to the transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH being initiated. The physical resources used for the transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH are preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), or the physical resources used for the transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH are indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0378] (2) information that the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated;

[0379] The deactivation refers to the transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH being suspended.

[0380] (3) a third duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is activated; or

[0381] (4) a fourth duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated.

[0382] The preconfigured grant PDSCH includes an SPS-PDSCH, and the preconfigured grant PUSCH includes a Type 1 CG-PUSCH and a Type 2 CG-PUSCH. A preset third duration or a preset fourth duration may be preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), or a plurality of preset third durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling, and then one of the preset third durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI, or a plurality of preset fourth durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling, and then one of the preset fourth durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0383] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the above information related to the reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0384] (1) information that at least one preconfigured reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, SRS or PRS) transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated;

[0385] The activation means that the preconfigured periodic reference signal transmission is initiated, and the deactivation means that the preconfigured periodic reference signal transmission is suspended, where physical resources used for the preconfigured periodic reference signal transmission is preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), or the physical resources used for the preconfigured periodic reference signal transmission are indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0386] (2) a fifth duration for which at least one reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS, TRS, SRS, or PRS) transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated.

[0387] The preset fifth duration may be preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or a plurality of preset fifth durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling (for example, RRC signaling), and then one of the preset fifth durations is indicated by a third MAC CE or third DCI.

[0388] As described above, for each of the first duration, the second duration, the third duration, the fourth duration, and the fifth duration, the duration is preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or the duration is one of a plurality of durations indicated by at least one of the second MAC CE and the third DCI, and the plurality of durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0389] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, different discontinuous reception (DRX) is configured for different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups. For example, different DRX is configured for a first frequency subband and at least one second frequency subband. Alternatively, different frequency subband groups are configured with different DRX. One frequency subband group includes a plurality of frequency subbands, each frequency subband is configured with an index number of a corresponding frequency subband group, and frequency subbands in a same frequency subband group apply a same DRX.

[0390] Optionally, the UE may be configured with different DRX on different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups in a same cell. In a DRX active time, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring, but in an outside DRX active time, the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH to achieve a power saving purpose. The DRX configuration includes timers drx-onDurationTimer, drx-activityTimer, and drx-transmissionTimer to control a DRX state. In other words, the different frequency subbands may be configured with DRX separately, and the UE manages a corresponding DRX timer on each frequency subband to determine whether the DRX state on each frequency subband is in an active time or an inactive time.

[0391] The frequency subband group refers to a group of frequency subbands including at least two frequency subbands, all frequency subbands (including the first frequency subband) included in the cell, or all second frequency subbands are divided into N3 frequency subband groups (N3 is a positive integer greater than 1), and each frequency subband is associated to one frequency subband group, for example, an index number of the configured frequency subband group.

[0392] Optionally, for a Type 2 UE, when the UE switches from one frequency subband to another frequency subband, if the DRX configured on a frequency subband before switching is different from the DRX configured on a frequency subband after switching, the UE may perform at least one of the following actions.

[0393] (1) The DRX configuration of the UE on the frequency subband after the switching is activated. For example, the UE starts the drx-onDurationTimer on the frequency subband after the switching at a location satisfying a fifth preset gap after receiving the signaling indicating the frequency subband switching. In other words, before the UE switches to the frequency subband, the DRX configuration of the UE on the frequency subband after the switching is not activated, and after the UE switches to the frequency subband, the DRX configuration of the UE on the frequency subband after switching is activated, that is, the drx-onDurationTimer is started. A starting location (that is, a start time of the drx-onDurationTimer) of the DRX periodic activation duration onDuration is not preconfigured, but is dynamically controlled by an activation action. That is, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the starting or stopping of a DRX-related third timer is controlled based on a switching action of the UE between the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband.

[0394] Optionally, the third timer includes at least one of:

[0395] DRX on duration timer drx-onDurationTimer;

[0396] DRX inactivity timer drx-InactivityTimer;

[0397] DRX downlink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL;

[0398] DRX uplink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL;

[0399] DRX downlink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; or

[0400] DRX uplink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL.

[0401] (2) The DRX configuration of the UE on the frequency subband before the switching is deactivated, that is, the UE stops all DRX timers. In other words, if the UE does not stay on one frequency subband, the DRX configuration of the UE on this frequency subband is not activated (that is, not effective).

[0402] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different timing advances (TAs). For example, a first frequency subband and at least one second frequency subband correspond to different TAs, and / or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TAs. One frequency subband group includes a plurality of frequency subbands, each frequency subband is configured with an index number of a corresponding frequency subband group, and frequency subbands in a same frequency subband group apply a same TA.

[0403] And / or, in the embodiment of this disclosure, different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different transmission power control (TPC). For example, the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband correspond to different TPC, and / or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TPC. One frequency subband group includes a plurality of frequency subbands, each frequency subband is configured with an index number of a corresponding frequency subband group, and frequency subbands in a same frequency subband group apply a same TPC.

[0404] For example, different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TA-related parameter configurations, and the TA-related parameters include a time alignment timer timeAlignmentmentTimer and the like. Different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TA control signaling, different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different power control parameter configurations, and the power control parameters include a target received power P0, a path loss compensation factor alpha, a reference signal used to determine downlink path loss, and the like, and different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different power control signaling.

[0405] Optionally, for a Type 1 UE, when the frequency subband is switched, because a TA applied to the frequency subband before the switching is different from a TA applied to the frequency subband after the switching, uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the switching and uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the switching may overlap. For example, if a TA value on the frequency subband after the switching is greater than a TA value on the frequency subband before the switching, a head of uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the switching that is adjusted by the TA will overlap a tail of uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the switching.

[0406] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in case that the frequency subband of the UE before switching and the frequency subband of the UE after switching correspond to different TAs, such that the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before switching overlaps with the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after switching, the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before switching or the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after switching is droped. That is, the UE may perform at least one of the following actions:

[0407] (1) droping, by the UE, the tail of uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the switching, where the tail overlaps with uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the switching; or

[0408] (2) droping, by the UE, the head of uplink transmission on the frequency subband after the switching, where the head overlaps with uplink transmission on the frequency subband before the switching.

[0409] The method performed by the UE according to the embodiment of the present disclosure effectively improves the transmission flexibility, so that the purpose of simplifying the system is achieved.

[0410] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is also provided a method performed by a base station in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 7, the method comprises:

[0411] Step S701: Transmit system information on a first frequency subband, where the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; and

[0412] Step S702: Provide a transmission service for a UE on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands.

[0413] Optionally, for the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, each frequency subband is in different frequency bands, and said each frequency subband includes a segment of continuous frequency resources, and each segment of frequency resources is discontinuous.

[0414] Optionally, the method further comprises: receiving a type of the UE reported by the UE;

[0415] The type of the UE includes at least two of the following:

[0416] a first type of UE capable of simultaneous transmission and / or simultaneous reception on at least two frequency subbands; and

[0417] a second type of UE only capable of transmission and / or reception on one frequency subband at the same time.

[0418] Optionally, the second frequency subbands can be activated or deactivated.

[0419] Optionally, the second frequency subbands are activated or deactivated via at least one of:

[0420] indicating through a first DCI;

[0421] indicating through a first MAC CE; or

[0422] controlling by a first timer.

[0423] A value of the first timer is configured by higher layer signaling.

[0424] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0425] transmitting the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on the first frequency subband; and / or

[0426] transmitting the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE on other second frequency subbands.

[0427] Optionally, the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE include at least one of:

[0428] index numbers and states respectively corresponding to at least one second frequency subband; or

[0429] index numbers and states respectively corresponding to at least one second frequency subband group, where the second frequency subband group includes the plurality of second frequency subbands;

[0430] The state is one of activation, deactivation, and dormancy.

[0431] Optionally, the first DCI is group common DCI including a plurality of information blocks, and an index number of an information block corresponding to the UE in the first DCI or a start bit location of the information block is preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0432] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0433] transmitting, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, related information for indicating and / or triggering measurement on the deactivated second frequency subband; and

[0434] receiving, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, a measurement value of the UE on the deactivated second frequency subband,

[0435] wherein, a reference signal for measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands is a CSI-RS and / or an NCD-SSB.

[0436] Optionally, the measurement value includes at least one of: L3-RSRP, L3-RSRQ, L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, and CSI.

[0437] Optionally, if the second frequency subbands are deactivated, the method further comprises: receiving fourth signaling on the first frequency subband, where the fourth signaling includes information for requesting or assisting in activating the second frequency subband, or information for requesting to switch to the second frequency subband.

[0438] Optionally, the fourth signaling is carried by a PRACH, an SR, or a MAC CE.

[0439] Optionally, the method further comprises: transmitting fifth signaling, where the fifth signaling includes information for confirming that the requested second frequency subband is activated, or the fifth signaling includes information that at least one second frequency subband is activated.

[0440] Optionally, the information for assisting in activating the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0441] a type of UE;

[0442] a measurement value on the second frequency subbands;

[0443] a priority value of the arrival data;

[0444] a type of the arrival data;

[0445] an index number of a logical channel or a logical channel group of the arrival data;

[0446] a data volume of the arrival data; or

[0447] a remaining PDB of the arrival data.

[0448] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0449] transmitting third DCI and / or a third MAC CE on the first frequency subband, where the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE include an index number of at least one second frequency subband and / or scheduling transmission related information respectively corresponding to the at least one second frequency subband,

[0450] wherein, the scheduling transmission related information includes at least one of:

[0451] information related to a PDCCH monitoring action on the second frequency subband;

[0452] information related to transmission of a preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband, wherein the preconfigured grant PUSCH includes at least one of a Type 1 CG-PUSCH and a Type 2 CG-PUSCH;

[0453] information related to reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband, where the reference signal transmission includes at least one of an SSB, a CSI-RS, a TRS, an SRS, and a PRS;

[0454] CSI reporting related information on the second frequency subband; or

[0455] CSI reporting related information related to the second frequency subband.

[0456] Optionally, the PDCCH monitoring action related information on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0457] information for starting or stopping PDCCH monitoring on the second frequency subband;

[0458] information for starting or stopping PDCCH monitoring on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) on the second frequency subband;

[0459] a first duration for which PDCCH monitoring is started or stopped on the second frequency subband;

[0460] a second duration for which PDCCH monitoring is started or stopped on one or a group of preset PDCCH search space set(s) on the second frequency subband; or

[0461] information for starting or stopping a corresponding first timer on the second frequency subband, where the first timer is used to control activation or deactivation of the second frequency subbands.

[0462] Optionally, the preset PDCCH search space set(s) is(are) predefined, preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or indicated by the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE.

[0463] Optionally, the information related to transmission of the preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0464] information that at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is activated;

[0465] information that at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated;

[0466] a third duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is activated; or

[0467] a fourth duration for which the transmission of the at least one preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband is deactivated.

[0468] Optionally, the information related to reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband includes at least one of:

[0469] information that at least one reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated; or

[0470] a fifth duration for which at least one reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband is activated or deactivated.

[0471] Optionally, for each of the first duration, the second duration, the third duration, the fourth duration, and the fifth duration, the duration is preconfigured by higher layer signaling, or

[0472] the duration is one of a plurality of durations indicated by at least one of the third MAC CE and the third DCI, and the plurality of durations are preconfigured by higher layer signaling.

[0473] Optionally, different DRX is configured for different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups; and / or

[0474] different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TAs; and / or

[0475] different frequency subbands or different frequency subband groups correspond to different TPCs.

[0476] One frequency subband group includes a plurality of frequency subbands, each frequency subband is configured with an index number of a corresponding frequency subband group, and frequency subbands in a same frequency subband group apply a same DRX, TA, and / or TPC.

[0477] Optionally, the starting or stopping of a DRX-related third timer is controlled based on a switching action of the UE between the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband.

[0478] Optionally, the third timer includes at least one of:

[0479] DRX on duration timer drx-onDurationTimer;

[0480] DRX inactivity timer drx-InactivityTimer;

[0481] DRX downlink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL;

[0482] DRX uplink retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL;

[0483] DRX downlink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; or

[0484] DRX uplink HARQ round trip time timer drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL.

[0485] Optionally, when the frequency subband of the UE before switching and the frequency subband of the UE after switching correspond to different TAs, such that the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before switching overlaps with the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after switching, the tail of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband before switching or the head of the uplink transmission on the frequency subband after switching is droped.

[0486] The method performed by the base station according to the embodiment of the present disclosure corresponds to the steps of the method performed by the UE, and has similar implementation principles and corresponding technical effects. For detailed functional description of the method performed by the base station, reference is made to the description of the method performed by the UE described above, and details are not described herein again.

[0487] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, which comprises a processor, and optionally, may further comprise a transceiver and / or a memory coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of the optional embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, the electronic device may refer to a UE, then the processor is configured to implement the steps of the method embodiments performed by the UE, and for detailed functional description and beneficial effects resulting therefrom, reference may be made to the foregoing description of the method embodiments performed by the UE, and details are not described herein again. Optionally, the electronic device may be a base station, then the processor is configured to implement the steps in the method embodiments performed by the base station, and for detailed functional descriptions and beneficial effects resulting therefrom, reference may be made to the foregoing description of the method embodiments performed by the base station, and details are not described herein again. In actual applications, the UE or the base station may be understood as different network nodes.

[0488] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, comprising at least one transceiver and at least one processor coupled to the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor is configured to implement the method according to any one of optional embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0489] FIG. 8 shows a schematic structure diagram of an electronic device to which the solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. As shown in FIG. 8, the electronic device 800 shown in FIG. 8 may include a processor 801 and a memory 803. Wherein, the processor 801 is connected to the memory 803, for example, through a bus 802. Optionally, the electronic device 800 may further include a transceiver 804. The transceiver 804 may be used for data interaction between this electronic device and other electronic devices, such as transmission of data and / or reception of data. It should be noted that, in practical applications, the transceiver 804 is not limited to one, and the structure of the electronic device 800 does not constitute any limitations to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, the electronic device may be a first network node, a second network node, or a third network node.

[0490] The processor 801 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure. The processor 801 may also be a combination for realizing computing functions, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0491] The bus 802 may include a path to transfer information between the components described above. The bus 802 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 802 may be an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of presentation, the bus is represented by only one thick line in FIG. 8. However, it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of buses.

[0492] The memory 803 may be, but not limited to, read only memories (ROMs) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memories (RAMs) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, may be electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), compact disc read only memories (CD-ROMs) or other optical disk storages, optical disc storages (including compact discs, laser discs, discs, digital versatile discs, blue-ray discs, etc.), magnetic storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by computers.

[0493] The memory 803 is used to store computer program for executing the solutions of the present disclosure, and is controlled by the processor 801. The processor 801 is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory 803 to implement the solution provided in any method embodiment described above.

[0494] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a terminal (or a user equipment (UE)), according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 corresponds to the example of the UE of FIG. 4.

[0495] As shown in FIG. 9, the UE according to an embodiment may include a transceiver 910, a memory 920, and a processor 930. The transceiver 910, the memory 920, and the processor 930 of the UE may operate according to a communication method of the UE described above. However, the components of the UE are not limited thereto. For example, the UE may include more or fewer components than those described above. In addition, the processor 930, the transceiver 910, and the memory 920 may be implemented as a single chip. Also, the processor 930 may include at least one processor.

[0496] The transceiver 910 collectively refers to a UE receiver and a UE transmitter, and may transmit / receive a signal to / from a base station or a network entity. The signal transmitted or received to or from the base station or a network entity may include control information and data. The transceiver 910 may include a RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and a RF receiver for amplifying low-noise and down-converting a frequency of a received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 910 and components of the transceiver 910 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

[0497] Also, the transceiver 910 may receive and output, to the processor 930, a signal through a wireless channel, and transmit a signal output from the processor 930 through the wireless channel.

[0498] The memory 920 may store a program and data required for operations of the UE. Also, the memory 920 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the UE. The memory 920 may be a storage medium, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

[0499] The processor 930 may control a series of processes such that the UE operates as described above. For example, the transceiver 910 may receive a data signal including a control signal transmitted by the base station or the network entity, and the processor 930 may determine a result of receiving the control signal and the data signal transmitted by the base station or the network entity.

[0500] FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a base station, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 corresponds to the example of the RAN node of FIG. 2A to 3B.

[0501] As shown in FIG. 10, the base station according to an embodiment may include a transceiver 1010, a memory 1020, and a processor 1030. The transceiver 1010, the memory 1020, and the processor 1030 of the base station may operate according to a communication method of the base station described above. However, the components of the base station are not limited thereto. For example, the base station may include more or fewer components than those described above. In addition, the processor 1030, the transceiver 1010, and the memory 1020 may be implemented as a single chip. Also, the processor 1030 may include at least one processor.

[0502] The transceiver 1010 collectively refers to a base station receiver and a base station transmitter, and may transmit / receive a signal to / from a terminal or a network entity. The signal transmitted or received to or from the terminal or a network entity may include control information and data. The transceiver 1010 may include a RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and a RF receiver for amplifying low-noise and down-converting a frequency of a received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 1010 and components of the transceiver 1010 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

[0503] Also, the transceiver 1010 may receive and output, to the processor 1030, a signal through a wireless channel, and transmit a signal output from the processor 1030 through the wireless channel.

[0504] The memory 1020 may store a program and data required for operations of the base station. Also, the memory 1020 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the base station. The memory 1020 may be a storage medium, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

[0505] The processor 1030 may control a series of processes such that the base station operates as described above. For example, the transceiver 1010 may receive a data signal including a control signal transmitted by the terminal, and the processor 1030 may determine a result of receiving the control signal and the data signal transmitted by the terminal.

[0506] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored on the computer-readable storage medium, the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps and corresponding contents of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0507] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product including a computer program, the computer program when executed by a processor realizing the steps and corresponding contents of the preceding method embodiments.

[0508] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "1", "2", etc. (if present) in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings above are used to distinguish similar objects and need not be used to describe a particular order or sequence. It should be understood that the data so used is interchangeable where appropriate so that embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described in the text.

[0509] It should be understood that while the flow diagrams of embodiments of the present disclosure indicate the individual operational steps by arrows, the order in which these steps are performed is not limited to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless explicitly stated herein, in some implementation scenarios of embodiments of the present disclosure, the implementation steps in the respective flowcharts may be performed in other orders as desired. In addition, some, or all of the steps in each flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple phases based on the actual implementation scenario. Some or all of these sub-steps or stages can be executed at the same moment, and each of these sub-steps or stages can also be executed at different moments separately. The order of execution of these sub-steps or stages can be flexibly configured according to requirements in different scenarios of execution time, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0510] The above-mentioned description and the drawings are provided merely as examples to help readers to understand the present disclosure, and they should not be interpreted or aim to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although some embodiments are provided, it is apparent for those skilled in the art to adopt other similar implementation means based on the technical idea of the present disclosure without departing from the technical concept of the solution of the present disclosure.

Claims

1.A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication system, the method comprising:receiving system information on a first frequency subband, wherein the system information includes configuration information of a plurality of second frequency subbands, and the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands belong to a same cell; andperforming transmission on at least one of the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands.2.The method of claim 1, wherein for the first frequency subband and the plurality of second frequency subbands, each frequency subband is in different frequency bands, andwherein each frequency subband comprises a segment of continuous frequency resources, and each segment of frequency resources is discontinuous.3.The method of claim 1, further comprising:reporting a type of the UE to a base station,wherein, the type of the UE includes at least two of the following:a first type of UE capable of simultaneous transmission and / or simultaneous reception on at least two frequency subbands; anda second type of UE only capable of transmission and / or reception on one frequency subband at a same time.4.The method of claims 1, wherein the second frequency subbands can be activated or deactivated.5.The method of claim 4, wherein the second frequency subbands are activated or deactivated via at least one of:indicating by a first downlink control information (DCI);indicating by a first medium access control (MAC) control element (CE); orcontrolling by a first timer.6.The method of claim 5, wherein that the second frequency subbands are activated or deactivated via controlling by a first timer comprises at least one of:deactivating the second frequency subbands if the first timer expires or is not running;starting the first timer if an instruction indicating that the second frequency subbands are activated is received;stopping the first timer if an instruction indicating that the second frequency subbands are deactivated is received; orstarting or restarting the first timer if a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scheduling new transmission is received on the second frequency subbands,wherein, a value of the first timer is configured by higher layer signaling.7.The method of claim 4, wherein if the second frequency subbands are deactivated, or if a duration of deactivating the second frequency subbands is greater than or equal to a first preset duration, an action performed by the UE on the second frequency subbands comprises at least one of:stopping the first timer associated with the second frequency subbands;stopping a second timer associated with the second frequency subbands, wherein the second timer is used to control activation or deactivation of an active bandwidth part (BWP) on the second frequency subbands;deactivating any active BWP on the second frequency subbands;suspending or clearing any configured downlink assignment on the second frequency subbands;suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 2 on the second frequency subbands;suspending or clearing any configured uplink grant of Type 1 on the second frequency subbands;clearing any physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource for semi-persistent channel state information (CSI) reporting on the second frequency subbands;flushing all hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers on the second frequency subbands;suspending or clearing a radio resource management (RRM) measurement on the second frequency subbands;canceling a persistent listen-before-talk (LBT) failure procedure triggered on the second frequency subbands;not transmitting an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on the second frequency subbands;not transmitting a random access channel (RACH) on the second frequency subbands;not transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) on the second frequency subbands;not transmitting a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) on the second frequency subbands;not receiving a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) on the second frequency subbands;not monitoring any PDCCH on the second frequency subbands;not monitoring any PDCCH related to the second frequency subbands;not reporting the CSI on the second frequency subbands;not performing a beam management related operation on the second frequency subbands; ornot performing a RRM measurement related operation on the second frequency subbands.8.The method of claim 5, wherein the first DCI and / or the first MAC CE comprise at least one of:an index number and a state corresponding to at least one second frequency subband; oran index number and a state corresponding to at least one second frequency subband group, wherein the second frequency subband group includes the plurality of second frequency subbands, and each second frequency subband is configured with a corresponding index number of the second frequency subband group,wherein, the state is one of activation, deactivation, and dormancy.9.The method of any of claims 4, further comprising:receiving, on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands, related information used to indicate and / or trigger measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands;performing a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands, and reporting a measurement value on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station,wherein, a reference signal for measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands is a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) and / or a non-cell defining synchronization signal block (NCD-SSB).10.The method of claim 9, wherein the reporting a measurement value on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station comprises:performing a measurement on a plurality of deactivated second frequency subbands, and reporting the best measurement value and / or an index number of a frequency subband corresponding to the best measurement value to the base station; and / orreporting the measurement value and / or the index number of the corresponding frequency subband on the first frequency subband or the activated second frequency subbands to the base station, when at least one of the following first preset conditions is satisfied:the measurement value exceeds a first preset threshold;a variation of the measurement value within a first preset time period exceeds a second preset threshold;a variation of the measurement value relative to a measurement value reported last time exceeds a third preset threshold; ora variation of the measurement value relative to a preset reference value exceeds a fourth preset threshold.11.The method of claim 9, wherein for the second type of UE, the performing a measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands comprises:switching from a current frequency subband to the deactivated second frequency subbands in a first measurement window to perform the measurement, and then returning to the current frequency subband,wherein, a starting location of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of:preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling;determining a location satisfying a first preset gap after signaling for indicating or triggering measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location; ordetermining a location satisfying a second preset gap before a starting location of the reference signal to be measured on the deactivated second frequency subbands, as the starting location,a length of the first measurement window is determined via at least one of:preconfiguring by higher-layer signaling; orindicating, by second DCI or a second MAC CE, that the second DCI or the second MAC CE is used to indicate or trigger measurement on the deactivated second frequency subbands.12.The method of claim 4, wherein for the second type of UE, if a current second frequency subband is deactivated, the method further comprises at least one of:switching to the first frequency subband;switching to a default second frequency subband if the current second frequency subband is not the default second frequency subband, wherein the default second frequency subband is predefined, or preconfigured by higher layer signaling;switching to the first frequency subband or another second frequency subband according to an indication of first signaling if the first signaling is received; orcontinuing to stay on the current second frequency subband, and monitoring second signaling used to activate the current second frequency subband,wherein, the default second frequency subband is at least one of:a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum index number;a second frequency subband corresponding to a minimum bandwidth value; ora second frequency subband corresponding to a lowest frequency point.13.The method of any of claim 1, further comprising:initiating a random access procedure on the second frequency subbands when a fourth preset condition is satisfied, otherwise, initiating a random access procedure on the first frequency subband; orselecting one second frequency subband from the at least one second frequency subband based on the fourth preset condition to initiate the random access procedure,wherein, the first frequency subband and the at least one second frequency subband are both configured with PRACH resources,the fourth preset condition includes at least one of:indicating, by a higher layer of the UE to a physical layer, an index number of the second frequency subband that initiates the random access procedure;the UE is a UE of a preset type and / or a UE supporting a preset capability;there is uplink data arrival;a remaining PDB of arrival data is less than or equal to a fifth preset threshold, or the remaining PDB of the arrival data is greater than a sixth preset threshold;a priority of the arrival data is higher than or equal to a preset priority;a data volume of the arrival data is greater than or equal to a seventh preset threshold;a type of the arrival data is a preset data type;an index number of a logical channel of the arrival data or an index number of a logical channel group of the arrival data is a preset index number;an RSRP value of a downlink path loss reference of the UE is greater than or equal to an eighth preset threshold, or the RSRP value of the downlink path loss reference of the UE is less than a ninth preset threshold;a data volume of a message 3 in the random access procedure is equal to or greater than a tenth preset threshold; oran event triggering the random access procedure is a preset event.14.The method of any of claim 3, wherein for the second type of UE, the method further comprises at least one of:if the current frequency subband is a second frequency subband, switching to the first frequency subband to perform a radio resource management (RRM) measurement, and then returning to the current second frequency subband;performing the RRM measurement on the current first frequency subband; orperforming the RRM measurement on the current second frequency subband.15.The method of any of claims 1, further comprising:receiving third DCI and / or a third MAC CE on the first frequency subband, wherein the third DCI and / or the third MAC CE include an index number of at least one second frequency subband and / or scheduling transmission related information respectively corresponding to the at least one second frequency subband; andwherein the scheduling transmission related information includes at least one of:information related to a PDCCH monitoring action on the second frequency subband;information related to transmission of a preconfigured grant PDSCH or PUSCH on the second frequency subband, wherein the preconfigured grant PDSCH includes an SPS-PDSCH, and the preconfigured grant PUSCH includes at least one of a Type 1 CG-PUSCH and a Type 2 CG-PUSCH;information related to reference signal transmission on the second frequency subband, wherein the reference signal transmission includes at least one of a synchronization signal block SSB, a CSI-RS, a tracking reference signal TRS, an SRS, and a locationing reference signal PRS;CSI reporting related information on the second frequency subband; orCSI reporting related information related to the second frequency subband.

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