Information transmission method and communication apparatus

Abstract

An information transmission method and a communication apparatus, which enable a RAN to accurately indicate the geographical location of an intended service area of an MBS. The method comprises: in a session process associated with a first multicast and broadcast service (MBS), a session management network element acquiring first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating a first service area of the first MBS; the session management network element sending the first information to an access and mobility management network element that provides a service for the first service area; and the access and mobility management network element sending second information to a radio access network (RAN) on the basis of the first information, wherein the second information comprises indication information used for indicating the geographical location of a second service area in the first service area that is located in the coverage area of the RAN.

Description

Information transmission method and communication device

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410743558.2 filed on June 7, 2024, and entitled "Information transmission method and communication device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication, in particular to an information transmission method and a communication device. BACKGROUND

[0003] To avoid that a terminal located outside the intended service area of a multicast and broadcast service (MBS) receives the MBS information, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) proposes that the core network (CN) and the radio access network (RAN) in the non-terrestrial network (NTN) provide necessary signaling for the case that the area covered by the NTN RAN (e.g., satellite) is larger than the intended service area, so that the RAN can indicate the geographical location of the intended service area of the MBS to the terminal within the NTN cell.

[0004] However, how to make the RAN accurately indicate the intended service area of the MBS is a problem to be solved at present. SUMMARY

[0005] The information transmission method and the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application can make the RAN accurately indicate the geographical location of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a method for information transmission is provided. The method comprises: in a session flow associated with a first multicast broadcast service (MBS), a session management network element obtaining first information, the first information being used to indicate a first service area of the first MBS; the session management network element sending the first information to an access mobility management network element that provides service for the first service area; and the access mobility management network element sending second information to a radio access network (RAN) according to the first information, the second information including indication information used to indicate a geographical location of a second service area in the first service area that is located within a coverage area of the RAN.

[0008] In the embodiments of the present application, the access mobility management network element can obtain the indication information of the first service area of the first MBS from the session management network element, and then indicate the geographical location (or geographical area) of the second service area in the first service area that is located within the coverage area of the RAN according to the first service area, so that the access mobility management network element can provide the geographical location of the second service area for the RAN, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographical location of the second service area of the first MBS.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the coverage area of the RAN includes at least one area covered by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) RAN; and the second information is specifically used to indicate the geographical location of the second service area in the first service area that is associated with each of the at least one area. That is, the coverage area of the RAN includes at least one tracking area (TA) and / or cell covered by a RAN device or network element deployed on a satellite or other high-altitude platform, and the second information can indicate the geographical location of the second service area in the first service area that is within each of the at least one TA and / or cell, so as to provide the RAN with a more granular geographical location of the second service area, so that the RAN can indicate the geographical location of the second service area corresponding to different TAs and / or cells.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first information is specifically identification information used to identify a TA and / or cell associated with the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the identification information and the coverage area of the RAN. That is, in the case where the first information is specifically identification information used to identify a TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the access mobility management network element can perform mapping processing from identification to geographical location according to the identification information and the coverage area of the RAN, and then obtain the second information including indication information used to indicate the geographical location of the second service area, so as to provide the RAN with the geographical location of the second service area, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographical location of the second service area of the first MBS.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area; and the second information is determined according to the first indication information and the RAN coverage area. That is, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area, the access network mobility management network element can determine the second information according to the first indication information and the RAN coverage area, and thus can avoid the geographical position mapping according to the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, so as to reduce the precision loss of the geographical position caused by the mapping, and improve the precision of the geographical position of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the session management network element acquires the first information, including: the session management network element acquires the first information from the network exposure network element; or the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information provided by the network exposure network element and used for identifying the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, and the first information includes first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. That is, the session management network element can directly acquire the first information from the network exposure network element, and the first information can be the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or can include the first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. In the case where the first indication information is directly acquired, the precision loss caused by the geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and thus the accuracy of the geographical position of the first service area provided for the RAN can be improved, so as to further improve the accuracy of the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS indicated by the RAN. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform the geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element, and thus obtain the first information, so as to improve the flexibility of acquiring the geographical position of the first service area.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the method provided by the first aspect further includes: the network exposure network element obtaining the first information from the application network element; or, the network exposure network element determining the first information according to the identification information provided by the application network element for identifying the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the first information including the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. That is, the network exposure network element can directly obtain the first information from the application network element, and the first information can be the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or can include the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. In the case of directly obtaining the first indication information, the accuracy loss caused by geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and the accuracy of providing the geographical position of the first service area for the RAN is improved, so that the accuracy of the RAN indicating the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS is further improved. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the first information, so that the flexibility of obtaining the geographical position of the first service area is improved.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the session management network element is determined by the network exposure network element according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate session management network element. That is, the network exposure network element can determine the session management network element serving all or part of the first service area according to whether the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate session management network element overlap or intersect.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area, and the session management network element is the session management network element serving the first service area; the method provided by the first aspect further includes: the network exposure network element determining the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area according to the first indication information provided by the application network element for indicating the geographical position of the first service area, the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area being used to determine the session management network element from a plurality of candidate session management network elements. That is, the network exposure network element can perform mapping processing according to the geographical position of the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, so that the session management network element serving the first service area can be determined according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area; the method provided by the first aspect further includes: the network exposure network element obtaining, from the data management network element, indication information used for indicating whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN; the session management network element obtaining, from the network exposure network element, the first information, including: in a case where the session management network element is associated with the NTN, the network exposure network element sending the first information to the session management network element; and the session management network element receiving the first information from the network exposure network element. That is, the session management network element can send indication information to the data management network element to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, and then the network exposure network element can obtain the indication information from the data management network element to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, so that the network exposure network element can determine whether to send the first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area to the session management network element according to the indication information.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the session management network element is associated with the NTN, including any one of the following: the session management network element provides services for the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between a service area of the session management network element and an NTN RAN coverage area, or a UPF managed by the session management network element can be connected to the NTN RAN. It can be understood that the overlap or intersection between the service area of the session management network element and the NTN RAN coverage area can mean that at least one TA and / or cell associated with the service area of the session management network element is located within the NTN RAN coverage area, or at least one TA and / or cell served by the session management network element is located within the NTN RAN coverage area.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the session management network element acquires the first information, including: the session management network element acquires the first information from the application network element; or the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information provided by the application network element for identifying the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, and the first information includes the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. That is, the session management network element can directly acquire the first information from the network exposure network element, and the first information can be the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or can include the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area. In the case of directly acquiring the first indication information, the precision loss caused by geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and the accuracy of providing the geographical position of the first service area for the RAN is improved, so that the accuracy of the RAN indicating the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS can be further improved. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the first information, so as to improve the flexibility of acquiring the geographical position of the first service area.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the access mobility management network element is determined by the session management network element according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate access mobility management network element. That is, the session management network element can determine the access mobility management network element providing services for all or part of the first service area according to whether the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate access mobility management network element overlap or intersect.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area; the method provided in the first aspect further includes: the session management network element acquires indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN from the data management network element; and the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element providing services for the first service area, including: in the case where the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element. That is, the access mobility management network element can send the indication information to the data management network element to indicate whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, so that the session management network element can acquire the indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN from the data management network element, so that the session management network element can determine whether to send the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area to the access mobility management network element according to the indication information.

[0021] It should be understood that the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, including any of the following: the access mobility management network element is connected with the NTN RAN, at least one TA served by the access mobility management network element is located within the coverage area of the NTN RAN, or at least one cell served by the access mobility management network element is located within the coverage area of the NTN RAN.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the method provided by the first aspect further includes: the access mobility management network element obtaining indication information used to indicate whether the RAN supports sending a geographic location; and the access mobility management network element sending, according to the first information, second information to the RAN, including: in a case where the RAN supports sending the geographic location, the access mobility management network element sending, according to the first information, the second information to the RAN. That is, the access mobility management network element can send, in a case where the RAN supports sending the geographic location, the second information to the RAN to provide the RAN with the geographic location of the second service area of the first MBS, so as to enable the RAN to accurately indicate the geographic location of the second service area.

[0023] The second aspect provides an information transmission method, including: in a session flow associated with a first multicast broadcast service (MBS), an access mobility management network element providing service for a first service area of the first MBS receiving first information from a session management network element, the first information being used to indicate the first service area; and the access mobility management network element sending, according to the first information, second information to a radio access network (RAN), the second information including indication information used to indicate a geographic location of a second service area in the first service area and located within a coverage area of the RAN.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the RAN coverage area includes at least one area covered by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) RAN; and the second information is specifically used to indicate the geographic location of the second service area in the first service area and located within each of the at least one area.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first information is specifically identification information used to identify a tracking area (TA) and / or a cell associated with the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the identification information and the RAN coverage area.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographic location of the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the first indication information and the RAN coverage area.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the method provided by the second aspect further includes: the access mobility management network element sends indication information to the data management network element, the indication information being used to indicate whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN; and the access mobility management network element receives first information from the session management network element, including: in a case where the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, the access mobility management network element receives the first information from the session management network element.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the method provided by the second aspect further includes: the access mobility management network element obtains indication information used to indicate whether the RAN supports sending a geographic location; and the access mobility management network element sends second information to the RAN according to the first information, including: in a case where the RAN supports sending the geographic location, the access mobility management network element sends the second information to the RAN according to the first information.

[0029] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the second aspect and any implementation thereof can be specifically referred to the first aspect, and will not be described here.

[0030] The third aspect provides an information transmission method, including: in a session flow associated with a first multicast broadcast service (MBS), a session management network element obtains first information, the first information being used to indicate a first service area of the first MBS; and the session management network element sends the first information to an access mobility management network element that provides service for the first service area, the first information being used to determine a geographic location of a sub-service area in the first service area that is located within a service area of the access mobility management network element.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographic location of the first service area.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the session management network element obtains the first information, including: the session management network element obtains the first information from a network exposure network element; or the session management network element determines the first information according to identification information of a tracking area (TA) and / or a cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element, the first information including first indication information used to indicate the geographic location of the first service area.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographic location of the first service area; and the method provided by the third aspect further includes: the session management network element sends indication information to a data management network element, the indication information being used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN; and the session management network element obtains the first information from a network exposure network element, including: in a case where the session management network element is associated with the NTN, the session management network element receives the first information from the network exposure network element.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the session management network element acquires the first information, including: the session management network element acquires the first information from the application network element; or the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area; the method provided by the third aspect further includes: the session management network element acquires, from the data management network element, indication information used to indicate whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN; and the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element that provides services for the first service area, including: in the case where the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element.

[0036] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the third aspect and any implementation thereof can be specifically referred to the first aspect, and will not be described here.

[0037] The fourth aspect provides an information transmission method, including: in a session flow associated with a first multicast broadcast service (MBS), a network exposure network element acquires first information used to indicate a first service area of the first MBS; and the network exposure network element sends the first information to a session management network element that provides services for the first service area, and the first information is used to determine the geographical position of a sub-service area in the first service area that is located within a service area of the session management network element.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the network exposure network element acquires the first information, including: the network exposure network element acquires the first information from the application network element; or the network exposure network element determines the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area; the method provided by the fourth aspect further includes: the network exposure network element acquires, from the data management network element, indication information used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN; and the network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element that provides services for the first service area, including: in the case where the session management network element is associated with the NTN, the network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element.

[0041] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the fourth aspect and any implementation thereof can be specifically referred to the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] In the fifth aspect, a method for information transmission is provided. The method comprises: in a session flow associated with a first multicast broadcast service (MBS), an application network element obtaining a geographical position of a first service area of the first MBS; and the application network element sending first information to a network exposure network element or a session management network element, the first information comprising first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area.

[0043] It should be understood that the beneficial effects brought by the fifth aspect and any implementation thereof can be specifically referred to the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] In the sixth aspect, a communication apparatus for implementing the above-mentioned various methods is provided. The communication apparatus can be the access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element in any of the above-mentioned aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device containing the above-mentioned access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element, or a device contained in the above-mentioned access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element, such as a chip. The communication apparatus comprises modules, units, or means for implementing the above-mentioned methods, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software comprises one or more modules or units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions.

[0045] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus can comprise a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, which can also be referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement the functions of sending and / or receiving in any of the above-mentioned aspects and any possible implementation thereof. The transceiver module can be composed of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above-mentioned aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0046] In some possible designs, the transceiver module comprises a sending module and a receiving module, which are used to implement the functions of sending and receiving in any of the above-mentioned aspects and any possible implementation thereof, respectively.

[0047] In the seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is used to execute a computer program or instructions to make the communication apparatus execute the method in any of the above-mentioned aspects.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory is coupled with the processor, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory can be independent of the processor. Optionally, the processor is configured to execute the computer program or the instructions stored in the memory.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication apparatus.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes a communication interface configured to communicate with a module outside the communication apparatus.

[0051] The communication apparatus can be the access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element in any of the aspects or implementations of the aspects described above, or an apparatus including the access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element, or an apparatus included in the access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element, such as a chip.

[0052] In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer programs or instructions, when running on a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the aspects or implementations of the aspects described above.

[0053] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes instructions, when running on a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to perform the method in any of the aspects or implementations of the aspects described above.

[0054] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus (for example, the communication apparatus can be a chip or a chip system) is provided, which includes a processor configured to implement the functions in any of the aspects or implementations of the aspects described above.

[0055] In some possible designs, the communication apparatus includes a memory configured to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0056] In some possible designs, when the apparatus is a chip system, the apparatus can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0057] It can be understood that, when the communication apparatus in any of the sixth aspect to the tenth aspect is a chip, the sending action / function described above can be understood as output, and the receiving action / function described above can be understood as input.

[0058] The technical effects brought by the different design manners in the sixth aspect to the tenth aspect can be referred to the technical effects brought by the different design manners in the first aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] In a eleventh aspect, a communication method is provided, including the method of any of the aspects or any implementation thereof.

[0060] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the session management network element of the aspect and the access mobile management network element of the aspect.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the communication system further includes the network exposure network element of the aspect, and / or the application network element of the aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0062] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a 5GS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIGS. 3-5 are schematic diagrams of an NG-RAN architecture based on an NTN according to embodiments of the present application;

[0065] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a flow of MBS transmission data according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a flow of mapping geographical positions of an intended service area according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of mapping geographical positions of an intended service area according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a possible, non-limiting communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a flow of mapping geographical positions of an intended service area of a first MBS according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIGS. 11-16 are schematic diagrams of a flow of an information transmission method according to embodiments of the present application;

[0071] FIGS. 17-18 are schematic diagrams of a structure of a communication apparatus according to embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction of the related technologies of the present application is first given. The brief introduction is as follows:

[0073] First, non-terrestrial networks (NTN):

[0074] Since a traditional terrestrial network (TN), such as a new radio (NR) system (may also be referred to as a 5th generation (5G) system), or an internet of thing (IoT), etc., cannot provide seamless coverage for a terminal (for example, in a scenario where a base station cannot be deployed in a physical area such as the sea, desert, air, etc. to communicate), the NR system, the IoT system, and a future communication network or system, etc. can introduce an NTN to provide seamless coverage services for the terminal.

[0075] The NTN can deploy part or all of the functions of a radio access network (RAN) device in the TN on a non-terrestrial network device (such as a ship, a high-altitude platform, a drone, or a satellite), thereby providing communication coverage for the terminal to improve the reliability of the communication system. It should be noted that, for ease of understanding, the NTN RAN is taken as a satellite (or the NTN RAN is deployed on a satellite) in the following description, which should not be understood as the NTN RAN in the present application being limited to only a satellite. Here, a unified description is given, and the following will not be repeated.

[0076] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of an NTN provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture can include a terminal, a RAN, and a core network (CN), which are introduced as follows.

[0077] 1.1. Terminal

[0078] In a possible implementation, the terminal can be a device for implementing a wireless communication function, such as a terminal or a chip used in a terminal, and the like. The terminal can be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device, and the like in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a VR terminal, an AR terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, and the like. In a possible implementation, the terminal can be mobile or fixed.

[0079] 1.2, RAN:

[0080] The RAN exists between the terminal and the CN, and provides a communication connection therebetween. The RAN is an entity for transmitting a signal, or receiving a signal, or transmitting and receiving a signal.

[0081] In a possible implementation, the RAN device can also be referred to as an access node, a RAN entity, a RAN node, or a device with base station processing functions, and the like. For example, the RAN device can include a non-terrestrial network device (or NTN RAN) and a TN-RAN device. The NTN RAN can be a device that provides coverage for a terminal by deploying a base station or part of the base station function on a non-terrestrial device (such as a satellite, a high-altitude platform, or a drone, and the like). The TN-RAN device can include a base station (such as a next-generation node B (gNodeB, gNB)) in an NR system, or one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in 5G, or can also be a network node that constitutes a gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or transmission point, TP), or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a building base band unit (BBU), or a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), an RSU with base station functions, or a wired access gateway, or a CN network element of 5G. Alternatively, the TN-RAN device can also include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and the like. Alternatively, the RAN device can also include a RAN in a future communication network, or the network device can also have other naming ways in the future communication network, which are all within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the present application does not make any limitation thereto.

[0082] In a possible implementation, the RAN device can include a CU, a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The RAN device can also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements part of the function of the network device, and the DU implements part of the function of the network device. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implements the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing the physical layer protocol and real-time services, and implements the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer. The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing function, the radio frequency processing, and the related functions of the active antenna. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes the information of the PHY layer, or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, in this architecture, high-layer signaling such as RRC signaling can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or sent by the DU and the AAU. It can be understood that the RAN device can be a device including one or more of the CU node, the DU node, and the AAU node. In addition, the CU can be divided into a network device in the RAN or a network device in the CN, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0083] In addition, the CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), the DU, or the RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an open CU (O-CU), the DU can also be referred to as an open DU (O-DU), the CU-CP can also be referred to as an open CU-CP (O-CU-CP), the CU-UP can also be referred to as an open CU-UP (O-CU-UP), and the RU can also be referred to as an open RU (O-RU). Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), the DU, and the RU in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0084] 1.3、CN:

[0085] The CN is mainly responsible for maintaining subscription data of the mobile network, and provides functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for the terminal.

[0086] The following is described taking a 5G system (5GS) as an example.

[0087] For the 5GS, the CN mainly includes all or part of the following functions: a user plane function (UPF), an authentication server function (AUSF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a network slice selection function (NSSF), a network exposure function (NEF), a network repository function (NRF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), a unified data repository (UDR), and an application function (AF).

[0088] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a 5GS according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, a UE accesses a 5G network through a RAN device, and the UE communicates with an AMF through an N1 interface (N1 for short); the RAN communicates with the AMF through an N2 interface (N2 for short); the RAN communicates with a UPF through an N3 interface (N3 for short); a SMF communicates with the UPF through an N4 interface (N4 for short), and the UPF accesses a DN through an N6 interface (N6 for short). In addition, the control plane functions shown in Figure 2, such as an AUSF, an AMF, a SMF, a NSSF, a NEF, a NRF, a PCF, a UDM, a UDR, or an AF, interact with each other using a service-based interface. For example, the service-based interface provided by the AUSF to the outside world is Nausf; the service-based interface provided by the AMF to the outside world is Namf; the service-based interface provided by the SMF to the outside world is Nsmf; the service-based interface provided by the NSSF to the outside world is Nnssf; the service-based interface provided by the NEF to the outside world is Nnef; the service-based interface provided by the NRF to the outside world is Nnrf; the service-based interface provided by the PCF to the outside world is Npcf; the service-based interface provided by the UDM to the outside world is Nudm; the service-based interface provided by the UDR to the outside world is Nudr; and the service-based interface provided by the AF to the outside world is Naf.

[0089] The UPF is mainly responsible for user data processing (forwarding, receiving, charging, etc.). For example, the UPF can receive user data from a DN and forward the user data to a terminal through a RAN. The UPF can also receive user data from a terminal through a RAN and forward the user data to a DN. The DN refers to an operator network that provides data transmission services for users, such as an internet protocol (IP) multi-media service (IMS) network, the internet, etc.

[0090] The AUSF is mainly used to perform security authentication of a terminal.

[0091] The AMF is mainly used for mobility management in a mobile network, such as user location updating, user registration network, user switching, etc.

[0092] The SMF is mainly used for session management in a mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include, for example, allocating an internet protocol (IP) address for a user, selecting a UPF that provides packet forwarding functions, etc.

[0093] The PCF mainly supports providing a unified policy framework to control network behavior, providing policy rules to the control layer network function, and being responsible for obtaining user subscription information related to policy decision. The PCF can provide policy, such as quality of service (QoS) policy, slice selection policy, etc., to the AMF and SMF.

[0094] The NSSF is mainly used for selecting network slices for terminals.

[0095] The NEF is mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events.

[0096] The UDM is mainly used to store user data, such as subscription data, authentication / authorization data, etc.

[0097] The UDR is mainly used to store structured data, and the stored content includes subscription data and policy data, externally exposed structured data, and application-related data.

[0098] The AF mainly supports interaction with the CN to provide services, such as affecting data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing third-party services to the network side.

[0099] It can be understood that the functions mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be expressed as functional network elements or functional entities, for example, the NEF can be expressed as an NEF network element, the AMF can be expressed as an AMF network element, the SMF can be expressed as an SMF network element, the AF can be expressed as an AF network element, and so on. By analogy, no limitation is made.

[0100] In addition, the functions and functional network elements are mixed below, for example, the AMF and the AMF network element are mixed, and both have the same meaning. This is uniformly described here, and the following will not be repeated.

[0101] Based on the above related description, the following introduces the working mode of the satellite and the RAN architecture based on NTN.

[0102] It should be understood that the NTN can be classified according to the working mode of the satellite, such as a transparent mode architecture and a regenerative mode architecture. Among them, in the transparent mode architecture, the satellite functions are radio frequency filtering, and frequency conversion and amplification, that is, in the transparent mode architecture, the satellite mainly functions as a layer 1 (L1) relay device for regenerating (for example, performing radio frequency filtering processing, frequency conversion processing, or amplification processing) a PHY signal without other higher protocol layers (such as a MAC layer, an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, an SDAP layer, or an RRC layer, etc.). The regenerative mode can refer to the satellite as a base station with part or all of the data processing capability of the base station.

[0103] Several examples of NTN-based RAN architectures are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0104] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based NG-RAN architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the RAN architecture (or next-generation RAN (NG-RAN)) is an architecture with a transparent satellite, which includes a remote radio unit (RRU) and a base station. The RRU can include a satellite and an NTN gateway. The working mode of the satellite can be a transparent mode, that is, the satellite functions as a layer 1 relay between the terminal and the base station. For example, the satellite is used to regenerate a PHY layer signal, that is, the satellite can not have a high-layer protocol layer (such as an RRC layer) function. It can be understood that the transmission link between the satellite and the terminal can be referred to as a service link (SL). The transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway can be referred to as a feeder link (FL). The NTN gateway can be deployed together with the base station or separately, which is not limited in the present application.

[0105] It should be understood that for the feeder link, the FL can include the transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway, and the transmission link between the NTN gateway and the base station in the case of separate deployment of the NTN gateway and the base station.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal can access the base station through the satellite, and then access the core network (CN) such as a 5th generation core network (5G CN) through the base station. The 5G CN can communicate with the DN.

[0107] FIG. 4 is another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite link (ISL), and the difference between the architecture shown in FIG. 4 and the transparent satellite architecture shown in FIG. 3 is that the satellite in FIG. 4 has the capability of the base station, and the satellite can provide services for the terminal as the RAN device. Wherein, the ISL can refer to the transmission link between satellites. The ISL can be a wireless interface or an optical interface, and the specific ISL can be defined by 3GPP, for example, using the Xn interface, which is not limited specifically.

[0108] In addition, the interface between the satellite and the NTN gateway can be a satellite radio interface (SRI).

[0109] FIG. 5 is another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in (a) of FIG. 5, the RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture with ISL, and the difference between the architecture shown in (a) of FIG. 5 and the architecture shown in FIG. 4 is that there is ISL in the architecture shown in (a) of FIG. 5, that is, the satellite #1 and the satellite #2 can transmit through the ISL.

[0110] As shown in (b) of FIG. 5, the difference between the RAN architecture shown in (b) of FIG. 5 and the transparent satellite architecture shown in FIG. 3 is that the satellite shown in (b) of FIG. 5 has part of the processing function of the base station, for example, the DU function of the RAN device, and the satellite can be the DU of the RAN device, and the base station can be the CU of the RAN device.

[0111] It can be understood that the above is an introduction taking the satellite as an example, and the satellite can be replaced by other non-terrestrial network devices, for example, ships, high-altitude platforms, or unmanned aerial vehicles, etc., which are not limited specifically by the embodiments of the present application.

[0112] In addition, the characteristic of the NTN scenario is that the actual signal is transmitted by the satellite, and the satellite is far away from the ground, and then the coverage range (or called air interface cell) of the satellite in the NTN is greater than the coverage range of the base station in the TN, and then the concept of cell in the NTN needs to be further enhanced, and the NTN cell is introduced below.

[0113] Second, the NTN cell (cell):

[0114] It can be understood that the identity of a cell generally includes a physical cell identifier (PCI) and a cell global identifier (GCI). Among them, the PCI is generally used to identify a physical cell on the air interface. The GCI is generally used to identify a globally unique cell for a base station (such as a gNB in 5G) and a CN. For the CN, in some scenarios, some CN network elements (such as NEF, SMF, or AMF, etc.) can map a specific geographical location area (such as latitude and longitude) based on the CGI. However, considering that the cell coverage radius in NTN is too large, and even because some satellites in NTN are not geostationary but relatively moving (such as earth-moving cells (i.e., the actual geographical area covered by the satellite changes)), if the unique CGI corresponding to the existing cell is still used to identify the corresponding cell, the CN can no longer correspond to the specific geographical location information. In other words, it is meaningless to manage cell information based on a unique CGI.

[0115] Based on this, in the research of NTN, for cell identification, the concept of mapped cell ID is introduced, that is, an actual NTN cell is associated with multiple mapped cell IDs, and each mapped cell ID corresponds to a fixed geographical area. For the N3 interface between the base station and the AMF, all the cell identities exchanged should be filled in the NR CGI field using the mapped cell ID, so that the base station and the AMF can clearly know which geographical location the corresponding cell actually corresponds to. When the CN receives the cell identity, it can clearly know the geographical location information of the terminal at present, such as being in X city Y district. For the Xn interface, the current standard generally understands that any cell identity can be exchanged, and both parties should be able to clearly understand the cell information.

[0116] Third, multicast and broadcast service (MBS) session:

[0117] It can be understood that MBS may include services applied to public safety, V2X, video, or Internet of Things, etc. Among them, compared with the unicast mode, MBS can improve the utilization rate of wireless resources.

[0118] In addition, the implementation scheme of MBS in 5G includes establishing a top-down session establishment process (i.e., MBS session) of an application server (AS)-CN-base station, and transmitting service data through the MBS session.

[0119] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for transmitting MBS data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, a content provider provides relevant information (e.g., a service area of the MBS, and quality of service (QoS) information required for transmitting data, etc.) required for establishing an MBS session to an SMF (or a multicast and broadcast SMF (MB-SMF)) in a CN, and the CN can then determine a policy and a QoS flow corresponding to the MBS session according to the QoS information, and establish a context corresponding to the MBS session in a corresponding base station (e.g., a gNB) and a UPF (or a MB-UPF).

[0120] It can be understood that after the MBS session is established, the corresponding data of the MBS can be transmitted. For example, in the downlink direction, the content provider sends data to the UPF through an internet protocol (IP) transmission channel, the UPF sends the data to the gNB through a user plane shared transmission channel, and the gNB sends the data to terminals in a satellite coverage area (e.g., an NTN cell).

[0121] It should be understood that some MBS services (or MBS services) have some scenarios that limit the service area of the MBS (or the MBS service area), such as a local MBS service, and only terminals located in the MBS service area are expected to receive data (e.g., update data), and terminals located outside the MBS service area are not allowed to receive data.

[0122] However, as described above in relation to the “NTN cell”, since the NTN cell is too large, the MBS service area is located in the NTN cell, and thus in the NTN scenario, multiple terminals in the NTN cell will all receive the corresponding data of the MBS, i.e., terminals located outside the MBS service area can also receive the corresponding data of the MBS.

[0123] To solve the problem that terminals located outside the MBS service area in the NTN cell receive the corresponding data of the MBS, a working group of the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) proposes the following solutions:

[0124] The signaling between the CN and the NG-RAN (i.e., gNB) can enable the NTN RAN (e.g., satellite) to indicate the intended service area of the MBS to the terminals in the NTN cell, so as to avoid the terminals in the NTN cell that are outside the intended service area of the MBS from receiving the data corresponding to the MBS in the case where the coverage area is larger than the intended service area.

[0125] The above solution will be described in detail below in combination with FIG. 7.

[0126] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of mapping the geographical location of the intended service area according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the AF can send the indication information of the intended service area of the MBS corresponding to the MBS session to the SMF (e.g., MB-SMF) corresponding to the MBS session, the MB-SMF sends the indication information to the AMF corresponding to the MBS session, and the AMF can send the indication information to the RAN according to the indication information sent by the MB-SMF, so as to enable the NTN RAN (e.g., satellite) to indicate the intended service area of the MBS to the terminals in the area actually covered by the satellite (i.e., the NTN cell) through the system information block (SIB), so that the terminals in the NTN cell can determine the intended service area, thereby avoiding the terminals in the NTN cell that are outside the intended service area from receiving the data corresponding to the MBS.

[0127] However, in the above solution, the RAN cannot accurately indicate the geographical location of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0128] It can be understood that the 3GPP protocol supports the RAN to map the geographical location according to the cell identifier, so that the CN provides the identifier (e.g., the identifier of the trace area (TA) and / or the identifier of the cell) corresponding to the intended service area to the RAN, and the RAN can map the geographical location of the intended service area according to the identifier and broadcast it through the SIB. However, the RAN mapping the geographical location according to the identifier corresponding to the intended service area will lose accuracy.

[0129] The following will be described in combination with FIG. 8, taking the AF as a third-party AF (i.e., the AF located outside the trusted domain).

[0130] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of mapping the geographical location of the intended service area according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, generally, the third-party AF does not know the TA or the identifier of the cell used inside the operator network, and thus the AF can send the geographical location corresponding to the intended service area to the NEF. The specific process is as follows:

[0131] The AF sends a geographical location corresponding to the expected service area to the NEF; the NEF maps the geographical location to determine a TA and / or a cell list corresponding to the geographical location, and sends the TA and / or the cell list to the MB-SMF; the MB-SMF sends the TA and / or the cell list to the RAN through the AMF; the RAN maps the TA and / or the cell list to determine a geographical location corresponding to each TA in the TA and / or the cell list, and a geographical location corresponding to each cell.

[0132] For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the TA and / or cell list can include an identification of TA#1, an identification of TA#2, and an identification of cell#1. The RAN can map the identification of TA#1 to obtain a geographical area#a corresponding to TA#1. Similarly, the RAN can obtain a geographical area#b corresponding to TA#2, and a geographical area#c corresponding to cell#1. Thus, the geographical location of the expected service area sent by the AF corresponds to the geographical area#a, the geographical area#b, and the geographical area#c at the RAN side.

[0133] It can be understood that the geographical location of the expected service area is obtained by twice mapping (i.e., mapping by the NEF and mapping by the RAN), i.e., the geographical area#a to the geographical area#c, and each mapping causes a loss of accuracy of the geographical location, and thus the geographical location of the expected service area is further lost in accuracy after twice mapping.

[0134] In addition, the geographical location of the expected service area configured by the RAN (i.e., the geographical area#a to the geographical area#c) can not be suitable for air interface broadcast.

[0135] For example, the actual geographical location of the TA and / or the cell obtained by the RAN is based on the specific implementation of a device vendor, and is not standardized information, and thus some terminals can not be able to identify the geographical location configured by the RAN.

[0136] For example, in order to enable the terminal to identify the geographical location configured by the RAN, the RAN can indirectly configure the geographical location (e.g., by configuring a correspondence between the TA and / or the cell associated with the expected service area in time), and such implementation scheme also cannot accurately indicate the geographical location of the expected service area.

[0137] Based on this, embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions.

[0138] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0139] In the embodiments of the present application, the indication can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by certain information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In the implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part of the to-be-indicated information, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of a specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of various information agreed in advance (for example, specified by a protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. Meanwhile, a common part of various information can be identified and uniformly indicated, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0140] In addition, the specific indication manner can also be various existing indication manners, for example, but not limited to, the above-mentioned indication manners and various combinations thereof. The specific details of various indication manners can refer to the prior art, and will not be described herein. As known from the above, for example, when multiple information of the same type needs to be indicated, the indication manners of different information can be different. In the implementation process, the required indication manner can be selected according to the specific needs, and the selected indication manner is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In this way, the indication manner involved in the embodiments of the present application should be understood as covering various methods that can enable the to-be-indicated party to know the to-be-indicated information.

[0141] It should be understood that the to-be-indicated information can be sent as a whole, or can be sent separately into multiple sub-information, and the sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The sending period and / or sending occasion of the sub-information can be predefined, for example, predefined according to a protocol, or configured by the sending end device by sending configuration information to the receiving end device.

[0142] In the present application, the "sending information" can be understood as that a device (or a communication entity) sends information to another device (or a communication entity), or can also be understood as that a logical module in a device sends information to another logical module. For example, "AMF sends information" can be understood as that the AMF sends information to another device (such as RAN), or can be understood as that a logical module 1 in the AMF sends information to a logical module 2 in another device.

[0143] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as a device (or a communication entity) receiving information from another device (or a communication entity), or can also be understood as a logical module inside a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "RAN receiving information" can be understood as the RAN receiving information from another device (such as AMF), or can be understood as a logical module 1 in the RAN receiving information from a logical module 2 in another device.

[0144] In this application, "sending information to (for example, AMF)" or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as that the destination of the information is the AMF. It can include directly or indirectly sending information to the AMF. "Receiving information from (for example, AMF)" or "receiving information from (for example, AMF)" or "receiving information sent by (for example, AMF)", or related illustrations in the drawings can be understood as that the source of the information is the AMF, which can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the AMF. The information between the source and the destination of the information sending can be processed as necessary, such as format change, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be similarly understood, and will not be repeated here.

[0145] "Predefined" or "preconfigured" can be realized by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other means that can be used to indicate related information in the device, and the specific implementation manner is not limited in the embodiments of the application. Wherein, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The one or more memories can be separately arranged, or can be integrated in the encoder or decoder, processor, or communication device. The one or more memories can be part of the separately arranged, and part of the integrated in the decoder, processor, or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and the embodiments of the application do not limit this.

[0146] The "protocol" involved in the embodiments of the application can refer to a protocol family in the communication field, a standard protocol similar to the protocol family frame structure, or a related protocol applied to a future communication system, and the embodiments of the application do not make specific limitations.

[0147] In the embodiments of the application, "when", "in the case of", "if", and "if" and the like all refer to the device making corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited by time, and do not require the device to have a judgment action when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0148] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents a "or" relationship between the objects associated in front and back, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. And, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of the items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second" and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same function and role. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second" and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second" and the like do not necessarily mean different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, "exemplary" or "for example" means to take an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, "exemplary" or "for example" is used to present the relevant concept in a specific way, for understanding.

[0149] The network architecture and service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0150] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, a communication system is taken as an example to describe the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application in detail.

[0151] FIG. 9 is a possible, non-limiting communication system architecture diagram provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication system includes a session management network element, an access mobile management network element, and a RAN. Wherein, the session management network element can refer to the MB-SMF in FIG. 2, FIG. 6-FIG. 8 described above, the access mobile management network element can refer to the AMF in FIG. 2, FIG. 6-FIG. 7 described above, and the RAN can refer to the RAN in FIG. 1-FIG. 8, which will not be repeated here.

[0152] The solution provided by the communication system shown in FIG. 9 is introduced below.

[0153] In a possible implementation, in the session flow of the first MBS association, the access mobility management network element providing service for the first service area of the first MBS receives first information from the session management network element, and sends second information to the RAN according to the first information. The first information is used to indicate the first service area, and the second information includes indication information used to indicate the geographic location of the second service area in the first service area and located in the coverage area of the RAN.

[0154] It can be understood that, as the related description of the geographic location mapping of the expected service area shown in the foregoing FIG. 8, even if the RAN supports the mapping between the TA and / or cell and the geographic location, the RAN cannot accurately indicate the geographic location of the expected service area of the MBS, and therefore the RAN needs the geographic location provided by the CN.

[0155] In the embodiments of the present application, the access mobility management network element can obtain the indication information of the first service area of the first MBS from the session management network element, and then can indicate the geographic location (or geographic area) of the second service area in the first service area and located in the coverage area of the RAN to the RAN according to the first service area, so that the access mobility management network element can provide the geographic location of the second service area for the RAN, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographic location of the second service area of the first MBS.

[0156] To further clarify the difference between the solution provided by the communication system shown in FIG. 9 and the solution shown in FIG. 8, the above solution is exemplarily described below by taking the AF as a third-party AF and in combination with FIG. 10.

[0157] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of mapping the geographic location of the expected service area of the first MBS provided by an embodiment of the present application. In FIG. 10, the interaction between the UE (i.e., the terminal), the RAN, the AMF, the MB-SMF, the MB-UPF, the NEF, and the AF is involved. (a) in FIG. 10 corresponds to the solution shown in FIG. 8, and (b) in FIG. 10 corresponds to the solution provided by the communication system shown in FIG. 9.

[0158] As shown in (a) in FIG. 10, after the MBS session is established and the delivery process of the geographic location of the expected service area is completed, the service announcement can be delivered between the AF and the UE. The AF can send downlink data to the MB-UPF, and the MB-UPF can send the downlink data to the UE through the RAN.

[0159] In addition, the transmission process of the geographical location of the expected service area can be seen from the process shown in FIG. 8, and details are not repeated here.

[0160] As shown in (b) of FIG. 10, the main difference from (a) of FIG. 10 is that in the transmission process of the geographical location of the expected service area, the geographical location of the expected service area transmitted by the AF is transmitted between the NEF, the MB-SMF, and the AMF. In this way, the geographical location of the expected service area is not mapped, and the AMF can provide the RAN with an accurate geographical location of the expected service area, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographical location of the expected service area to the UE in the cell.

[0161] It should be understood that as the network evolves, the communication system shown in FIG. 9 can also support or include other network functions, such as artificial intelligence (AI) or related functions such as perception, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0162] The interaction process between the network elements / devices in the communication system will be described in detail below. The information transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the above-mentioned communication system and specifically applied to various scenarios mentioned in the above-mentioned communication system.

[0163] The interaction process between the network elements / devices in the communication system shown in FIG. 9 will be described in detail below. The information transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the above-mentioned communication system and specifically applied to various scenarios / flows mentioned in the above-mentioned communication system.

[0164] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. The information transmission method is applicable to the scheme of the communication system shown in FIG. 9, and is mainly applicable to the interaction between the session management network element, the access mobility management network element, and the RAN. As shown in FIG. 11, the method comprises:

[0165] S1101, in the session process of the first MBS association, the session management network element acquires first information, and the first information is used to indicate a first service area of the first MBS.

[0166] S1102, the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element that provides services for the first service area. Correspondingly, the access mobility management network element receives the first information from the session management network element.

[0167] S1103, the access mobility management network element sends second information to the RAN according to the first information. Correspondingly, the RAN receives the second information from the access mobility management network element. The second information includes indication information indicating the geographical location of the second service area in the first service area that is located in the coverage area of the RAN.

[0168] The above steps S1101-S1103 are described below respectively.

[0169] For step S1101:

[0170] It can be understood that the first service area of the first MBS can refer to part or all of the expected service area of the first MBS. The expected service area of the first MBS can be derived from the expected service area of the first MBS indicated by the AF.

[0171] For the first service area can refer to part of the expected service area of the first MBS, for example, it can refer to: the first service area can be a sub-area in the expected service area of the first MBS that is located in the service area of the session management network element.

[0172] In addition, the service area of the session management network element can refer to the area where the session management network element provides services. For example, the session management network element can provide services for AMF#1 and AMF#2, the service area of AMF#1 includes TA#1 and cell#1, the service area of AMF#2 includes TA#2 and cell#2, and the service area of the session management network element includes: TA#1, TA#2, cell#1, and cell#2.

[0173] It can be understood that the above-mentioned expected service area of the first MBS that is located in the service area of the session management network element can refer to: the area of overlap or the intersection of the two, which is described uniformly here and will not be described again below.

[0174] For example, the TA and cell associated with the expected service area of the first MBS are: TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1, the first service area can be all of the expected service area of the first MBS, that is, the first service area includes: TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1. The first service area can be part of the expected service area of the first MBS, for example, the service area of the session management network element includes: TA#2, cell#1, and cell#2, and the first service area includes: TA#2 and cell#1.

[0175] In addition, the TA and / or cell associated with the expected service area refers to the TA and / or cell in which the expected service area is located. Similarly, the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area can refer to the TA and / or cell in which the first service area is located, and the corresponding geographical areas of the two have an overlap or intersection, which will be described below.

[0176] In addition, the overlap between the two can refer to partial overlap or complete overlap, which will be described below.

[0177] It can be understood that the first information can be, for example, the identification of the TA and / or cell in which the first service area is located. For example, the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area includes TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1, and the first information specifically includes the identification of TA#1, the identification of TA#2, and the identification of cell#1. In addition, the identification of the cell can be a cell ID, and the identification of the TA can be a tracking area code (TAC), which will be described below.

[0178] It should be understood that in the case where the first information is the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the CN network element (such as a session management network element or an access mobility management network element) can map the geographical location according to the identification of the TA and / or cell to obtain the geographical location of the TA and / or cell. In other words, the first information can be used by the access mobility management network element in step S1003 to determine the geographical location of the second service area, which can be specifically understood by referring to the related description of step S1003, and will not be described here.

[0179] In another possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information for indicating the geographical location of the first service area.

[0180] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the geographical position of the first service area can be indicated by using two-dimensional coordinates, three-dimensional coordinates, or wave positions, and the like. For example, the first indication information can be two-dimensional coordinates of the geographical position (i.e., the geographical area) of the first service area, which can be longitude and latitude. For another example, the first indication information can be three-dimensional coordinates of the first service area, which can be coordinates on the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis in the earth centered earth fixed (ECEF) coordinate system; or the three-dimensional coordinates can be coordinates on the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis in the earth centered inertial (ECI) coordinate system; or the three-dimensional coordinates can be longitude, latitude, and altitude, or the like; or can be represented by decimal degrees, for example, 42.41338, 2.37433; or can be represented by degrees, minutes, and seconds, for example, 31° 44' 12.2" N 4° 11' 26.3" E; or can be represented by degrees and decimal minutes, for example, 31 24.2028, 3 12.3423, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0181] For another example, the first indication information can be a wave position corresponding to the geographical position of the first service area. The wave position can refer to a position covered by a certain angle of a satellite antenna beam in the azimuth or the elevation. The wave position size needs to be determined according to factors such as the size and capability of a phased array. The wave position division can be performed on the earth's surface based on the determined wave position size for a specific satellite system, and wave positions of equal or unequal sizes are divided. After the wave position division is completed, each wave position is addressed to assist subsequent wave position level scheduling. It can be understood that, since the wave positions are divided on the earth's surface based on the determined wave position size, the accuracy of the geographical positions indicated by the two methods is the same.

[0182] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the geographical position and the geographical area have the same meaning and can be replaced with each other, which is uniformly described herein and will not be repeated below.

[0183] It should be understood that the above related description of the first indication information is only exemplary, and the geographical position of the first service area can also be indicated in other manners, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0184] In addition, the indication manner (such as two-dimensional coordinates, three-dimensional coordinates, or wave positions, and the like) actually used by the first indication information can be pre-defined by a protocol, or negotiated in advance between the core network element and the terminal, or indicated by an operator, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0185] That is, through the first indication information in the first information, the geographical position of the first service area can be obtained without mapping the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, thereby reducing the accuracy loss of the geographical position caused by mapping and improving the accuracy of the geographical position of the expected service area of the first MBS provided to the RAN.

[0186] Optionally, the first information can further include the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0187] For example, assuming that the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area is: the identification of TA#1, the identification of TA#2, and the identification of cell#1, the first information specifically includes: the identification and geographical position of TA#1, the identification and geographical position of TA#2, and the identification and geographical position of cell#1.

[0188] It can be understood that in the above example, the first information can also be in the form of a list, such as the list of the RAN in FIG. 8, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0189] That is, the first information includes the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the geographical position of the associated TA and / or cell, thereby avoiding geographical position mapping based on the identification of the associated TA and / or cell, so as to reduce the accuracy loss of the geographical position caused by mapping and improve the accuracy of the geographical position of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0190] It should be understood that the session flow associated with the first MBS can refer to a session creation flow, a session start flow, or a session update flow, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0191] In addition, the first information can further include the identification of the session associated with the first MBS, such as a temporary mobile group identifier (TMGI), which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0192] It can be understood that, as described above in the “third, MBS” regarding the session flow associated with the first MBS, the expected service area of the first MBS is sent by an application network element, and according to the related description of FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, the session management network element obtains the first information, which can be specifically obtained from the application network element or a network exposure network element, which is described below.

[0193] Method 1: The session management network element obtains the first information from the network exposure network element.

[0194] It can be understood that, in the case that the application network element is a third-party application network element (for example, an application network element located outside the trusted domain), the application network element can send the information of the expected service area of the first MBS through the network exposure network element, and then the network exposure network element can send the information of the expected service area of the first MBS to the session management network element.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the session management network element acquires the first information (step S1101), including: the session management network element acquires the first information from the network exposure network element; or the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element, and the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area.

[0196] It can be understood that, for the session management network element to acquire the first information from the network exposure network element, it can mean that the session management network element directly acquires the first information. The first information can be the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or the first information can also include the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area.

[0197] In addition, for the first information to include the first indication information, the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element, which can mean that the session management network element can map the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area to the geographical position of the first service area. In other words, the session management network element can perform mapping processing of the identification information of the TA and / or cell to the geographical position, thereby obtaining the geographical position of the first service area, and sending the first indication information to the access mobility management network element.

[0198] It should be understood that the session management network element acquires the first information from the network exposure network element, which can mean that the session management network element directly receives the first information from the network exposure network element; or the session management network element can send a request to acquire the first information to the network exposure network element, and then receive the first information from the network exposure network element, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0199] That is, the session management network element can directly obtain the first information from the network exposure network element, and the first information can be identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or can include first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area. In the case of directly obtaining the first indication information, the precision loss caused by geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and the accuracy of providing the geographical position of the first service area to the RAN is improved, thereby further improving the accuracy of the RAN indicating the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element, and then obtain the first information, thereby improving the flexibility of obtaining the geographical position of the first service area.

[0200] In a possible implementation, the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0201] S1104, in the session flow associated with the first MBS, the network exposure network element obtains the first information. The first information is used to indicate the first service area of the first MBS.

[0202] S1101a, the network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element serving the first service area. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first information from the network exposure network element. The first information is used to determine the geographical position of the sub-service area in the first service area located within the service area of the session management network element.

[0203] It can be understood that the session management network element described above can be a session management network element in which the service area and the first service area are all or partially overlapped in the core network element, that is, the session management network element serving the first service area can be a session management network element serving all or part of the first service area, that is, the service area of the session management network element and the first service area have overlap or intersection.

[0204] In addition, since the first information indicates the first service area of the first MBS, the first information can be used to determine the geographical position of the sub-service area in the first service area located within the service area of the session management network element. For example, in the case where the first information is specifically the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping according to the identification information, and then determine the geographical position of the sub-service area in the first service area located within the service area of the session management network element.

[0205] For example, in a case where the first information comprises first indication information used for indicating the geographical position of the first service area, the session management network element can directly obtain the geographical position of the sub-service area within the first service area and located within the service area of the session management network element without performing geographical position mapping processing.

[0206] It can be understood that the geographical position of the first service area can also be determined according to the first information. For example, the first service area can be all or part of the intended service area of the first MBS. Wherein, the first service area is a sub-service area within the intended service area of the first MBS and located within the service area of the session management network element; or the first service area is a sub-service area having an overlap or intersection between the intended service area of the first MBS and the service area of the session management network element.

[0207] In addition, the network exposure network element can also not consider the service area of the session management network element, that is, the first service area can include the above-mentioned sub-service area, or can include other service areas in addition to the sub-service area, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation thereon.

[0208] That is to say, in the session flow associated with the first MBS, the network exposure network element can obtain the first information and send the first information to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS and located within the session management network element, so as to provide the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS to the RAN, and further enable the RAN to accurately indicate the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS.

[0209] In a possible implementation, the session management network element is determined by the network exposure network element according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate session management network element.

[0210] It should be understood that the number of candidate session management network elements can be one or at least two. For example, assuming that the number of candidate session management network elements is one, the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area comprises TA#1, TA#2 and cell#1, the candidate session management network element is candidate session management network element#1, and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate session management network element#1 (or referred to as the TA and / or cell associated with the candidate session management network element#1) is TA#1, then the network exposure network element determines the session management network element as the candidate session management network element#1.

[0211] In addition, for the case that multiple candidate session management network elements exist, the network exposure network element can determine the session management network element from the multiple candidate session management network elements according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by each of the multiple candidate session management network elements. For example, assume that the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area includes TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1. The multiple candidate session management network elements can include candidate session management network element#1 and candidate session management network element#2, the service area of the candidate session management network element#1 includes TA#3, and the service area of the candidate session management network element#2 includes TA#1. Then, the session management network element can be determined as the candidate session management network element#2 according to the TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1.

[0212] It can be understood that the above is only an example, and in actual implementation, the session management network element can also be determined from the multiple candidate session management network elements according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area in other manners, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0213] In addition, in actual implementation, for the session associated with the first MBS, only one session management network element can be deployed, and then the network exposure network element can determine the session management network element according to the session identifier associated with the first MBS, and then send the first information to the session management network element.

[0214] That is, the network exposure network element can determine the session management network element that provides services for all or part of the first service area according to whether the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate session management network element overlap or intersect.

[0215] It can be understood that, as described above for the step S1101, the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area. The first information can also include the identifier information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area. Then, in the step S1104, if the first information received by the network exposure network element includes the first indication information, the network exposure network element can also map the geographical position of the first service area to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area according to the first indication information, which will be described below.

[0216] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area, and the session management network element is a session management network element that provides services for the first service area. The method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0217] The network exposure network element determines the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area according to the first indication information provided by the application network element and used to indicate the geographical location of the first service area.

[0218] It can be understood that the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area is used to determine the session management network element from a plurality of candidate session management network elements, and specific reference can be made to the above examples of determining the session management network element from a plurality of candidate session management network elements, which will not be described herein again.

[0219] That is, the network exposure network element can perform mapping processing according to the geographical location of the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, so that the session management network element providing services for the first service area can be determined according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0220] The above steps S1104 and S1101a will be further described below.

[0221] For step S1104:

[0222] In a possible implementation, the network exposure network element obtaining the first information (i.e., step S1104) includes: the network exposure network element obtaining the first information from the application network element; or the network exposure network element determining the first information according to the identification information provided by the application network element and used to identify the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, and the first information including the first indication information used to indicate the geographical location of the first service area.

[0223] It can be understood that, for the network exposure network element obtaining the first information from the network exposure network element, it can mean that the network exposure network element directly obtains the first information. The first information can be the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or the first information can also include the above first indication information used to indicate the geographical location of the first service area.

[0224] In addition, for the first information including the first indication information, the network exposure network element determining the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element can mean that the network exposure network element can map the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area to the geographical location of the first service area. In other words, the network exposure network element can perform mapping processing of the identification information of the TA and / or cell to the geographical location, and then obtain the geographical location of the first service area, and send the first indication information to the session management network element.

[0225] That is, the network exposure network element can directly obtain the first information from the application network element, and the first information can be identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, or can include first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area. Wherein, in the case of directly obtaining the first indication information, the precision loss caused by geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and the accuracy of providing the geographical position of the first service area to the RAN can be improved, thereby further improving the accuracy of the RAN indicating the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the first information, thereby improving the flexibility of obtaining the geographical position of the first service area.

[0226] In a possible implementation, the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0227] S1105, in the session flow associated with the first multicast broadcast service MBS, the application network element obtains the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS.

[0228] It can be understood that the application network element can obtain the geographical position of the expected service area of the first MBS from the application server corresponding to the first MBS, and since the first service area can be all or part of the expected service area of the first MBS, the application network element can obtain the geographical position of the first service area.

[0229] S1104a, the application network element sends first information to the network exposure network element. Correspondingly, the network exposure network element receives the first information from the application network element. Wherein, the first information includes first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area.

[0230] It can be understood that the first information can also include identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area. In other words, in the case where the application network element is a third-party AF (or referred to as an AF located outside the trusted domain), the application network element can also send the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area to the network exposure network element, which depends on the actual implementation, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0231] That is, the application network element can obtain the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS and send it to the network exposure network element, thereby providing the network exposure network element with accurate geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS.

[0232] For step S1101a:

[0233] It can be understood that, in relation to the related description of the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area, the network exposure network element sends the first information including the first indication information to the session management network element, which can be used to provide the first service area accurate geographical position to the RAN to better solve the problem that the terminal located outside the expected service area of the MBS in the NTN cell receives the data corresponding to the MBS. However, in the non-NTN scenario, there is no problem that the terminal outside the expected service area of the MBS receives the data corresponding to the MBS, and thus the above-mentioned first information does not need to be sent.

[0234] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a solution for the network exposure network element to determine whether to send the first information to the session management network element, which will be specifically introduced below.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area; the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0236] S1106, the session management network element sends indication information for indicating whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN to the data management network element. Correspondingly, the data management network element receives the indication information for indicating whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN from the session management network element.

[0237] S1107, the network exposure network element obtains the indication information for indicating whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN from the data management network element.

[0238] Correspondingly, the network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element serving the first service area (i.e., step S1101a), including: in the case that the session management network element is associated with the NTN, the network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first information from the network exposure network element.

[0239] It can be understood that the data management network element may, for example, be the NRF or the UDM in FIG. 2, or a network element for data management in a future communication system, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0240] In addition, whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN can mean whether the session management network element serves the NTN, and if the session management network element serves the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between the service area of the session management network element and the NTN cell, and thus there can be a problem that the terminal located outside the expected service area of the MBS in the NTN cell receives the data corresponding to the MBS, so that the network exposure network element should send the first information to the session management network element.

[0241] That is, the session management network element can send the indication information to the data management network element to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, and then the network exposure network element can obtain the indication information from the data management network element to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, so that the network exposure network element can determine whether to send the first indication information for indicating the geographic location of the first service area to the session management network element according to the indication information.

[0242] In a possible implementation, the session management network element is associated with the NTN, including any one of the following: the session management network element provides services for the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between the service area of the session management network element and the NTN RAN coverage area, all or part of the TAs and / or cells served by the session management network element are TAs and / or cells of the NTN, or the UPF managed by the session management network element can be connected to the NTN RAN.

[0243] It can be understood that the overlap or intersection between the service area of the session management network element and the NTN RAN coverage area can mean that at least one TA and / or cell associated with the service area of the session management network element is located within the NTN RAN coverage area, or at least one TA and / or cell served by the session management network element is located within the NTN RAN coverage area.

[0244] For example, the indication information for indicating whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN can refer to Table 1.

[0245] Table 1

[0246] Referring to Table 1, in example #1, the indication information for indicating that the session management network element is associated with the NTN specifically means that it indicates whether the service area of the session management network element is associated with (or corresponds to) the NTN, or indicates whether the service area of the session management network element is a cell or TA corresponding to the NTN. For example, the indication information specifically means that the service area of the session management network element corresponds to the NTN, or the service area of the session management network element is a cell or TA corresponding to the NTN, which indicates that the session management network element is associated with the NTN.

[0247] In Example #2, the indication information used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN specifically indicates whether each TA or cell associated with the service area of the session management network element is associated with the NTN or whether the each TA or cell is a TA or cell corresponding to the NTN. It can be understood that if there is a TA or cell corresponding to the NTN in at least one TA and / or cell associated with the service area of the session management network element, it means that the session management network element is associated with the NTN. For example, if there are M TAs and / or cells associated with the service area of the session management network element, the indication information specifically indicates that the ith (1≤i≤M) TA or cell associated with the service area of the session management network element is a TA or cell corresponding to the NTN, which means that the session management network element is associated with the NTN.

[0248] In Example #3, the indication information used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN specifically indicates whether the UPF managed by the MB-SMF is connected to the NTN RAN. It should be understood that the above is only an example of the indication information used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, and other ways of indication can also be used, for example, including NTN-related information in the network function profile (NF profile) of the session management network element, which can also indicate that the session management network element is associated with the NTN, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0249] The following exemplary describes the transmission of the first information between the application network element, the network exposure network element, and the session management network element.

[0250] Suppose the expected service area of the first MBS is Area #1, the first service area can be Area #1, and the first information can include the geographic location of Area #1. Among them, the application network element obtains the geographic location of Area #1 and sends the geographic location of Area #1 to the network exposure network element; the network exposure network element determines TA #1 and cell #1 associated with Area #1 according to the geographic location of Area #1, and sends the geographic location of Area #1 to the session management network element serving TA #1 and / or cell #1, and then the session management network element receives the geographic location of Area #1.

[0251] It should be understood that the first information can also include the identifier of TA #1 and the identifier of cell #1 associated with Area #1. In addition, the first information can also be the identifier information of TA #1 and cell #1 associated with Area #1 (for example, including the identifier of TA #1 and the identifier of cell #1).

[0252] It can be understood that the first service area in the above exemplary can also be a part of the expected service area of the first MBS, for example, cell #1 in Area #1.

[0253] In addition, according to steps S1106 and S1107, in the above example, if the session management network element is not associated with the NTN, then the network exposure network element does not send the geographical location of Area #1 to the session management network element.

[0254] In a second possible implementation manner, the session management network element obtains the first information from the application network element.

[0255] It can be understood that, for the application network element being an application network element within an operator (or the application network element being within a trusted domain), the application network element can directly interact with the session management network element. The following specifically describes the session management network element obtaining the first information from the application network element.

[0256] In a possible implementation manner, the session management network element obtaining the first information (i.e., step S1011) includes: the session management network element obtaining the first information from the application network element; or the session management network element determining the first information according to identification information of a TA and / or a cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, the first information including first indication information used to indicate a geographical location of the first service area.

[0257] It can be understood that, for the session management network element obtaining the first information from the application network element, it can mean that the session management network element directly obtains the first information. The first information can be identification of a TA and / or a cell associated with the first service area, or the first information can also include the first indication information used to indicate the geographical location of the first service area.

[0258] In addition, for the first information including the first indication information, the session management network element can determine the first information according to identification information of a TA and / or a cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, which can mean that the session management network element can map the identification information of the TA and / or the cell associated with the first service area to the geographical location of the first service area. In other words, the session management network element can perform mapping processing of the identification information of the TA and / or the cell to the geographical location, to obtain the geographical location of the first service area, and send the first indication information to the access network mobility management network element.

[0259] That is, the session management network element can directly obtain the first information from the network exposure network element, the first information can be identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, and / or can include first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area. Among them, in the case of directly obtaining the first indication information, the precision loss caused by geographical position mapping according to the identification can be avoided, and the accuracy of providing the geographical position of the first service area to the RAN can be improved, so that the accuracy of the RAN indicating the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS can be further improved. In addition, in the case where the first information includes the first indication information, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping on the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the application network element, and then obtain the first information, so as to improve the flexibility of obtaining the geographical position of the first service area.

[0260] In a possible implementation, the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0261] S1105, in the session flow associated with the first multicast broadcast service (MBS), the application network element obtains the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS.

[0262] S1101b, the application network element sends the first information to the session management network element. Correspondingly, the session management network element receives the first information from the application network element. The first information includes first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area.

[0263] That is, in the session flow associated with the first MBS, the application network element can obtain the first information and send the first information to the session management network element, so that the session management network element can determine the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS located in the service area of the session management network element, so as to provide the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS to the RAN, and then enable the RAN to accurately indicate the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS.

[0264] For step S1102:

[0265] It can be understood that the first information is used to determine the geographical position of the sub-service area in the first service area located in the service area of the access mobility management network element. For example, as described in step S1101, the first information can include first indication information indicating the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS, and there is an overlap or intersection between the first service area and the service area of the access mobility management network element, so the first information can be used to determine the geographical position of the sub-service area in the first service area located in the service area of the access mobility management network element.

[0266] For example, as shown in step S1101, the first information specifically refers to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area of the first MBS, and further, the mapping processing from the TA and / or cell to the geographical position can be performed according to the identification information, so that the geographical position of the sub-service area located in the service area of the access mobile management network element in the first service area can also be determined according to the first information.

[0267] In addition, as described in steps S1106 and S1107 in the foregoing manner 1, the network exposure network element determines whether to send the first information including the first indication information to the session management network element according to whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN, and the session management network element in the embodiment of the application can also determine whether to send the first information including the first indication information to the access mobile management network element according to whether the access mobile management network element is managed by the NTN, which will be specifically described below.

[0268] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area; the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes:

[0269] S1108, the access mobile management network element sends indication information used to indicate whether the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN to the data management network element. Correspondingly, the data management network element receives the indication information used to indicate whether the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN from the access mobile management network element.

[0270] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step S1108 is similar to that of step S1106, which will not be described here again. In addition, regarding the data management network element, whether the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN and the indication information used to indicate whether the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN, specific can be referred to the above-mentioned related description about “whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN” and “the indication information used to indicate whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN” in step S1107, which will not be described here again.

[0271] For example, the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN, including any one of the following: the access mobile management network element provides services for the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between the service area of the access mobile management network element and the NTN RAN coverage area, or the access mobile management network element can be connected to the NTN RAN.

[0272] It can be understood that the overlap or intersection between the service area of the access mobile management network element and the NTN RAN coverage area can mean that at least one TA and / or cell associated with the service area of the access mobile management network element is located in the NTN RAN coverage area, or at least one TA and / or cell served by the access mobile management network element is located in the NTN RAN coverage area.

[0273] For example, the indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN can refer to Table 2.

[0274] Table 2

[0275] Referring to Table 2, the difference between Table 2 and Table 1 is that in Example #3, the indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN specifically refers to whether the access mobility management network element is connected to the NTN RAN. For example, in the case that the indication information specifically refers to that the access mobility management network element is connected to the NTN RAN, or the access mobility management network element has a next generation application protocol (NGAP) interface with the NTN RAN, it can be indicated that the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN.

[0276] It can be understood that the step S1106 can be performed before or after the step S1108, and the two can also be performed at the same time, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation on this.

[0277] S1109, the session management network element obtains the indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN from the data management network element.

[0278] Correspondingly, the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element serving the first service area (i.e., step S1102), including: in the case that the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, the session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element.

[0279] In addition, whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN can refer to whether the access mobility management network element serves the NTN. If the access mobility management network element serves the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between the service area of the access mobility management network element and the NTN cell, and further, there can be a problem that the terminal located outside the MBS intended service area in the NTN cell receives the data corresponding to the MBS, so that the session management network element should send the first information to the access mobility management network element.

[0280] That is, the access mobility management network element can send the indication information to the data management network element to indicate whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN, so that the session management network element can obtain the indication information for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN from the data management network element, so that the session management network element can determine whether to send the first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area to the access mobility management network element according to the indication information.

[0281] It can be understood that according to the related description of mode 1 and mode 2 in the foregoing step S1101, the session management network element can determine the first information including the first indication information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element or the application network element (that is, the geographical position of the first service area is obtained by mapping processing according to the identification information), and then the session management network element can further determine whether to obtain the geographical position of the first service area by mapping processing according to the identification information according to whether the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN. Details are introduced below.

[0282] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area; the method provided in FIG. 11 further includes: in the case that the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN, the session management network element determines the first information according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area provided by the network exposure network element or the application network element, and sends the first information to the access mobile management network element.

[0283] It can be understood that, as described above with respect to the session management network element associated with the NTN in steps S1106-S1107, if the access mobile management network element is associated with the NTN, there is an overlap or intersection between the service area of the access mobile management network element and the NTN cell, and there can be a problem that a terminal located outside the MBS intended service area in the NTN cell receives data corresponding to the MBS. Therefore, the session management network element can perform geographical position mapping processing according to the identification information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area of the first MBS, and further obtain the first information including the first indication information, and by sending the first information to the access mobile management network element, the geographical position of the first service area of the first MBS can be provided to the RAN, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographical position of the service area of the first MBS.

[0284] In a possible implementation, the access mobile management network element is determined by the session management network element according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate access mobile management network element.

[0285] It can be understood that the implementation of the session management network element to determine the access mobile management network element is similar to the implementation of the network exposure network element to determine the session management network element as described above in steps S1104-S1101a, for example, the session management network element can determine according to the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area and the TA and / or cell served by the candidate access mobile management network element, which is not described here.

[0286] In addition, the session management network element can also determine the access mobile management network element according to local configuration, which is not limited in the embodiments of the application.

[0287] For step S1103:

[0288] It can be understood that the RAN coverage area can refer to an area covered by the RAN (for example, a TA or a cell), which will not be described here.

[0289] In addition, the second service area in the first service area that is located in the RAN coverage area can refer to that there is an overlap or intersection between the first service area and the RAN coverage area. For example, the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area includes TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1, the RAN coverage area includes cell#1 and cell#2, and then the second service area can be cell#1.

[0290] In a possible implementation, the RAN coverage area includes at least one area covered by the NTN RAN; and the second information is specifically used to indicate the geographic position of the second service area in the first service area that is located in each of the at least one area.

[0291] It can be understood that the NTN RAN can refer to a RAN device or a RAN network element deployed on a satellite or other high-altitude platform. Wherein, the at least one area covered by the NTN RAN can refer to at least one TA and / or cell covered, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0292] For example, taking the at least one area covered by the NTN RAN as including TA#1 and cell#1, assuming that the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area includes TA#1, TA#2, and cell#1, then the second information is specifically used to indicate the geographic position of TA#1 and the geographic position of cell#1.

[0293] That is, the RAN coverage area includes at least one TA and / or cell covered by the RAN device or network element deployed on a satellite or other high-altitude platform, and the second information can indicate the geographic position of the second service area in the first service area that is located in each of the at least one TA and / or cell, so as to provide the RAN with more fine-grained geographic position of the second service area, so that the RAN can indicate the geographic position of the second service area corresponding to different TAs and / or cells.

[0294] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the RAN is not limited to the NTN RAN, and is also applicable to the scenario of a large RAN coverage area on the ground, which will be uniformly described as follows.

[0295] In a possible implementation, the first information is specifically identification information used to identify the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the identification information and the RAN coverage area.

[0296] It can be understood that, as described in the foregoing step S1101, in a case where the first information is specifically the identification information used to identify the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the access mobile management network element can perform mapping processing of the geographical position according to the identification, and further obtain the geographical position of the first service area, so that the access mobile management network element can perform mapping processing according to the identification of the TA and / or cell that exists in the overlap or intersection between the first service area and the RAN coverage area, and obtain the second information. For details, refer to the related description of step S1101, which will not be repeated here.

[0297] That is to say, in a case where the first information is specifically the identification information used to identify the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, the access mobile management network element can perform mapping processing of the identification to the geographical position according to the identification information and the RAN coverage area, and further obtain the second information including the indication of the geographical position of the second service area, so as to provide the RAN with the geographical position of the second service area, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographical position of the second service area of the first MBS.

[0298] In a possible implementation, the first information includes first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the first indication information and the RAN coverage area.

[0299] It can be understood that, as described in the foregoing step S1101, the access mobile management network element can determine the TA and / or cell (i.e., the second service area) that exists in the overlap or intersection between the first service area and the RAN coverage area, and further obtain the geographical position of the second service area according to the first indication information. For details, refer to step S1101, which will not be repeated here.

[0300] That is to say, in a case where the first information includes the first indication information used to indicate the geographical position of the first service area, the access mobile management network element can determine the second information according to the first indication information and the RAN coverage area, and further avoid performing mapping of the geographical position according to the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area, so as to reduce the loss of the accuracy of the geographical position caused by mapping, and improve the accuracy of the indication of the geographical position of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area.

[0301] It can be understood that, as described in the foregoing sequence part with respect to the RAN sending the geographical position, some RANs can not have the capability of sending the geographical position, and further the access mobile management network element can determine whether to send the second information to the RAN according to whether the RAN has the capability of sending the geographical position. Details are as follows.

[0302] In a possible implementation, the method shown in FIG. 11 further includes the following steps.

[0303] S1110, the access mobility management network element acquires indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location.

[0304] Correspondingly, the access mobility management network element sends the second information to the RAN according to the first information (i.e., step S1003), including: in the case where the RAN supports sending the geographic location, the access mobility management network element sends the second information to the RAN according to the first information.

[0305] It can be understood that the access mobility management network element acquiring the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location can include: the access mobility management network element acquiring the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location from the RAN; or the access mobility management network element can acquire the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location according to the configuration of the operator; or the access mobility management network element acquires the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location from the data management network element, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation hereon.

[0306] For example, for the access mobility management network element acquiring the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location from the RAN, it can be device-level capability interaction with the access mobility management network element when the RAN is powered on, and then the access mobility management network element can receive the capability information from the RAN, which includes the indication information for indicating whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location.

[0307] It should be understood that the protocol can also preconfigure whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location, or the RAN and the NF of the core network have agreed in advance whether the RAN supports sending the geographic location, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation hereon.

[0308] That is, the access mobility management network element can send the second information to the RAN in the case where the RAN supports sending the geographic location, so as to provide the RAN with the geographic location of the second service area of the first MBS, and then the RAN can accurately indicate the geographic location of the second service area.

[0309] It should be understood that the second information can also indicate the geographic location of other service areas in the first service area except the second service area, for example, the geographic location of the first service area, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitation hereon.

[0310] For example, it is assumed that the TAs and / or cells associated with the first service area include TA#1, TA#2 and cell#1, the TAs and / or cells associated with the RAN coverage area include TA#1 and cell#1, and the TAs and / or cells associated with the second service area include TA#1 and cell#1. The second information includes indication information indicating the geographic location of TA#1 and indication information indicating the geographic location of cell#1. The second information can also include indication information indicating the geographic location of TA#2.

[0311] In addition, for ease of understanding, the following takes the application network element as a third-party application network element, and the first information includes first indication information indicating the geographic location of the first service area as an example to exemplarily describe the process of transmitting the first information between the application network element, the network exposure network element, the session management network element, the access management network element and the RAN in the first MBS associated session process.

[0312] For example, it is assumed that the application network element sends indication information indicating the geographic location of the expected service area (the expected service area includes the first service area) of the first MBS to the network exposure network element, and then the network exposure network element can send the first information to the session management network element according to the indication information and the service area of the session management network element. The session management network element sends the first information to the access management network element according to the first information and the service area of the access mobility management network element. The access mobility management network element sends the second information to the RAN according to the first information and the RAN coverage area. The RAN broadcasts the geographic location of the second service area in its coverage area according to the second information.

[0313] It can be understood that the above network elements can not consider the service area or coverage area of the downstream node when sending the geographic location of the service area of the first MBS.

[0314] For example, it is assumed that the application network element sends the first information (i.e., the expected service area of the first MBS is the first service area) to the network exposure network element. The network exposure network element sends the first information to the session management network element. The session management network element sends the first information to the access mobility management network element. The access mobility management network element sends the first information to the RAN, i.e., the first information is the same as the second information.

[0315] It should be understood that the above is only an example, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0316] Since in the embodiment of the present application, the access mobility management network element can obtain the indication information of the first service area of the first MBS from the session management network element, and then can indicate the geographic location (or geographic area) of the second service area in the first service area which is located in the coverage area of the RAN to the RAN according to the first service area, so that the access mobility management network element can provide the geographic location of the second service area for the RAN, so that the RAN can accurately indicate the geographic location of the second service area of the first MBS.

[0317] The overall method flow corresponding to the embodiments of the present application is introduced above, and the method flow shown in FIG. 11 is exemplarily explained below taking the session flow of the first MBS association as the session establishment flow as an example.

[0318] Example one: The access mobility management network element performs the processing of geographic location mapping according to the identifier.

[0319] It can be understood that in example one, the access network mobility management network element can perform geographic location mapping according to the identifier information of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area of the first MBS, to obtain the geographic location of the first service area, and then obtain the second information according to the RAN coverage area, which will be explained in detail below in combination with FIG. 12.

[0320] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of another information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 12 relates to the session establishment flow of the MBS. The method flow shown in FIG. 12 is explained by taking the first service area as the intended service area of the MBS, the application network element as the third-party AF, the network exposure network element as the NEF, the session management network element as the MB-SMF, the access mobility management network element as the AMF, and the RAN as the gNB deployed on the satellite as an example.

[0321] It should be understood that, in order to facilitate description, the following description of the geographic location is replaced by the geographic area, or both are used, which is uniformly explained here and will not be repeated.

[0322] As shown in FIG. 12, the method includes the following steps.

[0323] S1201, the capability interaction between the gNB and the AMF. The gNB can send capability information to the AMF, and the capability information can indicate whether the gNB supports sending geographic area information. For example, the capability information can indicate whether the gNB supports including geographic area information in the SIB message.

[0324] S1202, the AF sends a first MBS session establishment request message to the NEF. Correspondingly, the NEF receives the first MBS session establishment request message from the AF.

[0325] It can be understood that the AF can trigger the session establishment procedure of the MBS by sending the first MBS session establishment request to the NEF. For example, the AF can invoke the MBS session establishment request service operation (e.g., Nnef_MBSSession_Create request) of the NEF to send the first session establishment request message to the NEF.

[0326] In addition, the first MBS session establishment request message can include the TMGI, and the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and / or the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0327] It can be understood that since the AF is a third-party AF, the AF can not be aware of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and thus the first MBS session establishment request message can include the TMGI and the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS. If the AF can be aware of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, the first MBS session establishment request message can include the TMGI and the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, or the first MBS session establishment request message can include the TMGI, the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0328] S1203, the NEF sends a second MBS session establishment request message to the MB-SMF according to the first MBS session establishment request message. Accordingly, the MB-SMF receives the second MBS session establishment request message from the NEF.

[0329] It can be understood that if the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS is not provided in step S1202, the NEF can perform a geographical area to identification mapping process according to the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS to obtain the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS.

[0330] In addition, the NEF can invoke the MBS session establishment request service operation (e.g., Nmbsmf_MBSSession_Create Request) provided by the MB-SMF to send the second MBS session establishment request message to the MB-SMF.

[0331] It can be understood that the second MBS session establishment request message can include the TMGI and the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS.

[0332] S1204, the MB-SMF sends an MBS broadcast context setup message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the MBS broadcast context setup message from the MB-SMF.

[0333] It can be understood that the MBS broadcast context setup message can include: the TMGI, and the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS.

[0334] In addition, the MB-SMF can invoke the MBS broadcast context setup service operation (for example, Namf_MBSBroadcast_ContextCreate) provided by the AMF to send the MBS broadcast context setup message to the AMF.

[0335] S1205, the AMF determines whether to send the geographic area of the intended service area of the MBS to the gNB according to the capability information of the gNB.

[0336] It can be understood that the AMF can determine whether the gNB supports broadcast geographic area according to the capability information of the gNB obtained in step S1201.

[0337] S1206, in the case that the gNB supports broadcast geographic area, the AMF sends a broadcast session setup request message (for example, BROADCAST SESSION SETUP REQUEST) to the gNB. Correspondingly, the gNB receives the broadcast session setup request message from the AMF.

[0338] The broadcast session setup request message can include: the TMGI, the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and the geographic area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0339] It can be understood that in the case that the gNB supports broadcast geographic area, the AMF can obtain the geographic area of the intended service area of the MBS according to the mapping of the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS carried in the MBS broadcast context setup message in step S1204, and then the geographic area.

[0340] S1207, the gNB broadcasts the SIB message. The SIB message contains the geographic area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0341] It should be understood that in the method flow shown in FIG. 12, steps S1201 and S1205 are optional steps, that is, in the case that the AMF receives the MBS broadcast context setup message from the MB-SMF, the AMF can directly perform the mapping of the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS to the geographic area, and send the broadcast session setup request message in step S1206 to the gNB.

[0342] In addition, in the method flow shown in FIG. 12, the NEF can send, according to the service area of the MB-SMF, the related information of the sub-service area that exists overlap or intersection between the expected service area of the MBS and the service area of the MB-SMF. Similarly, the MB-SMF can also send, according to the service area of the AMF, the related information of the sub-service area that exists overlap or intersection between the expected service area of the MBS and the service area of the AMF; and the AMF can send, according to the gNB coverage area, the related information of the sub-service area that exists overlap or intersection between the expected service area of the MBS and the gNB coverage area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0343] In the embodiments of the present application, in the session establishment flow of the MBS triggered by the AF, the AF can send, to the NEF, the related information of the expected service area of the MBS, and then the NEF can send, to the AF, the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the expected service area of the MBS, and the AMF can perform mapping processing according to the indication to obtain the geographical area of the service area of the MBS and send the geographical area to the gNB, so as to provide the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS for the gNB, so that the gNB can accurately broadcast the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS.

[0344] Example II: The network exposure network element and the session management network element send the geographical position of the first service area.

[0345] It can be understood that the difference between example II and example I is that, since the network exposure network element and the session management network element send the geographical position of the first service area, the access mobility management network element does not need to perform mapping processing of the TA and / or cell associated with the first service area to the geographical position, so as to avoid the precision loss caused by the mapping, and improve the accuracy of the geographical position of the second service area provided by the access mobility management network element for the RAN.

[0346] The method flow corresponding to example II is described below taking FIG. 12 as an example.

[0347] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a method of information transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 13, the method comprises the following steps: S1301-S1308, step S1301 is the same as step S1201, and steps S1306-S1308 are the same as steps S1205-S1207.

[0348] S1302, the AF sends a first MBS session establishment request message to the NEF. Correspondingly, the NEF receives the first MBS session establishment request message from the AF. The first MBS session establishment request message can include: a TMGI, and a geographical area of an expected service area of the MBS.

[0349] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step S1302 can refer to step S1202, and details are not described here.

[0350] S1303, the NEF determines the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS according to the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0351] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step S1303 can refer to the related description of step S1203, and details are not described here.

[0352] S1304, the NEF sends a second MBS session establishment request message to the MB-SMF. Accordingly, the MB-SMF receives the second MBS session establishment request message from the NFE. The second MBS session establishment request message includes: TMGI, TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0353] It can be understood that, similar to step S1203, the NEF can invoke the MBS session establishment request service operation (for example, Nmbsmf_MBSSession_Create Request) provided by the MB-SMF to send the second MBS session establishment request message to the MB-SMF.

[0354] S1305, the MB-SMF sends an MBS broadcast context setup message to the AMF. Accordingly, the AMF receives the MBS broadcast context setup message from the MB-SMF. The MBS broadcast context setup message includes: TMGI, TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0355] It can be understood that, similar to step S1204, the MBS broadcast context setup message can include: TMGI, and TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS.

[0356] In the embodiments of the present application, in the session establishment process of the MBS triggered by the AF, the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS is transmitted between the AF, the NEF, the MB-SMF, and the AMF, which can avoid the mapping processing from the identification of the TA and / or cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS to the geographical area, and further can avoid the precision loss caused by the mapping processing, thereby providing the gNB with the accurate geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS, so that the gNB can accurately broadcast the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0357] Example three: The session management network element determines whether to send first indication information for indicating the geographical position of the first service area to the access mobile management network element.

[0358] It can be understood that the difference between Example Three and Example Two is that the session management network element determines whether to send the first indication information to the access mobility management network element according to whether the access mobility management network element is associated with the NTN.

[0359] The following takes the data management network element as the NRF and the method flow shown in FIG. 13 as an example to illustrate the method flow corresponding to Example Three.

[0360] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an information transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 14, the method includes the following steps: S1401-S1411, step S1401 is the same as step S1301, steps S1403-S1405 are the same as steps S1302-S1304, and steps S1409-S1411 are the same as steps S1306-S1308.

[0361] S1402, the AMF sends a first registration message to the NRF. Correspondingly, the NRF receives the first registration message from the AMF. The first registration message includes indication information indicating whether the AMF is associated with the NTN.

[0362] It can be understood that the indication information indicating whether the AMF is associated with the NTN can be found in Table 2 in step S1108, which will not be repeated here.

[0363] In addition, the AMF can send the first registration message to the NRF by invoking the NF management NF registration service operation (such as Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister) of the NRF.

[0364] S1406, the MB-SMF obtains the first registration message of the AMF from the NRF, and the first registration message includes indication information indicating whether the AMF is associated with the NTN.

[0365] It can be understood that the MB-SMF can obtain the first registration message of the AMF by sending an NF discovery request message to the NRF and receiving an NF discovery response message from the NRF. The MB-SMF can send the NF discovery request message by invoking the NF discovery request service operation (such as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Request) of the NRF. Correspondingly, the NRF can send the NF discovery response message to the MB-SMF by invoking the NF discovery response service operation (such as Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response) of the NRF.

[0366] S1407. The MB-SMF determines whether to send, to the AMF, a geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS according to the first registration message of the AMF.

[0367] S1408. The MB-SMF sends, to the AMF, an MBS broadcast context setup message in a case where the AMF is associated with the NTN. Accordingly, the AMF receives the MBS broadcast context setup message from the MB-SMF. The MBS broadcast context setup message includes the TMGI, the TA and / or the cell associated with the expected service area of the MBS, and the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS.

[0368] It can be understood that the specific implementation of step S1408 can be referred to step S1305, which will not be described here.

[0369] In the embodiments of the present application, in the session establishment process of the AF triggering the MBS, the MB-SMF can determine whether the AMF is associated with the NTN, and then in a case where the AMF is associated with the NTN, the MB-SMF sends the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS to the AMF, so that the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS is transmitted between the AF, the NEF, the MB-SMF, and the AMF, which can avoid the mapping processing from the identification of the TA and / or the cell associated with the expected service area of the MBS to the geographical area, and can avoid the precision loss caused by the mapping processing, so as to provide the gNB with the accurate geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS, so that the gNB can accurately broadcast the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS.

[0370] Example four: A network exposure network element determines whether to send, to a session management network element, first indication information used for indicating a geographical position of a first service area.

[0371] It can be understood that the difference between example four and example two is that the network exposure network element determines whether to send the above-mentioned first indication information to the session management network element according to whether the session management network element is associated with the NTN.

[0372] The method flow corresponding to example four will be described below taking the data management network element as the NRF and the method flow shown in FIG. 13 as an example.

[0373] FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a method of information transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 15, the method includes the following steps: S1501-S1512, steps S1501-S1502 are the same as steps S1401-S1402, steps S1504-S1505 are the same as steps S1403-S1404, and steps S1509-S1512 are the same as steps S1305-S1308.

[0374] S1503. The MB-SMF sends a second registration message to the NRF. Accordingly, the NRF receives the second registration message from the MB-SMF. The second registration message is used to register a service area (or referred to as an MBS service area) that the MB-SMF is capable of serving to the NRF. The MBS service area may, for example, include at least one TA and / or cell.

[0375] For example, the MB-SMF can send the second registration message to the NRF by invoking an NF management NF registration service operation (e.g., Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister) of the NRF.

[0376] Optionally, the second registration message can further include indication information indicating whether the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN.

[0377] It can be understood that the indication information indicating whether the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN can refer to Table 1 in step S1107, which will not be described here.

[0378] S1506. The NEF obtains the second registration message of the MB-SMF from the NRF.

[0379] It can be understood that the NEF can send the NF discovery request message by invoking an NF discovery request service operation (e.g., Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Request) of the NRF. Accordingly, the NRF can send the NF discovery response message to the NEF by invoking an NF discovery response service operation (e.g., Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response) of the NRF.

[0380] S1507. The NEF determines whether to send the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS to the MB-SMF according to the second registration message of the MB-SMF.

[0381] It can be understood that the NEF can obtain the service area that the MB-SMF is capable of serving (i.e., the service area of the MB-SMF) according to the second registration message, and then determine whether to send the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS to the MB-SMF according to whether there is an overlap or intersection between the intended service area of the MBS and the service area of the MB-SMF.

[0382] In addition, the NEF can determine whether to send the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS to the MB-SMF according to whether the intended service area of the MBS is associated with the NTN, or according to the indication information included in the second registration message indicating whether the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN.

[0383] S1508. In a case where the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN, the NEF sends a second MBS session establishment request message to the MB-SMF. Accordingly, the MB-SMF receives the second MBS session establishment request message from the NEF. The second MBS session establishment request message includes the TMGI, the TA and / or the cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0384] In the embodiments of the present application, in the session establishment procedure of the MBS triggered by the AF, the NEF can determine whether the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN, and then in a case where the MB-SMF is associated with the NTN, the NEF sends the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS to the MB-SMF, so that the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS is transmitted between the AF, the NEF, the MB-SMF, and the AMF, the mapping processing from the TA and / or the cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS to the geographical area can be avoided, the precision loss caused by the mapping processing can be avoided, and the gNB is provided with the accurate geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS, so that the gNB can accurately broadcast the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0385] Example Five: The RAN determines whether to broadcast the second information.

[0386] It can be understood that the difference between Example Five and Example Two is that, after the RAN receives the second information from the access mobility management network element, the RAN determines whether to broadcast the geographical location of the second service area.

[0387] The method flow corresponding to Example Five is described below taking the method flow shown in FIG. 13 as an example.

[0388] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method of information transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 16, the method includes the following steps: S1601-S1606, and steps S1601-S1604 are the same as steps S1302-S1305.

[0389] S1605. The AMF sends a broadcast session establishment request message to the gNB. Accordingly, the gNB receives the broadcast session establishment request message from the AMF. The broadcast session establishment request message includes the TMGI, the identification of the TA and / or the cell associated with the intended service area of the MBS, and the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0390] S1606. In a case where the gNB is an NTN type gNB, the gNB broadcasts a SIB message. The SIB message contains the geographical area of the intended service area of the MBS.

[0391] It can be understood that the gNB can determine whether the gNB is an NTN type gNB according to its configuration information. In the case of a gNB that is not an NTN type gNB, the gNB can ignore the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS. In addition, the NTN type gNB can refer to a gNB deployed on a satellite or other high-altitude platform.

[0392] In the embodiments of the present application, in the session establishment process triggered by the AF for the MBS, the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS is transmitted between the AF, the NEF, the MB-SMF, and the AMF. The mapping processing of the TA and / or the cell identifier associated with the expected service area of the MBS to the geographical area can be avoided, and the precision loss caused by the mapping processing can be avoided, thereby providing the gNB with the accurate geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS. Further, the gNB can determine whether it is an NTN type gNB, and in the case of an NTN type gNB, the gNB can accurately broadcast the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS according to the geographical area of the expected service area of the MBS from the AMF.

[0393] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the above various methods. The communication device can be the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element in the above method embodiments, or a device containing any one of the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element, or a component that can be used for the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element. It can be understood that the communication device contains the hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function in order to realize the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present application can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0394] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, another division manner can be used.

[0395] Taking the communication device as the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network opening network element, or the application network element in the above-mentioned method embodiments, FIG. 17 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 17, the communication device 1700 includes a processing module 1701 and a transceiver module 1702. The processing module 1701 is configured to perform the processing functions of the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network opening network element, or the application network element in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The transceiver module 1702 is configured to perform the transceiving functions of the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network opening network element, or the application network element in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0396] The above-mentioned method embodiments involve all related contents of each step, which can be referred to the function description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0397] Since the communication device 1700 provided by the embodiment can perform the above-mentioned communication method, the technical effects that can be obtained thereby can be referred to the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0398] In a possible design, the transceiver module 1702 can include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG. 17). The transceiver module is configured to implement the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device 1700.

[0399] In a possible design, the communication device 1700 can further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 17), which stores a program or instructions. When the processing module 701 executes the program or instructions, the communication device 1700 can perform the functions of the access mobile management network element, the session management network element, the network opening network element, or the application network element in any one of the methods shown in FIGS. 11-16.

[0400] It should be understood that the processing module 1701 involved in the communication device 1700 can be realized by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and can be a processor or a processing unit. The transceiver module 1702 can be realized by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, and can be a transceiver or a transceiving unit.

[0401] Exemplarily, FIG. 18 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus can be an access mobility management network element, a session management network element, a network exposure network element, or an application network element, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be arranged in the access mobility management network element, the session management network element, the network exposure network element, or the application network element. As shown in FIG. 18, the communication apparatus 1800 can include a processor 1801. In a possible design, the communication apparatus 1800 can further include a memory 1802 and / or a transceiver 1803. The processor 1801 is coupled with the memory 1802 and the transceiver 1803, for example, through a communication bus.

[0402] The various constituent components of the communication apparatus 1800 will be specifically introduced below in combination with FIG. 18.

[0403] The processor 1801 is the control center of the communication apparatus 1800, and can be one processor or collectively refer to multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1801 is one or more central processing units (CPUs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, for example, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0404] In a possible design, the processor 1801 can perform various functions of the communication apparatus 1800 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1802, and calling data stored in the memory 1802.

[0405] In a specific implementation, as an example, the processor 1801 can include one or more CPUs, for example, CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 18.

[0406] In a specific implementation, as an example, the communication apparatus 1800 can also include multiple processors, for example, the processor 1801 and the processor 1804 shown in FIG. 18. Each of the processors can be a single-CPU or a multi-CPU. The processor herein can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (for example, computer program instructions).

[0407] The memory 1802 is configured to store a software program for implementing the solutions of the present application, and the processor 1801 is configured to control the execution of the software program. For details, refer to the methods described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0408] In a possible design, the memory 1802 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, and can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, a magneto-optical disc storage (including a compact disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but the present application is not limited thereto. The memory 1802 can be integrated with the processor 1801 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1801, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0409] The transceiver 1803 is configured to communicate with other communication devices. For example, the communication device 1800 is an access mobility management network element, and the transceiver 1803 can be configured to communicate with a session management network element or a RAN. For another example, the communication device 1800 is a session management network element, and the transceiver 1803 can be configured to communicate with an access mobility management network element, a network exposure network element, or an application network element.

[0410] In a possible design, the transceiver 1803 can include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG. 18). The receiver is configured to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter is configured to implement the transmitting function.

[0411] In a possible design, the transceiver 1803 can be an input / output interface or an interface circuit, configured to input and / or output a signal.

[0412] In a possible design, the transceiver 1803 can be integrated with the processor 1801 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1801, and the embodiments of the present application do not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0413] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 1800 shown in FIG. 18 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, and an actual communication device can include more or fewer components than shown, or combine some components, or arrange different components.

[0414] In addition, the communication device 1800 can perform the communication method described above, and the technical effects that can be obtained thereby can refer to the method embodiments described above, and will not be described here.

[0415] In a possible implementation, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer to realize the functions of the above method embodiments.

[0416] In a possible implementation, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, which is executed by a computer to realize the functions of the above method embodiments.

[0417] In a possible implementation, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes the session management network element, the access mobility management network element, and the RAN of the above method embodiments.

[0418] In a possible implementation, the communication system further includes one or more of the network exposure network element, the application network element, or the data management network element of the above method embodiments.

[0419] In a possible implementation, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication method, which includes the method of any of the above method embodiments or any implementation thereof.

[0420] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or include one or more data storage devices such as servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state drive (SSD)) and the like.

[0421] Those skilled in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0422] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0423] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0424] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0425] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0426] If the functions are realized in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application or the parts that essentially contribute to the prior art or the parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of software products. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various program code storage media.

[0427] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes of the disclosed embodiments by referring to the accompanying drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims during the implementation of the claimed present application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "one" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Some measures are recorded in mutually different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0428] Although the present application has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be evident that many modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the application. Accordingly, it is intended to cover all modifications, alterations, combinations, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the scope or spirit of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application cover the modifications and variations of this application provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of information transmission, characterized in that, The method comprises: In a session flow of a first multicast broadcast service (MBS) association, an access mobility management network element providing service for a first service area of the first MBS receives first information from a session management network element, the first information being used for indicating the first service area; The access mobility management network element sends second information to a radio access network (RAN) according to the first information, the second information comprising indication information used for indicating geographical positions of second service areas in the first service area located within a coverage area of the RAN.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The coverage area of the RAN comprises at least one area covered by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) RAN; and the second information is specifically used for indicating geographical positions of second service areas in the first service area located within each of the at least one area.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information is specifically identification information used for identifying a tracking area (TA) and / or a cell associated with the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the identification information and the coverage area of the RAN.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information comprises first indication information used for indicating geographical positions of the first service area; and the second information is specifically determined according to the first indication information and the coverage area of the RAN.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The access mobility management network element sends indication information to a data management network element, the indication information being used for indicating whether the access mobility management network element is associated with an NTN; and the access mobility management network element receives first information from a session management network element, comprising: In a case where the access mobility management network element is associated with an NTN, the access mobility management network element receives the first information from the session management network element.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The access mobility management network element acquires indication information used for indicating whether the RAN supports sending geographical positions; The access mobility management network element sends second information to a RAN according to the first information, comprising: In a case where the RAN supports sending geographical positions, the access mobility management network element sends the second information to the RAN according to the first information.

7. A communication device, characterized by The communication apparatus comprises modules or units for performing the method of any of claims 1-6.

8. A communication device, characterized by The communication apparatus comprises at least one processor configured to cause the communication apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-6 by means of logic circuitry and / or executing instructions.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any of claims 1-6 to be implemented.

10. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any of claims 1-6 to be implemented.

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