Method and apparatus in a wireless communication system

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. The present disclosure provides a method performed by a third node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node; receiving an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node; receiving a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access procedure; wherein the second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an ID of a third node.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

[0001] The application relates to the field of communication, and more particularly, to a method performed by a first node in a communication system, a method performed by a second node in a communication system, a method performed by a third node in a communication system, a method performed by a fourth node in a communication system, a first node, a second node, a third node, and a fourth node.

[0002] 5G mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in "Sub 6GHz" bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in "Above 6GHz" bands referred to as mmWave including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement 6G mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BWP (BandWidth Part), new channel coding methods such as a LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and method for effectively providing a service in a wireless communication system.

[0009] In an embodiment, a method performed by a third node in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node; receiving an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node; and receiving a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access procedure. The second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identifier (ID) of a third node.

[0010] In an embodiment, a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes: transmitting a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an ID of a third node; and receiving a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node. The user equipment context suspend response message includes an ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend, the first related information includes an ID of a second node, the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node, the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message, the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node, the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message, and the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access procedure.

[0011] In an embodiment, a third node in a wireless communication system is provided. The third node includes at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the third node to transmit a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node, receive an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node, and receive a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access procedure. The second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identifier (ID) of a third node.

[0012] In an embodiment, a first node in a wireless communication system is provided. The first node includes at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the first node to transmit a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an identifier (ID) of a third node, and receive a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node. The user equipment context suspend response message includes an ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend, the first related information includes an ID of a second node, the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node, the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message, the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node, the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message, and the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access procedure.

[0013] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a third node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node; receiving an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node; receiving a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access process / procedure; wherein the second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node.

[0014] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, receiving, from the first node, fourteenth information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context, or receiving, from the first node, eleventh information related to that a link between the second node and the fourth node is available, wherein the fourteenth information includes at least one of: identification / ID information related to the second node; fourth time related information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context; wherein the eleventh information includes at least one of: the identification / ID information related to the second node; first time related information related to that the link between the second node and the fourth node is available.

[0015] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the first node is a node that responds to an RRC setup request message transmitted by the third node.

[0016] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method further comprises: receiving an RRC release message from the first node, wherein the RRC release message includes thirteenth information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context; wherein the thirteenth information includes at least one of: the identification / ID information related to the second node; third time related information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context.

[0017] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the third node performs uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the third time related information.

[0018] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method further comprises: receiving an RRC setup message from the first node, wherein the RRC setup message includes twelfth information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context, wherein the twelfth information includes at least one of: the identification / ID information related to the second node; second time related information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context.

[0019] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the third node cannot perform uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the second time related information.

[0020] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the fourteenth information, the thirteenth information, the twelfth information, or the eleventh information is received by the first node from the fourth node.

[0021] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting eighth information to the first node, wherein the eighth information includes at least one of: count value related information; sequence number related information.

[0022] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method further comprises: receiving third information from the first node, wherein the third information includes at least one of: first indication information including information related to whether the first node supports a first operation; information associated with the first node; a fifth list including fifteenth information related to the second node.

[0023] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method further comprises: receiving fourth information from the first node or transmitting the fourth information to the first node, wherein the fourth information includes at least one of: information related to requesting or indicating the first operation; a sixth list including sixteenth information related to the first node and / or the second node.

[0024] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the information associated with the first node, the fifteenth information, or the sixteenth information includes at least one of: identification / ID information related to the first node and / or the second node; service information; footprint information.

[0025] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the service information includes at least one of: ephemeris parameter related information; service start time related information; wherein the footprint information includes at least one of: reference point related information; radius information; satellite angle related information.

[0026] According to the method performed by the third node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the first node or the second node is a node which supports store-and-forward; or wherein the first node or the second node is a regenerative payload or a regenerative payload which hosts a base station or a base station serving as a regenerative payload.

[0027] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an identification / ID of a third node; receiving a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node; wherein the user equipment context suspend response message includes an identification / ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend, wherein the first related information includes an identification / ID of a second node; wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node, wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message, the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node, and the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message; wherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure.

[0028] According to the method performed by the first node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: transmitting fifth information to the fourth node, wherein the fifth information includes at least one of: an identification / ID of an access network user equipment; count value related information; a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI); an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.

[0029] According to the method performed by the first node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving second information from the fourth node, wherein the second information includes at least one of: identification / ID information related to the first node and / or the second node; service information; footprint information.

[0030] According to the method performed by the first node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving ninth information from a fourth node, wherein the ninth information includes at least one of: seventeenth information including information associated with determining that the first node has no downlink data transmission; eighteenth information including information related to determining downlink data transmission through a base station other than the first node.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a second node in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node; receiving a second paging message from the fourth node; transmitting a first paging message to the third node, wherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure, wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message.

[0032] According to the method performed by the second node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving fifth information from a fourth node, and performing corresponding operations based on the fifth information, wherein the fifth information includes at least one of: an identification / ID of an access network user equipment; count value related information; a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI); an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.

[0033] According to the method performed by the second node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: transmitting first information to a fourth node, wherein the first information includes information associated with whether a node transmitting the first information supports a first operation.

[0034] According to the method performed by the second node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving tenth information from a fourth node, wherein the tenth information includes a non-access stratum packet data unit, and early data transmission related information; transmitting a radio resource control early data complete message to a third node based on the tenth information.

[0035] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a fourth node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting user equipment context suspend related information to a second node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node; transmitting a second paging message to the second node, wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node based on the second paging message; wherein the first paging message is not used for the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure, wherein the third node receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message.

[0036] According to the method performed by the fourth node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving fifth information from a first node, transmitting the fifth information to a second node, wherein the fifth information includes at least one of: an identification / ID of an access network user equipment; count value related information; a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI); an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.

[0037] According to the method performed by the fourth node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: transmitting ninth information to the first node, wherein the ninth information includes at least one of: seventeenth information including information associated with determining that the first node has no downlink data transmission; eighteenth information including information related to determining downlink data transmission through a regenerative payload other than the first node; and transmitting tenth information to the second node, wherein the tenth information includes a non-access stratum packet data unit, and early data transmission related information.

[0038] According to the method performed by the fourth node in the communication system provided by the present disclosure, wherein the method comprises: receiving first information from the first node or the second node, wherein the first information includes information associated with whether a node transmitting the first information supports a first operation.

[0039] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first node including a transceiver configured to transmit and / or receive signals; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to perform the method performed by the first node.

[0040] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second node including a transceiver configured to transmit and / or receive signals; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to perform the method performed by the second node.

[0041] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third node including a transceiver configured to transmit and / or receive signals; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to perform the method performed by the third node.

[0042] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a fourth node including a transceiver configured to transmit and / or receive signals; and a controller configured to control the transceiver to perform the method performed by the fourth node.

[0043] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored thereon a program which, when being executed by a computer, performs any of the above methods.

[0044] Embodiments of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for effectively providing a service in a wireless communication system.

[0045] Figure 1 is an exemplary system architecture in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 2 is an exemplary architecture of a base station according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figure 3A is an example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] Figure 3B illustrates another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0049] Figure 3C illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 3D illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 3E illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] Figure 3F illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] Figure 3G illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a node device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a clearly and complete description will be made with respect to the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary skilled in the art without creative labor belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure. In the present disclosure, elements expressed in the singular form may also be understood to be expressed in the plural form. Similar words such as singular forms "a", "an" or "the" do not express a limitation of quantity, but express the existence of at least one of the referenced item, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0056] Before undertaking the Mode for Invention below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term "couple" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase "associated with," as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect to or with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term "controller" means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The function associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one of," when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, "at least one of: A, B, and C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C " includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.

[0057] In addition, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed by computer-readable program code and embodied in a computer-readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, instruction sets, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data or parts thereof appropriate for implementation in suitable computer-readable program code. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, objective code and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of medium that can be accessed by a computer, such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), hard disk drive, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD) or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer-readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical or other communication links that transfer transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer-readable medium includes a medium in which data can be stored permanently and a medium in which data can be stored and rewritten later, such as rewritable optical disks or erasable memory devices.

[0058] The terms used herein to describe the embodiments of the present application is not intended to limit and / or define the scope of the present application. For example, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the present disclosure should have ordinary meanings as understood by ordinary skilled in the art to which the present application belongs.

[0059] It should be understood that "first", "second" and similar words used in the present disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context, similar words such as "a", "an", "the" and the like in the singular form do not indicate a quantitative limitation, but indicate the existence of at least one.

[0060] As used herein, any reference to "one example" or "an example", "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular element, feature, structure or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in one example" in different places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0061] As used herein, "a part of" a certain thing means "at least some of" this thing, so it may mean being less than the entirety thereof or being the entirety thereof. Therefore, "a part of" the thing includes the whole thing as a special case, that is, an example in which the whole thing is a part of the thing.

[0062] It will be further understood that words such as "include", "contain" or the like means that the elements or objects appearing preceding the word encompass the elements or objects listed behind the word as well as their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Words such as "connect", "interconnect" or the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connection, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "Down", "Left" and "Right" are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, accordingly, the relative positional relationship may change as well.

[0063] The various embodiments discussed below for describing the principle of the present disclosure in this patent document are for illustration only, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principle of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system. For example, although the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will focus on LTE and 5G communication systems, those skilled in the art can understand that the main points of the present disclosure can also be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds and channel formats, with slight modifications and basically without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The schemes of the embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication systems may include a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency Division DUplex (FDD) system, LTE time Division DUplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) system or New Radio (NR), etc. In addition, the schemes of the embodiments of the present application may be applied to future-oriented communication technologies. In addition, the schemes of the embodiments of the present application may be applied to future-oriented communication technologies.

[0064] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. The description includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but should be regarded as exemplary only. Accordingly, the ordinary skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications to the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and structures may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0065] The terms and wordings used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only, but not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0066] It should be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents, unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0067] The term "include" or "may include" refers to the existence of a corresponding disclosed function, operation or component which can be used in various embodiments of the present disclosure, and does not limit the existence of one or more additional functions, operations, or components. The terms "include" and / or "have" may be construed to represent certain feature, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof, but may not be construed to exclude the possibility of existence of one or more other feature, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof.

[0068] The term "or" used in various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any of the listed terms or all combinations thereof. For example, "A or B" may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.

[0069] Unless defined differently, all terms used in the present disclosure, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those understood by the skilled in the art as described in the present disclosure. Common terms as defined in a dictionary are to be interpreted to have meanings consistent with the context in the relevant technical field o, and are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively, unless clearly defined as such in the present disclosure.

[0070] Figures discussed below and various embodiments for describing the principle of the present disclosure in this patent document are only for illustration, and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principle of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

[0071] Figure 1 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments of the system architecture 200 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0072] User equipment (UE) 201 is a terminal device for receiving data. A next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 202 is a radio access network, which includes a base station (a gNB or an eNB connected to 5G core network 5GC, and the eNB connected to the 5GC is also called ng-gNB) that provides UE with interfaces to access the radio network. An access control and mobility management function entity (AMF) 203 is responsible for managing mobility context and security information of the UE. A user plane function entity (UPF) 204 mainly provides functions of user plane. A session management function entity SMF 205 is responsible for session management. A data network (DN) 206 includes, for example, services of operators, access of Internet and service of third parties.

[0073] In NR system, in order to support network function virtualization, more efficient resource management and scheduling, a base station (gNB / ng-eNB) that provides a radio network interface for user equipment (UE) can be further divided into a centralized unit gNB-CU / ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit) and a distributed unit gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit) (abbreviated as CU and DU in the present invention), as shown in Figure 2(a). gNB-CU has radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols, etc, while ng-eNB-CU has RRC and PDCP layers. gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has radio link control protocol (RLC), medium access control (MAC) and physical layer, etc. There is a standardized public interface F1 between gNB-CU and gNB-DU, and a standardized public interface W1 between ng-eNB-CU and ng-eNB-DU. The F1 interface is divided into control plane F1-C and user plane F1-U. The transport network layer of F1-C is based on IP transport. In order to transmit signaling more reliably, SCTP (stream control transmission protocol) protocol is added to IP. The protocol of the application layer is F1AP (F1 Application Protocol, F1 Application Protocol / F1 Interface Application Protocol), see 3GPP TS38.473. SCTP can provide reliable application layer message transmission. The transport layer of F1-U (F1-User, user plane of F1) is UDP / IP, and GTP-U (GPRS tunneling protocol for the user plane) is used to carry user plane protocol data unit PDU above UDP / IP. Further, for gNB-CU, as shown in Figure 2(b), gNB-CU can include gNB-CU-CP (the control plane part of the centralized unit of the base station) and gNB-CU-UP (the user plane part of the centralized unit of the base station). gNB-CU-CP includes the function of the control plane of the base station and has RRC and SDAP protocol layers, and gNB-CU-UP includes the function of the user plane of the base station and has SDAP and PDCP protocol layers. gNB-CU-CP and gNB-CU-UP are standardized public interfaces E1, and the protocol is E1AP, see 3GPP TS38.463. The interface between the control plane part of the centralized unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is F1-C interface, that is, the control plane interface of F1, and the interface between the user plane part of the centralized unit of the base station and the distributed unit of the base station is F1-U interface, that is, the user plane interface of F1. In addition, in the NR system, the base station providing the E-UTRA user plane and control plane which accesses the 5G core network is called ng-eNB. In order to support virtualization, such a base station (ng-eNB) can also be further divided into a centralized unit ng-eNB-CU (gNB central unit / ng-eNB central unit) and a distributed unit ng-eNB-DU (gNB distributed unit / ng-eNB distributed unit) (abbreviated as CU and DU in the present invention), as shown in Figure 2(c). ng-eNB-CU has RRC and PDCP layers. gNB-DU / ng-eNB-DU has radio link control protocol (RLC), medium access control (MAC) and physical layer,etc. There is a standardized public interface W1 between ng-eNB-CU and ng-eNB-DU. W1 interface is divided into control plane W1-C and user plane W1-U. The transport network layer of W1-C is based on IP transport. In order to transmit signaling more reliably, SCTP protocol is added to IP. The protocol of the application layer is W1AP, see 3GPP TS37.473. The transport layer of W1-U is UDP / IP, and GTP-U is used to carry user plane protocol data unit PDU above UDP / IP.

[0074] In order to meet an increasing demand for wireless data communication services since a deployment of 4G communication system, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called "beyond 4G network" or "post LTE system".

[0075] Wireless communication is one of the most successful innovations in modern history. Recently, a number of subscribers of wireless communication services has exceeded 5 billion, and it continues growing rapidly. With the increasing popularity of smart phones and other mobile data devices (such as tablet computers, notebook computers, netbooks, e-book readers and machine-type devices) in consumers and enterprises, a demand for wireless data services is growing rapidly. In order to meet rapid growth of mobile data services and support new applications and deployments, it is very important to improve efficiency and coverage of wireless interfaces.

[0076] With the gradual maturation of the 5G commercial network (NR: New Radio access network), research and standardization work on non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology has been carried out.

[0077] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0078] The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help understand the present disclosure. They should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, based on the disclosure herein, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that changes can be made to the illustrated embodiments and examples without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0079] Before introducing the specific content, some assumptions and some definitions of the present invention are given below.

[0080] * The message names in the present invention are only examples, and other message names can be used.

[0081] * The "first" and "second" included in the message name of the present invention are only examples of messages and do not represent the execution order. In addition, the words "first" and "second" appearing in front of the message or information mentioned in the claim are not necessarily exactly the same as the words "first" and "second" appearing in front of the message or information mentioned in the specification.

[0082] * Detailed description of steps irrelevant to the present invention is omitted in the present invention.

[0083] * In the present invention, the steps in each procedure can be executed in combination with each other or independently. The execution steps of each process / procedure are only examples, and other possible execution orders are not excluded.

[0084] * In the present invention, the base station may be a 5G base station (such as gNB, ng-eNB), a 4G base station (such as eNB), a 6G base station or other types of access nodes.

[0085] * In the present invention, data transmission refers to the reception or transmission of data.

[0086] Nodes involved in the present invention:

[0087] * First node: base station 1

[0088] * Second node: base station 2

[0089] * Third node: user equipment

[0090] * Fourth node: core network or Mobility Management Entity (MME)

[0091] It should be noted that the first node and / or the second node may also be called a regenerative payload or a regenerative payload which hosts a base station or a base station serving as a regenerative payload.

[0092] Currently, the research on regenerative payloads (i.e. base stations on a satellite) is just in its infancy,

[0093] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method to support regenerative payload communication with user equipment (UE).

[0094] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a third node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node; receiving an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node; receiving a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access process / procedure; wherein the second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node.

[0095] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a first node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an identification / ID of a third node; receiving a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node; wherein the user equipment context suspend response message includes an identification / ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend, wherein the first related information includes an identification / ID of a second node; wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node, wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message, the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node, and the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message; wherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure.

[0096] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a second node in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node; receiving a second paging message from the fourth node; transmitting a first paging message to the third node, wherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure, wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message.

[0097] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a fourth node in a communication system, the method comprising: transmitting user equipment context suspend related information to a second node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identification / ID of a third node; transmitting a second paging message to the second node, wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node based on the second paging message; wherein the first paging message is not used for the third node to trigger a random access process / procedure, wherein the third node receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message.

[0098] Through various embodiments of the present invention, methods for supporting regenerative load to communicate with user equipment UE are provided.

[0099] Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0100] The invention provides a non-terrestrial network node interaction method, which supports the store-and-forward operation of regenerative payload through the interaction between the non-terrestrial network nodes.

[0101] Figure 3A illustrates an example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3A, the example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction may include one or more of the following steps 1 to 4b:

[0102] Step 1: optionally, a first node and / or a second node transmit first information to a fourth node, and the first information is used to provide information related to the store-and-forward operation.

[0103] Herein, the first information includes information that the transmitting node or the base station supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0104] The first information may be included in an S1 interface application layer protocol (S1AP) message, such as an S1 setup request message, an eNB configuration update message, etc. It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0105] The fourth node determines whether the first node or the second node supports the store-and-forward operation according to the first information.

[0106] The fourth node may receive the first information from multiple base stations.

[0107] It should be noted that in another implementation, the first information is configured in the fourth node.

[0108] Step 2: optionally, the fourth node receives the first information and transmits second information to the first node according to the content of the first information, herein, the second information is used to provide information related to the store-and-forward operation.

[0109] The second information includes a base station information list or a regenerative payload satellite information list that supports the store-and-forward operation (for simplicity of description, "base station information" will be collectively used below). The base station information list that supports the store-and-forward operation includes at least one base station information (such as base station information of the second node), and the base station information includes at least one of the following information:

[0110] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0111] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0112] - service information, which is used to provide information related to services that the regenerative payload can provide.

[0113] - footprint information, which is used to provide information related to a coverage provided by the regenerative payload.

[0114] Herein the service information includes at least one of:

[0115] - an ephemeris parameter, which is used to provide a relevant orbital parameter of a satellites.

[0116] - service start time information, which is used to provide information about a time when a satellite starts servicing a region / area.

[0117] Herein the footprint information includes at least one of:

[0118] - reference point information, including longitude and / or latitude information of a reference point.

[0119] - radius information, which is used to provide distance information from a reference point to an edge of a coverage of a satellite.

[0120] - angle related information, which is used to provide angle information related to an angle of a satellite.

[0121] The second information may be included in an S1AP message, such as an S1 setup response message, an MME configuration update message, etc. It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0122] The first node confirms information related to other base stations providing the store-and-forward operation according to the second information.

[0123] The first node determines the access network notification area configured for the user equipment according to the second information.

[0124] It should be noted that in another implementation, the second information is configured in the first node (or second node).

[0125] Step 3: the first node transmits third information to the third node, and the third information is used to provide information related to the store-and-forward operation. The third information can be generated by the first node based on the received second information, or can be generated by the first node itself.

[0126] Herein the third information includes at least one of the following information:

[0127] - indication information that the serving base station supports the store-and-forward operation (also referred to as first indication information).

[0128] - base station information of a serving base station.

[0129] - an information list of other base stations that support the store-and-forward operation (also called a fifth list).

[0130] Herein the information list of other base stations that support the store-and-forward operation includes base station information of at least one other base station (which may also be referred to as fifteenth information).

[0131] Herein the base station information of the serving base station and / or the base station information of the other base station includes at least one of the following information:

[0132] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0133] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0134] - service information, which is used to provide information related to services that the regenerative payload can provide.

[0135] - footprint information, which is used to provide information related to a coverage provided by the regenerative payload.

[0136] Herein the service information includes at least one of:

[0137] - an ephemeris parameter, which is used to provide a relevant orbital parameter of a satellites.

[0138] - service start time information, which is used to provide information about a time when a satellite starts servicing a region / area.

[0139] Herein the footprint information includes at least one of:

[0140] - reference point information, including longitude and / or latitude information of a reference point.

[0141] - radius information, which is used to provide distance information from a reference point to an edge of a coverage of a satellite.

[0142] - angle related information, which is used to provide angle information related to an angle of a satellite.

[0143] It should be noted that the base station information list included in the third information may be a subset of the base station information list included in the second information. In one implementation, the first node determines the base station information list included in the third information based on a specific service area and the received second information. For example, the first node only includes those base stations in the second information that can provide the store-and-forward operation for a specific service area in the base station information list included in the third information.

[0144] The third information may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as a system information (included in at least one System Information Block, such as SIB31, SIB32, SIB33 or other SIBs, etc.), RRC Connection reconfiguration message, etc. It can also be included in other RRC messages.

[0145] The third node confirms information related to the base station providing the store-and-forward operation according to the third information.

[0146] The third node confirms the base station that provides store-and-forward operation according to the identification / ID of the base station.

[0147] The third node confirms a satellite that provides the store-and-forward operation according to the identification / ID of the satellite.

[0148] The third node confirms time related information and / or coverage-related information that the serving base station and / or other base stations provide coverage to a specific service area according to the service information and / or footprint information.

[0149] It should be noted that in one implementation, the third node may trigger a random access process / procedure according to the received third information.

[0150] Step 4a / 4b, after the third node triggers the random access process / procedure: in one implementation, the first node determines that the subsequent communication method between the base station and the third node uses a store-and-forward operation, in which case the first node transmits fourth information to the third node (step 4a); in another embodiment, the third node determines that the subsequent communication method with the base station uses a store-and-forward operation, in which case the third node transmits fourth information to the first node (step 4b). The fourth information is used to provide information related to the base station that subsequently provides the store-and-forward operation to the user equipment.

[0151] Herein the fourth information includes at least one of the following information:

[0152] - information related to the use of the store-and-forward operation, which can be an indication information or a cause information.

[0153] - a base station information list that subsequently provides the store-and-forward operation (which may also be referred to as a sixth list) is subsequently provided.

[0154] Herein the base station information list that subsequently provides the store-and-forward operation includes at least one base station information (also referred to as sixteenth information), and the base station information can be the base station information of the serving base station or the base station information of the other base station, and the base station information includes at least one of the following information:

[0155] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0156] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0157] - service information, which is used to provide information related to services that the regenerative payload can provide.

[0158] - footprint information, which is used to provide information related to a coverage provided by the regenerative payload.

[0159] Herein the service information includes at least one of:

[0160] - an ephemeris parameter, which is used to provide a relevant orbital parameter of a satellites.

[0161] - service start time information, which is used to provide information about a time when a satellite starts servicing a region / area.

[0162] Herein the footprint information includes at least one of:

[0163] - reference point information, including longitude and / or latitude information of a reference point.

[0164] - radius information, which is used to provide distance information from a reference point to an edge of a coverage of a satellite.

[0165] - angle related information, which is used to provide angle information related to an angle of a satellite.

[0166] The fourth information may be included in an RRC message: if it is the fourth information transmitted by the first node to the third node, the RRC message may be an RRC connection setup message, or an RRC connection release message, or other RRC messages, etc.; if it is the fourth information transmitted by the third node to the first node, the RRC message may be an RRC connection request message, an RRC connection setup complete message, or other RRC messages.

[0167] It should be noted that if it is step 4a, then:

[0168] In one implementation, the first node determines the base stations that can subsequently communicate with the third node, and transmits fourth information to the third node, wherein the base station information list contained in the fourth information may be a subset of the base station information list contained in the third information (ie, serving base station information, and other base station information list). The third node confirms the base station for subsequent communication according to the base station information list that subsequently provides the store-and-forward operation.

[0169] In another implementation, the fourth information only includes information related to the use of the store-and-forward operation, and the third node confirms the use of the store-and-forward operation according to the information related to the use of the store-and-forward operation, and the third node confirms or determines a base station for subsequent communication based on the received third information.

[0170] It should be noted that if it is step 4b, then:

[0171] In one implementation, the third node determines the base station that can subsequently communicate with the third node, and transmits fourth information to the first node, wherein the base station information list contained in the fourth information may be a subset of the base station information list contained in the third information (ie, serving base station information, and other base station information list). The first node confirms the base station for subsequent communication according to the base station information list that subsequently provides the store-and-forward operation, and transmits the corresponding base station information or list to the fourth node.

[0172] In another implementation, the fourth information only includes information related to the use of the store-and-forward operation, and the first node confirms the use of the store-and-forward operation according to the information related to the use of the store-and-forward operation. The first node confirms or determines a base station that can subsequently communicate with the third node based on the transmitted third information.

[0173] Through the above method, the network side and the user equipment can confirm that the subsequent communication uses the store-and-forward operation, and can confirm the base stations that subsequently communicate with the user equipment, thereby ensuring the smooth progress of subsequent the store-and-forward operation.

[0174] Figure 3B illustrates another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3B, the example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction may include steps 1 and 2:

[0175] Step 1: optionally, a first node transmits fifth information to a fourth node, and the fifth information is used to transmit access network related information of the user equipment.

[0176] Herein the fifth information includes at least one of the following information:

[0177] - an identification / ID of an access network user equipment, which is used for other base stations to identify the user equipment subsequently and / or for other base stations to communicate with the user equipment subsequently.

[0178] - count value related information, which is used for subsequent communication between other base stations and user equipment.

[0179] Herein the identification / ID of an access network user equipment includes at least one of the following information:

[0180] - a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI).

[0181] - an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.

[0182] Wherein the Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0183] - Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier.

[0184] - Full Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identity (Full I-RNTI).

[0185] - Short Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (Short I-RNTI).

[0186] Herein the count value related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0187] - a radio bearer identifier, which includes a signaling radio bearer identifier or a data radio bearer identifier.

[0188] - uplink count value related information.

[0189] - downlink count value related information.

[0190] Herein the uplink or downlink count value related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0191] - a count value corresponding to a last data unit successfully transmitted.

[0192] - a count value corresponding to a next data unit to be transmitted.

[0193] The fifth information transmitted by the first node may be included in an S1AP message, such as an initial user equipment message, an uplink non-access stratum transport message, an initial context setup response message, a user equipment context suspend request message, etc. It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0194] Step 2: after receiving the fifth information, the fourth node stores the fifth information, and subsequently forwards the fifth information to the second node.

[0195] The fifth information received by the second node may be included in an S1AP message, such as a downlink non-access stratum transport message, an initial context setup request message, etc. It can also be included in other S1AP messages, such as a user equipment context control message, a store-and-forward control message, a user equipment context resume command message, etc.

[0196] The second node identifies the user equipment according to the identification / ID of an access network user equipment.

[0197] The second node identifies the user equipment in the connected state according to the cell radio network temporary identifier.

[0198] The second node identifies the user equipment in an inactive state according to the inactive radio network temporary identifier related information.

[0199] The second node confirms the number of data units transmitted by the corresponding radio bearer according to the radio bearer count value related information.

[0200] In one implementation, the first node configures the user equipment to enter an inactive state before transmitting the fifth information to the fourth node. In this case, the fifth information includes the inactive radio network temporary identifier related information. After receiving the fifth information including the inactive radio network temporary identifier related information, the second node transmits an RRC paging message to the user equipment and / or waits for the user equipment to initiate a random access process / procedure, according to the content of the fifth information.

[0201] In another implementation, the first node will not configure the user equipment to enter an inactive state (that is, the user equipment is still in a connected state) before transmitting the fifth information to the fourth node. In this case, the fifth information includes the cell radio network temporary identifier and / or the radio bearer count value related information. After receiving the fifth information including the cell radio network temporary identifier and / or the radio bearer count value related information, the second node uses the cell radio network temporary identifier to communicate with the user equipment according to the content of the fifth information. When the second node wants to transmit the downlink data, the second node process / procedurees the downlink data unit according to the downlink count value related information of the corresponding radio bearer. When the second node receives the uplink data, the second node determines the transmission status of the uplink data unit according to the uplink count value related information of the corresponding radio bearer, such as determining whether there is a packet loss, etc. Correspondingly, the user equipment (ie, the third node) uses the cell radio network temporary identifier configured by the first node to perform communication and / or data transmission with the second node.

[0202] In one implementation, different base stations (such as the first node and the second node) are configured with different cell radio network temporary identifier resources.

[0203] It should be pointed out that in another implementation, the fourth node generates downlink count value related information (that is, the downlink count value related information does not need to be received from the first node), and the fourth node can transmit downlink data units from the same bearer to different base stations (such as the first base station and the second base station); when the fourth node wants to transmit a downlink data unit to a base station, the fourth node first transmits the downlink count value related information to the base station (first node or second node); after receiving the downlink count value related information, the first node or the second node performs further operations on the subsequently received downlink data unit, such as adding a sequence number, performing encryption and / or integrity protection, etc., according to the received downlink count value related information.

[0204] Through the above method, user equipment can communicate with multiple base stations, thereby reducing end-to-end communication delay to a certain extent and further ensuring effective / efficient data transmission. On the other hand, conflicts of cell radio network temporary identifier allocation are avoided, and continuous transmission and reliable transmission of data units are guaranteed.

[0205] Figure 3C illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As illustrate in Figure 3C,

[0206] A first node or a second node transmits sixth information to a third node, and the sixth information is used to provide base station related information.

[0207] Herein the sixth information includes at least one of the following information:

[0208] - a base station link available related information list (which may also be referred to as a first list), which includes eleventh information related to that the link between a regenerative payload communication with the third node and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network is available.

[0209] - an information list related to a base station setting up a user equipment context (which may also be called a second list), which includes twelfth information related to that a regenerative payload communicating with the third node sets up a user equipment context with a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network.

[0210] - an information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context (which may also be referred to as the third list), which includes thirteenth information related to that a regenerative payload communicating with the third node and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network suspend a user equipment context.

[0211] - an information list related to a base station resuming a user equipment context (which may also be referred to as the fourth list), which includes fourteenth information related to that a regenerative payload communicating with the third node and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network resumes a user equipment context.

[0212] The base station link available related information list includes at least one base station link available related information (also referred to as eleventh information), and the base station link available related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0213] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation (which may also be called the first operation).

[0214] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0215] - link available time related information (which may also be referred to as the first time related information), which includes time related information that the link between a regenerative payload (i.e. the base station) and a non-terrestrial network gateway (i.e. the feeder link) and / or a core network (i.e. the S1 interface) is available.

[0216] Herein the link available time related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0217] - link available start time information, which is used to provide a start time of available link between a regenerative payload and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network.

[0218] - link available end time information.

[0219] - link available duration time information.

[0220] - link available period time information.

[0221] - link available interval time information.

[0222] Herein the link available start time information: in one implementation, it may be the exact information of the link available start time point. In another implementation, it may also be a time point information between the start time when the link is available and the start time when the base station provides services to user equipment in a specific area next time. In another embodiment, it can also be a coarse-grained time information after the exact start time point when the link is available (for example, the exact start time point when the link is available is actually 1:29:50, then the base station link available time related information contained in the sixth information may be 1:30 or 2:00, as long as 1:30 or 2:00 is before the base station provides services for user equipment in a specific area next time).

[0223] Herein the information list related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context contains at least one of information related to a base station setting up (also called twelfth information) / information related to a base station suspending a user equipment context (also called thirteenth information) / information related to a base station resuming a user equipment context (also called fourteenth information), and the information related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context including at least one of the following information:

[0224] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0225] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0226] - time related information for setting up a user equipment context (which may also be referred to as second time related information) / time related information for suspending a user equipment context (which may also be referred to as third time related information) / time related information for resuming a user equipment context (which may also be referred to as fourth time related information), which includes time information related to that a regenerative payload (i.e. the base station) sets up / suspends / resumes a user equipment context with a non-terrestrial network gateway (i.e. the feeder link) and / or a core network (i.e. the S1 interface).

[0227] Herein the time related information for setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context: in one implementation, it may be the exact information of the start time point of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context. In another implementation, it may also be a time point information between the start time of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context and the start time when the base station provides services to the user equipment next time. In another embodiment, it can also be a coarse-grained time information after the exact start time point of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context (for example, the exact start time point of setting up the user equipment context is actually 1:29:50, then the time related information for the base station setting up a user equipment context contained in the sixth information may be 1:30 or 2:00, as long as 1:30 or 2:00 is before the base station provides services for the user equipment).

[0228] The sixth information may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message, such as a system information (included in at least one System Information Block, such as SIB31, SIB32, SIB33 or other SIBs, etc.), a RRC connection reconfiguration message, a downlink information transfer message, a RRC connection release message, a RRC connection resume message, etc. It can also be included in other RRC messages.

[0229] It should be pointed out that in one implementation: if the sixth information includes the base station link available related information list, the sixth message may be included in a system information (included in at least one system information block, such as SIB31, SIB32, SIB33 or other SIBs, etc.) or other messages. In one implementation, if the sixth information includes a base station connection setup related information list, the sixth message may be included in an RRC connection reconfiguration message or a downlink information transfer message or other messages. In one implementation, if the sixth information includes a base station connection suspend related information list, the sixth message may be included in an RRC connection release message or other messages. In one implementation, if the sixth information includes a base station connection resume related information list, the sixth message may be included in an RRC connection resume message or other messages.

[0230] The third node confirms the base station that provides store-and-forward operation according to the identification / ID of the base station.

[0231] The third node identifies a satellite that provides the store-and-forward operation based on the identification / ID of the satellite.

[0232] The third node confirms the time related information for the regenerative payload (base station) setting up the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for setting up the user equipment context.

[0233] In one embodiment, after the third node receives the sixth information including an information list related to a base station setting up a user equipment context, according to the content of the sixth information, the third node cannot communicate with the base station that has not established the S1 interface user equipment context for uplink transmission and / or active communication, even if the identification / ID of the base station corresponding to the base station is also included in the information list related to a base station setting up a user equipment context and / or the base station provides the coverage for the user equipment at this time.

[0234] The third node confirms the time related information for the regenerative payload (base station) suspending the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for suspending the user equipment context.

[0235] In one embodiment, after the third node receives the sixth information including information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, when a base station provides the coverage for the user equipment, the third node confirms that the base station can provide services for the user equipment according to the identification / ID of the base station contained in the third information or the sixth information, and the third node confirms that the user equipment context of the S1 interface has not been suspended according to the time related information for suspending the user equipment context corresponding to the base station contained in the sixth information, and the third node can also communicate with the base station that has not suspended the user equipment context of the S1 interface.

[0236] In another implementation, after the third node receives the sixth information including information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, and when a base station provides the coverage for the third node, the third node confirms that the base station can provide services for the user equipment according to the identification / ID of the base station contained in the third information or the sixth information; when the third node has uplink data that needs to be transmitted, as long as the third node determines that the user equipment context between the base station and the S1 interface of the core network has been suspended based on the previously received sixth information including information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, the third node can actively initiate a random access process / procedure to the base station.

[0237] The third node confirms the time related information for the regenerative payload (base station) resuming the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for resuming the user equipment context.

[0238] In one embodiment, when the third node receives the sixth information including information list related to a base station resuming a user equipment context, and when a base station provides a coverage for the third node and transmits a paging message to the third node, after the third node receives the paging message, the third node may not trigger a subsequent random access process / procedure due to the received paging message.

[0239] In another implementation, after the third node receives the sixth information including information list related to a base station resuming a user equipment context, and when a base station provides a coverage for the third node, the third node confirms that the base station can provide services for user equipment according to the identification / ID of the base station contained in the third information or sixth information; when the third node has uplink data that needs to be transmitted, even if the time or time point provided by the time related information for resuming the user equipment context corresponding to the base station contained in the sixth information has not yet arrived, as long as the third node determines that the user equipment context between the base station and the S1 interface of the core network has been suspended based on the previously received sixth information including information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, the third node can proactively initiate a random access process / procedure to the base station.

[0240] The third node confirms the link available time related information between the regenerative payload (base station) and the non-terrestrial network gateway and / or core network according to the link available time related information.

[0241] The third node may obtain the available time period and / or the unavailable time period of the link between each base station and core network included in the sixth information based on the base station link available related information list.

[0242] In one embodiment, when the third node receives the sixth information including the base station link available related information list, and when the third node performs a security activation process / procedure, when a base station provides a coverage for the third node at this time, if the period from when the third node performs the security activation process / procedure to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is unavailable, the third node cannot perform uplink transmission and / or active communication with this base station.

[0243] In another embodiment, when the third node receives the sixth information including the base station link available related information list, and after the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication, when a base station provides a coverage for the third node at this time, if the time period from when the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is unavailable, the third node can also communicate with this base station.

[0244] In another embodiment, when the third node receives the sixth information including the base station link available related information list, and after the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication, when a base station provides a coverage for the third node at this time, if a part of the time period from when the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is available, the third node may actively initiate a random access process / procedure to the base station.

[0245] In another embodiment, after the third node receives the sixth information including the base station link available related information list, and after the third node receives the RRC connection resume message, when a base station provides coverage for the third node and transmits a paging message to the third node, if the time period from when the third node receives the RRC connection resume message to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is unavailable, the third node may not trigger the subsequent random access process / procedure due to the received paging message.

[0246] In another embodiment, when the third node receives the sixth information including the base station link available related information list, and after the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication and then receives the RRC connection resume message, when a base station provides a coverage for the third node at this time, if a part of the time period from when the third node receives the RRC connection release message including the suspend indication to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is available, even if the time period from when the third node receives the RRC connection resume message to the current time point has been in the time period when the link between the base station and the core network is unavailable, the third node can actively initiate a random access process / procedure to the base station.

[0247] Through the above method, the user equipment can communicate with multiple base stations, thereby reducing end-to-end communication delay to a certain extent and further ensuring effective data transmission. On the other hand, by specifying the behaviour of the user equipment, it is ensured that the user equipment and the network side have consistent understanding of the connection status of the user equipment, thereby ensuring reliable transmission of data.

[0248] Figure 3D illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As illustrate in Figure 3D,

[0249] A fourth node transmits seventh information to a first node or a second node, and the seventh information is used to provide base station related information.

[0250] Herein the seventh information includes at least one of the following information:

[0251] - an information list related to a base station setting up a user equipment context, which is used to provide information related to that at least one base station communicating with the user equipment sets up a user equipment context with a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network.

[0252] - an information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, which is used to provide information related to that at least one base station communicating with the user equipment and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network suspend a user equipment context.

[0253] - an information list related to a base station resuming a user equipment context, which is used to provide information related to that at least one base station communicating with the user equipment and a non-terrestrial network gateway and / or a core network resumes a user equipment context.

[0254] - control information related to suspending and / or resuming a user equipment context.

[0255] Herein the information list related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context includes at least one information related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context, and the information related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context including at least one of the following information:

[0256] - a base station identification / ID, which is used to identify a base station that supports the store-and-forward operation.

[0257] - a satellite identification / ID, which is used to identify a satellite corresponding to the regenerative payload.

[0258] - time related information for setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context, which is used to provide time information related to that a regenerative payload (i.e. the base station) sets up / suspends / resumes a user equipment context with a non-terrestrial network gateway (i.e. the feeder link) and / or a core network (i.e. the S1 interface).

[0259] Herein the time related information for setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context: in one implementation, it may be the exact information of the start time point of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context. In another implementation, it may also be a time point information between the start time of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context and the start time when the base station provides services to the user equipment next time. In another embodiment, it can also be a coarse-grained time information after the exact start time point of setting up / suspending / resuming the user equipment context (for example, the exact start time point of setting up the user equipment context is actually 1:29:50, then the time related information for the base station setting up a user equipment context contained in the sixth information may be 1:30 or 2:00, as long as 1:30 or 2:00 is before the base station provides services for the user equipment).

[0260] The seventh information may be included in an S1AP message, such as an initial context setup request message, a user equipment context modification request message, a user equipment context suspend response message, a user equipment context resume response message, a path switch request acknowledge message, a user equipment context suspend command message, user equipment context resume command message, etc; It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0261] It should be noted that in one implementation: if the seventh information includes the information list related to a base station setting up a user equipment context, the seventh message may be included in an initial context setup request message or other messages. In one implementation, if the seventh information includes the information list related to a base station suspending a user equipment context, the seventh message may be included in a user equipment context suspend response message, a user equipment context suspend command message or other in the message. In one implementation, if the seventh information includes the information list related to a base station resuming a user equipment context, the seventh message may be included in a user equipment context resume response message, a path switch request acknowledge message, and a user equipment context resume command message or other messages. In one implementation, if the seventh information includes control information related to suspending and / or resuming user equipment context, the seventh message may be included in an initial context setup request message, a user equipment context modification request message, user equipment context suspend command message, user equipment context resume command message or other messages.

[0262] The first node or the second node confirms the base station that provides store-and-forward operation according to the identification / ID of the base station.

[0263] The first node or the second node identifies a satellite that provides the store-and-forward operation based on the identification / ID of the satellite.

[0264] The first node or the second node confirms the time related information for at lease one regenerative payload (base station) setting up the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for setting up the user equipment context.

[0265] The first node or the second node confirms the time related information for at lease one regenerative payload (base station) suspending the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for suspending the user equipment context.

[0266] The first node or the second node confirms the time related information for at lease one regenerative payload (base station) resuming the user equipment context with the S1 interface of the core network according to the time related information for resuming the user equipment context.

[0267] It should be pointed out that in one embodiment, when the first node or the second node receives the information list related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context contained in the seventh information, the first node or the second node transmits the information list related to a base station setting up / suspending / resuming a user equipment context to the third node through the sixth information. In another embodiment, the seventh information is configured at the first node or the second node (ie, it does not need to be obtained by receiving from a fourth node).

[0268] It should be pointed out that in one implementation, if the first node or the second node allocates a cell radio network temporary identifier to the third node, the first node or the second node becomes the user equipment context configuration node of the third node, only the user equipment context configuration node can send an RRC connection release message to the user equipment (that is, other non-user equipment context configuration nodes cannot transmit an RRC connection release message to the user equipment). When the connection is resumed, the new base station that allocates the cell radio network temporary identifier and / or performs user equipment context migration / relocation becomes the new user equipment context configuration node instead of the old base station.

[0269] It should be noted that in one implementation, the seventh information may be the same information as the sixth information.

[0270] Through the above method, multiple base stations can communicate with the same user equipment, thereby reducing end-to-end communication delay to a certain extent and further ensuring effective data transmission. On the other hand, by defining the user equipment context configuration node, it is ensured that each node on the network side (core network and / or at least one base station) understands the user equipment connection status consistently, thereby ensuring reliable transmission of data.

[0271] Figure 3E illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As illustrate in Figure 3E,

[0272] A third node transmits eighth information to a first node or a second node, and the eighth information is used to provide uplink data transmission related information.

[0273] The eighth information includes at least one of the following information:

[0274] - uplink count value related information.

[0275] - uplink sequence number related information.

[0276] The uplink count value related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0277] - a count value corresponding to the last uplink data unit that has been successfully transmitted.

[0278] - a count value corresponding to the next uplink data unit to be transmitted.

[0279] The uplink sequence number related information includes at least one of the following information:

[0280] - a sequence number corresponding to the last uplink data unit that has been successfully transmitted.

[0281] - a sequence number corresponding to the next uplink data unit to be transmitted.

[0282] The eighth information may be included in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) control packet data unit. It can also be included in the Radio Link Control Protocol (RLC) control packet data unit. Another possible implementation is also adopted, that is, the uplink count value related information is included in a PDCP control packet data unit, and the uplink sequence number related information is included in an RLC control packet data unit.

[0283] The first node or the second node performs further operations on subsequently received uplink data units according to the received uplink count value related information, such as reordering, decryption and / or integrity verification.

[0284] It should be pointed out that in another possible implementation, the eighth information only includes uplink count value related information; when the first node or the second node receives the eighth information containing only the uplink count value related information, it confirms or calculates or infers the uplink sequence number related information according to the uplink count value related information.

[0285] Through the above method, the user equipment can perform data transmission with multiple base stations, thereby reducing end-to-end communication delay to a certain extent and further ensuring effective data transmission. On the other hand, by transmitting uplink data transmission related information to at least one base station, it is ensured that the uplink data can be correctly processed or operated by the base station, thereby ensuring reliable transmission of the uplink data.

[0286] Figure 3F illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3F, the example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction may include one or more of steps 0 to 4:

[0287] Step 0: a third node transmits a radio resource control early data request (RRCEarlyDataRequest) message to a first node, wherein the message is used to trigger control plane early data transmission.

[0288] Step 1: After receiving the radio resource control early data request, the first node transmits an initial user equipment message to a fourth node, wherein the initial user equipment message may include the fifth information.

[0289] Step 2: the fourth node transmits ninth information to the first node, and the ninth information is used to provide information related to downlink data transmission.

[0290] The ninth information includes at least one of the following information:

[0291] - information related to no downlink data transmission (also called seventeenth information).

[0292] - information related to downlink data transmission through other base stations (also called eighteenth information).

[0293] The ninth information may be included in an S1AP message, such as a downlink non-access stratum transport message. It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0294] The first node confirms that there is no downlink data that needs to be transmitted based on the information related to no downlink data transmission.

[0295] The first node confirms not to transmit subsequent downlink data through the first node based on the information related to downlink data transmission through other base stations.

[0296] It should be noted that in one implementation, after receiving the information related to no downlink data transmission, the first node transmits a Radio Resource Control Early Data Complete (RRCEarlyDataComplete) message to the third node.

[0297] Step 3: the fourth node transmits tenth information to the second node, and the tenth information is used to provide information related to early data transmission.

[0298] Herein the tenth information includes the non-access stratum packet data unit and information related to whether the transmission of the non-access stratum packet data unit is an early data transmission.

[0299] The ninth information may be included in an S1AP message, such as a downlink non-access stratum transport message, a connection establishment indication message, a link setup / establishment indication message, etc. It can also be included in other S1AP messages.

[0300] The first node confirming that a transmission of a non-access stratum packet data unit is an early data transmission according to the tenth information.

[0301] Step 4: After receiving the tenth information, the first node transmits a radio resource control early data complete message to the third node according to the content of the tenth information.

[0302] Through the above method, the core network or mobility management entity can select different base stations for early data transmission of downlink data, thereby reducing end-to-end communication delay to a certain extent and further ensuring effective data transmission.

[0303] Figure 3G illustrates yet another example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction according to the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3G, the example method of non-terrestrial network node interaction may include one or more of steps 1 to 17:

[0304] Step 1: optionally, a second node transmits an S1 interface setup request message containing first information to a fourth node.

[0305] Step 2: optionally, the fourth node transmits a mobility management entity configuration update message containing second information to the second node.

[0306] Step 3: a first node transmits a system information containing third information to a third node.

[0307] Step 4: the third node triggers a random access process / procedure and transmits a preamble to the first node.

[0308] Step 5: the first node transmits a random access response to the third node.

[0309] Step 6: the third node transmits a radio resource control connection request message to the first node.

[0310] Step 7: the first node transmits a radio resource control connection setup message containing fourth information to the third node.

[0311] Step 8: the third node transmits a radio resource control connection setup complete message to the first node.

[0312] Step 9: the first node transmits an initial user equipment message containing fifth information to the fourth node.

[0313] Step 10: the fourth node transmits a downlink non-access stratum transport message containing the fifth information received from step 9 to the second node.

[0314] Step 11: the second node transmits a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message or a downlink information transfer message to the third node.

[0315] Step 12a: the third node transmits a packet data convergence protocol control packet data unit containing the eighth information to the second node.

[0316] Step 12: the third node transmits a radio resource control connection reconfiguration complete message or an uplink information transfer message to the second node.

[0317] Step 13: the second node transmits an uplink non-access stratum transport containing the fifth information to the fourth node.

[0318] Step 14: the fourth node transmits an initial context setup request message containing the seventh information and / or the fifth information received from step 13 to the first node.

[0319] Step 15: the first node transmits a radio resource control connection reconfiguration message containing the sixth information to the third node.

[0320] Step 16: the third node transmits a radio resource control connection reconfiguration complete message to the first node.

[0321] Step 17: the first node transmits an initial context setup response message containing the fifth information to the fourth node.

[0322] It should be pointed out that the fifth information transmitted in step 9, step 13 and step 17 is not the same fifth information.

[0323] It should be noted that steps 12a and 12 may be completed through / accomplished by one transmission from the third node to the first node, or may be completed through / accomplished by two transmissions.

[0324] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a node device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0325] A network node in the network can be used to implement the first node to the fourth node in the present invention. Referring to Figure 4, the node device according to the present invention includes a transceiver 510, a controller 520 and a memory 530. The transceiver 510, the controller 520 and the memory 530 are configured to perform the operations of the methods and / or embodiments of the present invention. Although the transceiver 510, the controller 520 and the memory 530 are shown as separate entities, they may be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. The transceiver 510, the controller 520 and the memory 530 may be electrically connected or coupled to each other. The transceiver 510 may transmit and receive signals to and from other network nodes. The controller 520 may include one or more process / procedure units, and may control the network device or user equipment to perform the operations and / or functions according to one of the above embodiments. The memory 530 may store instructions for implementing the operations and / or functions of one of the above embodiments described.

[0326] Those skilled in the art will understand that the illustrative embodiments described above are described herein and are not intended to be limiting. It should be understood that any two or more of the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any combination. In addition, other embodiments can be utilized and other changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that aspects of the present invention of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated and designed in various different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

[0327] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in the present application can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of both. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in the form of their function set. Whether such a function set is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the total / overall system. Skilled people can implement the described function set in different ways for each specific application, but such design decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

[0328] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in the present application can be implemented in a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0329] The steps of the method or technique described in the present application can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module performed by a processor, or in a combination of both. Software modules may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, register, hard disk, removable disk, or any other form of storage media known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor to enable the processor to read and write information from / to the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in the UE. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in the UE as discrete components.

[0330] In one or more exemplary designs, the described functions can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function can be stored on or transferred by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, which includes any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0331] What has been described above is only an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and is not used to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure, which is determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1.A method performed by a third node in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node;receiving an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node; andreceiving a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access procedure,wherein the second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identifier (ID) of a third node.2.The method of claim 1, further comprising:performing one of:receiving, from the first node, fourteenth information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context; orreceiving, from the first node, eleventh information related to that a link between the second node and the fourth node is available,wherein the fourteenth information includes at least one of:ID information related to the second node, andfourth time related information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context, andwherein the eleventh information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andfirst time related information related to that the link between the second node and the fourth node is available.3.The method of claim 1, wherein the first node is a node that responds to an RRC setup request message transmitted by the third node.4.The method of claim 3, further comprising:receiving an RRC release message from the first node,wherein the RRC release message includes thirteenth information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context,wherein the thirteenth information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andthird time related information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context, andwherein the third node performs uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the third time related information.5.The method of claim 3,wherein the RRC setup message includes twelfth information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context,wherein the twelfth information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andsecond time related information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context, andwherein the third node cannot perform uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the second time related information.6.A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:transmitting a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an identifier (ID) of a third node; andreceiving a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node,wherein the user equipment context suspend response message includes an ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend,wherein the first related information includes an ID of a second node,wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node,wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message,wherein the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node,wherein the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message, andwherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access procedure.7.The method of claim 6, further comprising:transmitting fifth information to the fourth node,wherein the fifth information includes at least one of:an ID of an access network user equipment,count value related information,a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), andan Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.8.The method of claim 6, further comprising:receiving second information from the fourth node,wherein the second information includes at least one of:ID information related to the first node,ID information related to the second node,service information, andfootprint information.9.A third node in a wireless communication system, the third node comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the third node to:transmit a radio resource control (RRC) resume request message to a first node,receive an RRC resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node, andreceive a first paging message from a second node without triggering a random access procedure,wherein the second node is a node that received user equipment context suspend related information from a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend related information includes an identifier (ID) of a third node.10.The third node of claim 9,wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination further cause the third node to perform one of:receive, from the first node, fourteenth information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context, orreceive, from the first node, eleventh information related to that a link between the second node and the fourth node is available,wherein the fourteenth information includes at least one of:ID information related to the second node, andfourth time related information related to the second node resuming a user equipment context, andwherein the eleventh information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andfirst time related information related to that the link between the second node and the fourth node is available.11.The third node of claim 9,wherein the first node is a node that responds to an RRC setup request message transmitted by the third node,wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination further cause the third node to receive an RRC release message from the first node,wherein the RRC release message includes thirteenth information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context,wherein the thirteenth information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andthird time related information related to the second node suspending a user equipment context, andwherein the third node performs uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the third time related information.12.The third node of claim 9,wherein the first node is a node that responds to an RRC setup request message transmitted by the third node,wherein the RRC setup message includes twelfth information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context,wherein the twelfth information includes at least one of:the ID information related to the second node, andsecond time related information related to the second node setting up a user equipment context, andwherein the third node cannot perform uplink and downlink transmissions with the second node before the time indicated by the second time related information.13.A first node in a wireless communication system, the first node comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver; andat least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination to cause the first node to:transmit a user equipment context suspend request message to a fourth node, wherein the user equipment context suspend request message includes an identifier (ID) of a third node, andreceive a user equipment context suspend response message from the fourth node,wherein the user equipment context suspend response message includes an ID of the third node and first related information associated with a user equipment context suspend,wherein the first related information includes an ID of a second node,wherein the second node is a node that transmits a first paging message to the third node,wherein the third node is a node that receives a radio resource control (RRC) resume message or an RRC setup message from the first node before receiving the first paging message,wherein the first paging message is transmitted after the second node receives a second paging message transmitted by the fourth node,wherein the second paging message is transmitted by the fourth node to the second node after transmitting the user equipment context suspend response message, andwherein the first paging message is not used by the third node to trigger a random access procedure.14.The first node of claim 13,wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination further cause the first node to transmit fifth information to the fourth node,wherein the fifth information includes at least one of:an ID of an access network user equipment,count value related information,a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), andan Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) related information.15.The first node of claim 13,wherein the instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in any combination further cause the first node to receive second information from the fourth node,wherein the second information includes at least one of:ID information related to the first node,ID information related to the second node,service information, andfootprint information.

Images