Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: if a PCI of a first cell is not comprised in a neighbor cell list of a WAB node, generating a first request, the first request being used for requesting information of the first cell, and the information of the first cell including a CGI of the first cell; and sending the first request to an access network device serving the WAB node. The method can improve the probability of a WAB-gNB in a WAB node discovering a neighbor cell.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411069437.0, filed on August 5, 2024, entitled "Communication method and communication apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the development of communication technology, a relay node can be deployed on a mobile device (e.g., a vehicle) to move with the mobile device. The relay node accesses a macro station (an access network device, also referred to as a BH gNB or BH-RAN-NODE) through wireless backhaul to provide wireless coverage for terminal devices in the vehicle, overcoming the problem of poor wireless signals in the vehicle. In Rel-19, the above-mentioned relay node is referred to as a wireless access and backhaul (WAB) node, which includes an access network device and a mobile termination (MT). The access network device in the WAB node is also referred to as a WAB-gNB, and the MT in the WAB node is also referred to as a WAB-MT.

[0004] In order to be able to configure the adjacent cell relationship of a cell in time, an automatic neighbor relation (ANR) technology is proposed. ANR refers to: when the physical cell identity (PCI) of the adjacent cell reported by the terminal device is not included in the adjacent cell list, at this time the access network device considers that the cell reported by the terminal device is a missing adjacent cell, instructs the terminal device to stop the communication process currently being performed and performs measurement on the missing adjacent cell again and reports the information of the missing adjacent cell measured to the access network device. The measurement performed again is referred to as CGI measurement or reportCGI measurement. When the terminal device performs reportCGI measurement, it needs to receive the system information block 1 (SIB1) message of the missing adjacent cell to obtain the information of the missing adjacent cell from the SIB1 message, including the CGI information, tracking area code (TAC) information, and radio access network area code (RAN Area Code, RANAC) information of the missing adjacent cell.

[0005] However, in the scenario that the WAB node is deployed on a mobile device, the neighboring cell of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node will change frequently due to the movement of the WAB node, at this time, the terminal device under the WAB node may not be able to measure the CGI and other information of the missing neighboring cell, resulting in that the WAB-gNB in the WAB node cannot successfully discover the missing neighboring cell. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device to improve the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the missing neighboring cell.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node, comprising: generating a first request if a physical cell identifier (PCI) of a first cell is not contained in a neighboring cell list of the WAB node, the first request being used to request information of the first cell, the information of the first cell including a cell global identifier (CGI) of the first cell; and sending the first request to an access network device serving the WAB node.

[0008] The WAB node includes a WAB-gNB and a WAB-MT. For example, the communication method can be performed by the WAB-gNB in the WAB node.

[0009] The access network device serving the WAB node can also be interpreted as an access network device accessed by the WAB node, or an access network device connected by the WAB node. That is, the BH-RAN-NODE of the WAB node.

[0010] For example, the first request carries the PCI of the first cell and / or the frequency information of the first cell.

[0011] If the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighboring cell list, it can also be interpreted that the first cell is a missing neighboring cell of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node. Optionally, the first cell can also be referred to as the first neighboring cell or the first missing neighboring cell.

[0012] As can be understood, since the WAB node is located under the BH-RAN-NODE, the neighboring cell of the WAB node is also likely to be the neighboring cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, therefore, the WAB can first try to request the information of the first cell from the BH-RAN-NODE, if the first cell is also the neighboring cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, then the BH-RAN-NODE can directly send the information of the first cell to the WAB node, that is, at this time, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the neighboring cell of the first cell through the BH-RAN-NODE without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, the technical solution provided by the present embodiment helps to improve the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the first cell.

[0013] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving second information sent by the access network device in response to the first request, the second information including information of the first cell and / or information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0014] For example, the second information is sent by a BH-RAN-NODE of the WAB node to a WAB-gNB in the WAB node.

[0015] According to the technical solution, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the information of the missing neighboring cell (the first cell) with the assistance of the BH-RAN-NODE, without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the first cell is improved.

[0016] Optionally, the second information further includes transport network layer (TNL) address information of the access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the method further includes: starting, by a mobile terminal (MT) in the WAB node, a CGI measurement on the first cell, the CGI measurement being used to obtain the information of the first cell.

[0018] According to the technical solution, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the information of the first cell with the assistance of the CGI measurement performed by the WAB-MT, without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the neighboring cell is improved.

[0019] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation form of the first aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to instruct an MT in the WAB node to start a CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0020] The MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell, including:

[0021] According to the third information, the MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0022] That is, in the technical solution, the MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell according to the third information sent by the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0023] Optionally, the third information includes information indicating that the MT does not need to send the result of the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE (i.e., the access network device serving the WAB node).

[0024] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement on the first cell, including:

[0025] If the information fed back by the access network device in response to the first request is not received, the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0026] That is, in the technical solution, it can be considered that the WAB node triggers the MT in the WAB node to initiate the CGI measurement on the first cell when the WAB node does not receive the feedback of the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0027] Optionally, in the case that the WAB node triggers the MT in the WAB node to initiate the CGI measurement on the first cell when the WAB node does not receive the feedback of the BH-RAN-NODE, the method further includes: the WAB node sends fourth information to the BH-RAN-NODE, and the fourth information is used to indicate that the MT in the WAB node determines to initiate the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0028] Optionally, the fourth information includes information used to indicate a measurement duration when the terminal device performs the CGI measurement.

[0029] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: indicating one or more of the following to the access network device: information of the first cell, the first cell being a mobile cell.

[0030] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to an access network device serving a WAB node, including:

[0031] Receiving a first request, the first request being used to request information of a first cell, and the information of the first cell including a cell global identity (CGI) of the first cell.

[0032] The access network device serving the WAB node can also be interpreted as: an access network device accessed by the WAB node, or an access network device connected by the WAB node. That is, the BH-RAN-NODE of the WAB node.

[0033] It can be understood that, since the WAB node is located under the BH-RAN-NODE, the neighbor cell of the WAB node is also likely to be the neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, therefore, the WAB can first try to request the information of the first cell from the BH-RAN-NODE, if the first cell happens to be the neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, then the BH-RAN-NODE can directly send the information of the first cell to the WAB node, that is, at this time, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the neighbor cell of the first cell through the BH-RAN-NODE, without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, by means of the technical scheme provided in the embodiment, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the first cell can be improved.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first request includes a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell and / or a frequency of the first cell.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

[0036] sending, to the WAB node, second information in response to the first request, the second information including information of the first cell and / or information indicating that the first cell is a moving cell.

[0037] For example, the second information further includes one or more of the following: transport network layer (TNL) address information of an access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

[0039] sending, to the WAB node, third information in response to the first request, the third information being used to instruct an MT in the WAB node to start a CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0040] Optionally, the third information includes information indicating that the MT does not need to send a result of the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE (i.e., an access network device serving the WAB node).

[0041] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to an MT in a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node, including:

[0042] starting a CGI measurement of the first cell when a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell is not included in a neighbor cell list of an access network device in the WAB node, the CGI measurement being used to obtain information of the first cell;

[0043] sending, to the access network device in the WAB node, the information of the first cell obtained based on the CGI measurement.

[0044] By the technical solution, the CGI measurement performed by the WAB-MT can assist the WAB-gNB in the WAB node to obtain the information of the first cell without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, by the technical solution, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering a neighboring cell can be improved.

[0045] Optionally, the method further includes: indicating one or more of the following to the access network device in the WAB node: the information of the first cell, the first cell being a mobile cell.

[0046] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information being used to instruct the MT in the WAB node to start the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0047] Starting the CGI measurement on the first cell includes: starting the CGI measurement on the first cell according to the third information.

[0048] That is, in the technical solution, the MT in the WAB node triggers to start the CGI measurement on the first cell according to the third information sent by the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, starting the CGI measurement on the first cell includes: starting the CGI measurement on the first cell if the information fed back by the access network device of the serving WAB node in response to the first request is not received.

[0050] That is, in the technical solution, the MT in the WAB node can be considered to trigger to start the CGI measurement on the first cell when the MT in the WAB node does not receive the feedback of the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0051] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending fourth information to the access network device of the serving WAB node, the fourth information being used to instruct to determine to start the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: indicating one or more of the following to the access network device of the serving WAB node: the information of the first cell, the first cell being a mobile cell.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the MT in the WAB node sending the PCI of the first cell to the access network device in the WAB node.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an apparatus including a module or unit for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a module or unit for implementing the method in the second aspect, or a module or unit for implementing the method in the third aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can realize the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, including a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the second aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the third aspect to be implemented.

[0056] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, including a processing circuitry for processing data and / or information, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the second aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the third aspect to be implemented.

[0057] The processing circuitry can include one or more processors, or all or part of a circuitry for controlling or processing functions in the one or more processors.

[0058] Optionally, the apparatus can further include a memory for storing a program or instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the program or instructions, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the second aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the third aspect to be implemented.

[0059] Optionally, the apparatus can further include the transceiver circuitry, or an input / output interface.

[0060] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, including a processing circuitry for executing a program or instructions, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the second aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the implementation of the third aspect to be implemented.

[0061] Optionally, the chip can further include a memory for storing the program or instructions.

[0062] Optionally, the chip can further include the transceiver circuitry, or an input / output interface.

[0063] In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising one or more processors and communication circuitry configured to enable the apparatus to at least one of transmit or receive signals; and the one or more processors configured to implement a method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to implement a method according to the second aspect or the third aspect.

[0064] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a method according to the second aspect or the third aspect, to be performed.

[0065] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause a method according to the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or a method according to the second aspect or the third aspect, to be performed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0066] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by the present application;

[0067] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a WAB architecture provided by the present application;

[0068] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a signaling process of ANR;

[0069] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an open RAN architecture to which the communication method of the present application can be applied;

[0070] Fig. 5 is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Fig. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Fig. 7 is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method provided by yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Fig. 8 is a schematic flow diagram of a communication method provided by yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus provided by another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0077] Before introducing the communication method and related apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained first.

[0078] First, in the present application, the use of prefixes such as "first", "second", etc. is only for the convenience of distinguishing different things belonging to the same name category for description, and does not constrain the order, size or quantity of the things. For example, "first information" and "second information" are only different information, and there is no time sequence, size relationship or priority relationship between them.

[0079] Second, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The association relationship between the associated objects is described by "and / or", which means that there can be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but does not rule out the case that the associated objects before and after it represent an "and" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood in combination with the context. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0080] Third, in the present application, the indication includes direct indication (also known as explicit indication) and indirect indication (also known as implicit indication). Among them, directly indicating information A means including the information A; indirectly indicating information A can mean indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and directly indicating information B; or indicating information A through a preset rule that can be used to determine A according to B and directly indicating information B. Where the correspondence between information A and information B and the preset rule can be pre-defined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0081] Fourth, in the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, not limited to time, and does not require the device to have a judgment action when it is implemented. Also does not mean that there are other limitations.

[0082] Fifth, for the convenience of understanding, the method provided by the present application is described in the present application by means of a plurality of drawings, which are only examples and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. For example, the order of the steps shown in the drawings can be simply changed according to their functions and internal logic; for another example, the steps in the drawings can be executed in whole or in part, as long as the same function as in the embodiments of the present application can be achieved.

[0083] Sixth, in the present application, the words "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" are used to represent an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the words "example", "exemplarily", "for example" or "such as" are intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner.

[0084] 1. Intra-frequency measurement

[0085] It means that the cell where the terminal device is currently located (i.e. the serving cell) and the cell to be measured are on the same carrier frequency (center frequency).

[0086] 2. Inter-frequency measurement

[0087] It means that the cell where the terminal device is currently located (i.e. the serving cell) and the cell to be measured are not on the same carrier frequency (center frequency).

[0088] 3. Serving cell and neighbor cell

[0089] The serving cell (Serving cell) is the cell where the terminal device is connected to the network, and the neighbor cell refers to other cells adjacent to the serving cell where the terminal device is located on the network.

[0090] 4. Measurement gap

[0091] If the terminal device needs to perform inter-frequency measurement, one way is to install 2 kinds of radio frequency receivers in the terminal device to measure the current serving cell and the cell to be measured respectively, but this will bring about the problems of cost increase and mutual interference between different frequencies. Therefore, the measurement gap (gap) is proposed, which is to reserve a part of time (i.e. measurement gap time) for the terminal device to perform inter-frequency measurement, and during this period of time, the access network device will not schedule the terminal device. After the measurement gap time, the terminal device returns to the frequency of the serving cell to report the measurement results.

[0092] With the development of communication technology, a relay node can be deployed on a mobile device to follow the mobile device to provide wireless coverage to terminal devices within the mobile device to overcome the problem of poor wireless signals of terminal devices within the mobile device. Here, the mobile device may, for example, be a vehicle, and can even be an airplane, etc.

[0093] For example, taking the mobile device as a vehicle, Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a vehicle mounted relay (VMR) scenario to which the present application can be applied. As shown in Fig. 1, a relay node is deployed on a vehicle, user equipment (UE) within the vehicle accesses the relay node, and the relay node accesses a macro station (access network device, also referred to as BH gNB or BH-RAN-NODE) through wireless backhaul to provide wireless coverage to terminal devices within the vehicle to overcome the problem of poor wireless signals within the vehicle.

[0094] The user equipment can also be referred to as an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile equipment, a user terminal, a wireless telecom equipment, a user agent, a user equipment, or a user device. Hereinafter, a terminal device is taken as an example for description. The terminal device can be a device providing voice and / or data connectivity for a user, such as a handheld device having wireless connection capability, a vehicle-mounted device, or the like. Currently, some examples of the terminal are: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), and the like, and the present embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0095] By way of example and without limitation, the terminal device can also be an IoT node. IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect things with networks through communication technology, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and interconnection. Connection can be through broadband technology or through narrowband technology. IoT technology can achieve mass connection, deep coverage and terminal power saving through, for example, narrowband (NB) technology. IoT technology includes reflective communication technology, spread spectrum technology, ultra wide band (UWB) and the like, and will not be described here.

[0096] By way of example and without limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be called a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that can be directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a powerful function realized through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes a full function, large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as a smart watch or smart glasses, and only focuses on a certain application function and needs to cooperate with other devices such as a smart phone, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device can be a terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal device or matched with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device for realizing the function of the terminal device is taken as an example for description, and the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is not limited.

[0098] The access network device involved in the embodiments of the present application is a device with wireless transceiving function. The access network device can provide wireless communication function service and can access terminal devices to a wireless network. The access network can also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) device or network device. The RAN device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) applied to a cellular network (or mobile network) to access terminal devices to a wireless network, and can also be a zig bee base station, a BT master, a BLE master, a Lora base station, and a Wi-Fi access point.

[0099] The RAN device can be, for example, a base station. The base station can be referred to in a broad sense as various names, or be replaced by various names, such as: Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), primary station, secondary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a device used to set up a communication module, modem, or chip in the foregoing devices or apparatuses. The base station can also be a mobile switching center, a device assuming a base station function in D2D, V2X, M2M communication, a network side device in a future communication network, a device assuming a base station function in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Alternatively, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0100] In some deployments, a plurality of RAN nodes cooperate to assist terminals to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a RU, etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as an RRU, an AAU, or an RRH.

[0101] The RAN node can support one or more types of fronthaul interface, different fronthaul interfaces respectively corresponding to DUs and RUs having different functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is a common public radio interface (CPRI), the DU is configured to implement one or more of the baseband functions, and the RU is configured to implement one or more of the radio frequency functions. If the fronthaul interface between the DU and the RU is another interface, relative to the CPRI, part of the baseband functions of the downlink and / or uplink, such as, for the downlink, one or more of precoding, digital beamforming (BF), or inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) / add cyclic prefix (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation, and for the uplink, one or more of digital beamforming (BF), or fast Fourier transform (FFT) / remove cyclic prefix (CP), are moved from the DU to the RU for implementation. In a possible implementation, the interface can be an enhanced common public radio interface (eCPRI). Under the eCPRI architecture, the split between the DU and the RU is different, corresponding to different categories (Cat) of eCPRI, such as eCPRI Cat A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0102] In a possible design, the processing unit in the BBU for implementing the baseband function is referred to as a base band high (BBH) unit, and the processing unit in the RRU / AAU / RRH for implementing the baseband function is referred to as a base band low (BBL) unit.

[0103] It should be understood that the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU can also have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open-RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0104] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device; or can be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The device can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device. In the embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the function of the network device is taken as an example for description, and the scheme of the embodiments of the present application is not limited in this way.

[0105] The network device in the present application can be a hardware device, or a software function running on a special hardware, or a software function running on a general hardware, or a virtualized device, such as a general hardware and an instantiated virtualization function, or a special hardware and an instantiated virtualization function. The general hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

[0106] In Rel-19, the above-mentioned relay node is referred to as a wireless access and backhaul (WAB) node.

[0107] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an architecture of a WAB. As shown in FIG. 2, the WAB node includes a WAB-gNB and a WAB-MT, which can provide gNB functions and mobile termination (MT) functions. A UE accesses the WAB-gNB through a Uu port, and then the WAB-MT wraps the data packet of the UE in a protocol data unit (PDU) session of the MT, and transmits the data packet through the Uu port of the WAB-MT, through a gNB (referred to as a BH-RAN-NODE in the current protocol, which can be understood as an access network device serving the MT) connected to the WAB-MT, and all the way to a UPF (referred to as a BH UPF in the current protocol) of the WAB-MT. Then the BH UPF removes the header information related to the WAB-MT, exposes the header information related to the UE, and sends the data packet to a user plane function (UPF) of the UE according to an internet protocol (IP) routing. Logically, a PDU Session is also established between the UE and the UPF of the UE, but it is transmitted in the PDU Session of the WAB-MT.

[0108] In the WAB, the UE data is directly packed in the PDU Session of the MT. In the WAB-MT backhaul process, these data are all regarded as the user plane data of the WAB-MT itself. After the data reaches the BH-RAN-NODE through the data radio bearer (DRB) of the WAB-MT, the BH-RAN-NODE can only see the data of the WAB-MT, but not the data of the UE. Until the WAB-MT related packet header information is removed and the UE related packet header information is exposed after being sent to the UPF of the WAB-MT, the data is forwarded to the UPF of the UE. The above illustrates how the UE transmits user plane data to the UPF. The control plane transmission between the WAB-gNB and the AMF is similar. The control plane transmission is also wrapped in the PDU Session of the MT and forwarded to the AMF of the WAB-gNB by the UPF of the WAB-MT through IP routing.

[0109] In addition, the WAB-gNB can also establish a logical Xn interface with the BH-RAN-NODE and other gNBs nearby. The Xn interface is an interface between base stations and is mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover. The transmission mode of data on the Xn interface (taking the WAB-gNB sending data to the BH-RAN-NODE as an example) is that the WAB-gNB first sends the data to the BH-RAN-NODE through the BH-RAN-NODE via the Uu interface of the WAB-MT, and then the BH UPF of the WAB-MT forwards the data to the BH-RAN-NODE through IP routing. As can be seen, this causes data to detour. Since the BH-RAN-NODE cannot analyze the application layer of the WAB-MT data, it cannot identify that this is Xn interface data sent to it, and can only send all the data to the UPF of the MT first. Even if some Xn data is sent to the BH-RAN-NODE, it will also be sent to the UPF of the MT first, and then forwarded back to the BH-RAN-NODE by the UPF of the MT through IP routing.

[0110] The introduction of the Xn interface, the N2 interface, the N3 interface, and the N6 interface, as well as the introduction of the access and mobility management function (AMF) and the user plane function (UPF), can refer to the description in the related art, which will not be described here.

[0111] Currently, in the operation and maintenance of a network, an automatic neighbor relation (ANR) technology can be used. The process is roughly as follows: first, a terminal device measures a synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB) of a neighbor cell to perform measurement reporting, and the measurement report carries physical cell identity (PCI) information of the neighbor cell; if an access network device receives the PCI of the neighbor cell and finds that the PCI is not maintained in a neighbor cell list, the access network device considers that the neighbor cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell, and causes the terminal device to stop a current ongoing communication process and perform measurement again (the measurement is referred to as cell global identity (CGI) measurement or reportCGI measurement). In the reportCGI measurement, the terminal device needs to receive a system information block 1 (SIB1) message of the neighbor cell, and the SIB1 message includes CGI, a tracking area code (TAC), a radio access network area code (RANAC), and other information of the neighbor cell, and the terminal device reports the information to the access network device in a measurement report. The main advantage of the ANR is that the network can automatically discover a neighbor relation with the assistance of the terminal device, and manual configuration is reduced. A signaling flow of the entire process is shown in FIG. 3, and the signaling flow includes the following steps.

[0112] Step 1: An access network device sends a report neighbor request (Report Neighbor Request) to a terminal device to request the terminal device to measure a neighbor cell.

[0113] Step 2: The terminal device measures an SSB of the neighbor cell, and sends a report neighbor response (Report Neighbor Response) to the access network device to report a measured PCI of the neighbor cell.

[0114] For example, the terminal device measures the PCI of the neighbor cell to be 5, and reports the PCI 5 to the access network device through the report neighbor response.

[0115] Step 3: After the access network device receives the PCI of the neighbor cell, the access network device finds that the PCI of the neighbor cell is not maintained in a neighbor cell list, and sends a report CGI request (Report CGI Request) to the terminal device to request the terminal device to perform reportCGI measurement on the misconfigured neighbor cell and report a measurement result.

[0116] The access network device maintains a neighbor cell list (NCL) recording at least one PCI of a cell. When the access network device finds that the PCI of the neighbor cell reported by the terminal device is not in the neighbor cell list maintained by the access network device, the access network device considers that the neighbor cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell, and instructs the terminal device to perform a reportCGI measurement on the misconfigured neighbor cell and report the measurement result through a Report CGI Request. For example, the Report CGI Request carries the PCI of the misconfigured neighbor cell.

[0117] Step 4: The terminal device performs a reportCGI measurement and reads the SIB1 of the neighbor cell to obtain information of the neighbor cell.

[0118] During the reportCGI measurement of the terminal device, the access network device does not mobilize the terminal device. Alternatively, the access network device carries an indication of useAutonomousGaps-r16 = setup, and after the terminal device receives the indication, the terminal device autonomously starts the reportCGI measurement.

[0119] It can be understood that in the reportCGI measurement, the terminal device needs to ensure that it can read the SIB1 of the neighbor cell. Since the base station to which the neighbor cell belongs has not interacted with the base station to which the serving cell belongs about the SSB configuration of the neighbor cell, and the base station to which the serving cell belongs does not know how large a measurement gap needs to be configured for the terminal device to ensure that the terminal device can read the SIB1 of the neighbor cell, therefore in the reportCGI measurement, the terminal device autonomously determines the time to start the reportCGI measurement, that is, the terminal device autonomously determines the time to start the measurement gap.

[0120] Step 5: After the reportCGI measurement is completed, the terminal device returns to the frequency of the serving cell and reports the information of the neighbor cell in the measurement report to the access network device.

[0121] For example, the terminal device reports the information of the neighbor cell to the base station to which the serving cell belongs in a CGI-Info NR information element. Taking the PCI = 5 of the misconfigured neighbor cell in step 2 as an example, after the terminal device performs the reportCGI measurement, the terminal device obtains the CGI = XXX2 of the neighbor cell with the PCI = 5, and then the terminal device can include the CGI = XXX2 in the measurement report.

[0122] It should be noted that although CGI-InfoNR is called "CGI information", it not only includes the CGI information of the neighboring cell, but also includes all information in the PLMN-IdentityInfoList information element broadcast in the SIB1 of the neighboring cell, such as the TAC, the PLMN identity list, the RANAC of the neighboring cell, in addition to the CGI of the neighboring cell.

[0123] Correspondingly, after the base station to which the serving cell belongs receives the neighboring cell information, a new entry is added in the NCL, and the neighboring cell information is added. At this time, the base station to which the serving cell belongs can establish an Xn interface with the base station to which the missing neighboring cell belongs. For example, the process of establishing an Xn interface includes: the base station to which the serving cell belongs determines the ID of the base station to which the missing neighboring cell belongs based on the information in the CGI-InfoNR, sends an NG message to the AMF, carries its own IP address and the ID of the base station to which the neighboring cell belongs, and requests the IP address of the base station to which the neighboring cell belongs through the AMF. After the IP address interaction is completed, the base station to which the serving cell belongs can establish an Xn interface with the base station to which the missing neighboring cell belongs.

[0124] It can be seen that the current ANR technology depends on the terminal device being able to measure the missing neighboring cell, and the terminal device being able to successfully read the SIB1 of the missing neighboring cell. However, in the scenario where the WAB node is deployed on a mobile device, due to the movement of the WAB node, the neighboring cells of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node will change frequently. At this time, the terminal device under the WAB node may not be able to measure the CGI and other information of the neighboring cell. For example, during the time when the cell under the WAB-gNB where the terminal device is located and the cell under the other base station become neighboring cells, the terminal device under the WAB node is not located in the overlapping range of the two cells, or during the measurement of the SIB1 of the neighboring cell, due to the relative movement of the cell under the WAB-gNB where the terminal device is located and the measured neighboring cell, the terminal device leaves the overlapping area of the two cells and cannot successfully measure the SIB1 of the neighboring cell. Further, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node cannot successfully discover the neighboring cell, and thus cannot implement interference management of the neighboring cell and establish an Xn interface with the base station to which the neighboring cell belongs, further leading to problems such as failure of the terminal device to switch.

[0125] Therefore, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and related apparatus to improve the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the neighboring cell.

[0126] Before introducing the communication method provided by the present application, an open RAN architecture to which the present application can be applied is introduced. As shown in FIG. 4, the architecture includes:

[0127] RIC: O-RAN intelligent controller, used to collect network information and perform necessary optimization tasks, which communicates with gNB-CU, gNB-DU through E2 interface, that is, O-RIC can directly control gNB-DU;

[0128] gNB-CU: gNB-CU supporting O-RAN function, including BH-RAN-NODE-CU and WAB-CU;

[0129] gNB-DU: gNB-DU supporting O-RAN function, including BH-RAN-NODE-CU and WAB-DU.

[0130] The RIC can send an E2 message to the WAB-gNB-CU or the WAB-gNB-DU. The E2 interface is also a logical interface, and the implementation is similar to the Xn interface. The RIC communicates with the MT through the UPF of the MT, so as to interact with the WAB-gNB to exchange E2 information.

[0131] Next, the communication method and related devices provided by the present application will be described in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings.

[0132] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The following describes each step in the method 500 in detail.

[0133] S510, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list of the WAB node.

[0134] In the embodiment, the WAB node includes an access network device and an MT. In the present application, the access network device in the WAB node is also referred to as a WAB-gNB, and the MT in the WAB node is also referred to as a WAB-MT. The WAB-gNB and the WAB-MT are described with reference to the description in the foregoing, which will not be described here.

[0135] It can be understood that the neighbor cell list of the WAB node in the embodiment refers to the neighbor cell list maintained by the WAB-gNB in the WAB node. The neighbor cell list includes at least one PCI, and each PCI corresponds to a cell.

[0136] In the embodiment, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list can be determined by the WAB-gNB in the WAB node.

[0137] For example, in one implementation, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list by: the WAB-gNB in the WAB node receiving a measurement result sent by the terminal device to the WAB-gNB through the Uu interface, the measurement result carrying the PCI of the first cell; and the WAB-gNB in the WAB node determining that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list based on the PCI of the first cell sent by the terminal device and the neighbor cell list, i.e., the first cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell.

[0138] For another example, since the WAB-MT in the WAB node also performs measurements in the connected state as a UE, in another implementation, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list based on the measurement result of the WAB-MT. For example, the WAB-MT sends the PCI of the first cell to the WAB-gNB after measuring the PCI of the first cell, and the WAB-gNB determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list based on the PCI of the first cell measured by the WAB-MT and the neighbor cell list, i.e., the first cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell. The first cell is also referred to as the first neighbor cell or the first misconfigured neighbor cell.

[0139] For another example, the system information of a cell broadcasts some information for assisting terminal devices in the idle / inactive state to perform cell reselection, including the intra-frequency neighbor cell information indicated in the SIB3 message, the inter-frequency neighbor cell information indicated in the SIB4 message, and the inter-system neighbor cell information indicated in the SIB5 message, which can also be received by terminal devices in the connected state. Therefore, in another implementation, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list by: the WAB node determining that the PCI or frequency of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list of the WAB-gNB based on the PCI and / or frequency information of the first cell heard by the WAB-MT in the SIB3 / 4 / 5 of the serving cell. For example, the WAB-MT sends the PCI and / or frequency information of the first cell heard in the SIB3 / 4 / 5 of the serving cell to the WAB-gNB through an internal interface, and the WAB-gNB determines that the PCI or frequency of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list based on the PCI and / or frequency information of the first cell heard by the WAB-MT in the SIB3 / 4 / 5 of the serving cell and the neighbor cell list.

[0140] In S520, the WAB node sends a first request to the access network device of the serving WAB node, and the first request is used to request information of the first cell, and the information of the first cell includes the CGI of the first cell.

[0141] In this embodiment, after the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list, the WAB node generates a first request and sends the first request to the access network device of the serving WAB node.

[0142] The access network equipment serving the WAB node can also be interpreted as: the access network equipment to which the WAB node accesses, or the access network equipment to which the WAB node connects. The access network equipment serving the WAB node is also the BH-RAN-NODE described above.

[0143] Specifically, the WAB node sends a first request to the access network device serving the WAB node, which can be done by the WAB-gNB in ​​the WAB node sending the first request to the access network device serving the WAB node.

[0144] For example, the first request carries the PCI and / or frequency information of the first cell to indicate to BH-RAN-NODE which cell the first cell is being requested.

[0145] For example, the information of the first cell includes information from existing CGI-InfoNR cells. A detailed description of CGI-InfoNR cells can be found in the preceding text and related technical descriptions, and will not be repeated here.

[0146] Optionally, in one implementation, after the WAB-gNB determines that the PCI of the first cell is not included in the neighbor cell list, the WAB-gNB sends a first request to the BH-RAN-NODE through the Xn interface. That is, the WAB-gNB sends the first request to the BH-RAN-NODE based on the Xn message.

[0147] Optionally, in another implementation, after the WAB-gNB determines that the PCI of the first cell is not included in the neighbor cell list, the WAB-gNB sends the first request to the BH-RAN-NODE via the WAB-MT. That is, the WAB-MT sends the first request to the BH-RAN-NODE based on an RRC message.

[0148] Understandably, since the WAB node is located under the BH-RAN-NODE, its neighboring cells are highly likely to be neighboring cells of the BH-RAN-NODE as well. Therefore, the WAB can first attempt to request information about the first cell from the BH-RAN-NODE. If the first cell happens to be a neighboring cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, then the BH-RAN-NODE can directly send the information of the first cell to the WAB node. That is, the WAB-gNB in ​​the WAB node can obtain the neighboring cells of the first cell through the BH-RAN-NODE without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, the technical solution provided in this embodiment helps to improve the probability of the WAB-gNB in ​​the WAB node discovering the first cell.

[0149] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, based on the method 500 shown in FIG. 5, if the first cell is a neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, the method 500 further includes S530:

[0150] S530. The BH-RAN-NODE sends second information to the WAB node in response to the first request, wherein the second information includes information of the first cell and / or information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0151] For example, when the second information includes information of the first cell, the information of the first cell included in the second information is information in an existing CGI-InfoNR information element.

[0152] It can be understood that if the first cell is a neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, the PLMN corresponding to the first cell is the same as the PLMN of the cells under the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0153] Specifically, the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to the WAB node in response to the first request means that the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to a WAB-gNB in the WAB node in response to the first request.

[0154] In an implementation manner, the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to the WAB-gNB in the WAB node through an Xn interface. That is, the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to the WAB-gNB in the WAB node through an Xn message.

[0155] In another implementation manner, the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to a WAB-MT, and the WAB-MT forwards the second information to the WAB-gNB through an internal interface after receiving the second information. That is, the BH-RAN-NODE sends the second information to the WAB-MT in the WAB node through an RRC message.

[0156] Optionally, the second information can further include transport network layer (TNL) address information of an access network device to which the first cell belongs, so that after the WAB-gNB receives the TNL address, the WAB-gNB can directly initiate establishment of an Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs, without the WAB-gNB requesting a core network to establish the Xn interface between the WAB-gNB and the access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0157] Optionally, if the first cell is a mobile cell, for example, the first cell is a cell under another WAB node, the first cell can be a mobile cell at this time, and the second information can include information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell. Optionally, when the WAB-gNB in the WAB node receives the information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell, the WAB-gNB determines not to establish an Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0158] Optionally, when the BH-RAN-NODE determines that the first cell is a mobile cell, the second information can not include the information of the first cell, and the second information can include information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell. Optionally, the information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell can also be replaced by indication information rejecting or not providing the information of the first cell, or the second information can simultaneously include the information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell and the indication information rejecting or not providing the information of the first cell, so that the WAB-gNB receiving the information determines not to maintain the neighboring cell relationship with the first cell and / or not to establish an Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0159] Optionally, when the BH-RAN-NODE determines that the first cell is a mobile cell, the second information is not sent, and S530 does not exist. The WAB-gNB determines not to maintain the neighboring cell relationship with the first cell and / or not to establish an Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs based on not receiving the second information.

[0160] In an implementation manner, the BH-RAN-NODE can obtain that the first cell is a mobile cell by interacting with the access network device to which the first cell belongs on an Xn interface.

[0161] It can be seen that in the embodiment provided in this Figure 5, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the information of the first cell through the BH-RAN-NODE without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, through the technical solution provided in this embodiment, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the neighboring cell can be improved. When the WAB obtains the information that the first cell is a mobile cell through the BH-RAN-NODE, or obtains the information rejecting or not providing the information of the first cell, or does not receive the information of the first cell, the neighboring cell relationship with the first cell can not be maintained and / or the Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs can not be established, which can avoid that the relative motion speed of two WAB nodes is too fast to cause the neighboring cell relationship and / or the Xn interface to be frequently updated, and reduce the signaling overhead.

[0162] Figure 7 is a flowchart of a communication method provided by another embodiment of the application. The following describes each step in the method 700 in detail.

[0163] As shown in FIG. 7, the method 700 includes the following steps.

[0164] S710, the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list of the WAB node.

[0165] The detailed description of this step can refer to the implementation manner of S510 in the embodiment of FIG. 5, which is not described herein again.

[0166] S720, the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0167] In this embodiment, the CGI measurement is also referred to as reportCGI measurement, which is used to measure the information of the first cell.

[0168] Specifically, after the WAB-MT starts the CGI measurement of the first cell, the SIB1 of the first cell is read to obtain the information of the first cell.

[0169] Optionally, in the first implementation manner, the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement of the first cell, including that the WAB-MT determines to start the CGI measurement of the first cell by itself. For example, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node determines that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list, the WAB-gNB indicates the WAB-MT that the PCI of the first cell is not contained in the neighbor cell list, that is, the WAB-gNB indicates the WAB-MT that the first cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell, at this time, the WAB-MT determines to start the CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0170] Optionally, in this embodiment, the method 700 can further include S710-a: the WAB-gNB in the WAB node sends a first request to the BH-RAN-NODE. The related description of the first request can refer to the description in the embodiment of FIG. 5, which is not described herein again.

[0171] Optionally, in the second implementation manner, after the BH-RAN-NODE receives the first request and determines that the first cell is not a neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, the method 700 can further include S710-b: the BH-RAN-NODE sends third information to the WAB-MT in the WAB node, the third information being used to indicate the WAB-MT in the WAB node to start the CGI measurement of the first cell. Correspondingly, the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement of the first cell, including that the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement of the first cell according to the third information. The third information can also be referred to as Report CGI Request information.

[0172] It can be understood that if the PLMN corresponding to the first cell and the PLMN of the cell under the BH-RAN-NODE are different, the BH-RAN-NODE considers that the first cell is not a neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0173] The third information may also be referred to as Report CGI Request information.

[0174] It can be understood that the second implementation step S710-b is triggered by the step S710-a, and the step S710-a is sent because the measured first cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell of the WAB-gNB, and is not because the first cell is a misconfigured neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE. It can be that the first cell is not a neighbor cell of the BH-RAN-NODE at all. Therefore, optionally, the third information can further include indication information for indicating that the WAB-MT does not need to send the information of the first cell obtained after the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE. That is, the BH-RAN-NODE indicates to the WAB-MT through the third information that although the WAB-MT has started the Report CGI measurement, the information of the first cell obtained through the Report CGI measurement is not needed by the BH-RAN-NODE, and the WAB-MT does not need to report to the BH-RAN-NODE after the measurement.

[0175] Optionally, when the WAB-gNB in the WAB node sends the first request to the BH-RAN-NODE, in the third implementation, the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell, including: if the feedback of the BH-RAN-NODE in response to the first request is not received, the MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell. For example, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node does not receive the feedback of the BH-RAN-NODE within a time length 1 after the WAB-gNB sends the first request to the BH-RAN-NODE, and at this time, the WAB-MT in the WAB node starts the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0176] Optionally, based on the third implementation, i.e. the case that the WAB-MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell based on the fact that no feedback is received from the BH-RAN-NODE in response to the first request, the method 700 can further comprise: S710-c: the WAB-MT in the WAB node can further indicate to the BH-RAN-NODE that the WAB-MT is going to initiate the CGI measurement of the first cell, and optionally, further carry the indication information of the autonomous measurement gap or the value of T321 (the value of the self-set measurement gap) for indicating to the BH-RAN-NODE that the WAB-MT is going to perform the measurement of the CGI info, and the duration of the measurement gap is how long, and the WAB-MT is not scheduled in this period of time.

[0177] S730, the WAB-MT sends the information of the first cell to the WAB-gNB.

[0178] Optionally, the WAB-MT further sends the information of the first cell to the BH-RAN-NODE. Alternatively, the WAB-MT determines not to send the information of the first cell to the BH-RAN-NODE. For example, the third information received by the WAB-MT can further comprise the indication information for indicating that the WAB-MT does not need to send the information of the first cell obtained after performing the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE, and the WAB-MT determines not to send the information of the first cell to the BH-RAN-NODE based on the indication.

[0179] Optionally, the WAB-MT itself determines whether to send the information of the first cell obtained after performing the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE.

[0180] Optionally, the WAB-MT can indicate to the WAB-gNB and / or the BH-RAN-NODE that the first cell is a mobile cell. If the first cell is a mobile cell, the first cell will broadcast in the SIB1 that it is a mobile cell, and thus the WAB-MT can know whether the first cell is a mobile cell after receiving the SIB1 of the first cell.

[0181] Optionally, after the WAB-MT determines that the first cell is a mobile cell, it is determined not to send information of the first cell to the WAB-gNB and / or the BH-RAN-NODE. Optionally, the WAB-MT can send indication information that the first cell is a mobile cell to the WAB-gNB and / or the BH-RAN-NODE. Optionally, the indication information that the first cell is a mobile cell can be replaced by indication information that the first cell's information is refused to be provided or is not provided, or the indication information that the first cell is a mobile cell and the indication information that the first cell's information is refused to be provided or is not provided are included simultaneously. Based on the indication information that the first cell is a mobile cell or the indication information that the first cell's information is refused to be provided or is not provided, or the information of the first cell is not received, the WAB-gNB or the BH-RAN-NODE determines not to maintain the neighboring cell relationship with the first cell and / or not to establish an Xn interface with the access network device to which the first cell belongs, so as to avoid the WAB moving too fast to cause the neighboring cell relationship and / or the Xn interface to be updated frequently, and reduce the signaling overhead.

[0182] It can be seen that, in the embodiment, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the information of the first cell through the CGI measurement performed by the WAB-MT, without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, by using the technical solution provided in the embodiment, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering a neighboring cell can be improved.

[0183] FIG. 8 is an embodiment under an O-RAN architecture provided in the application. Under the O-RAN architecture, as shown in FIG. 8, the method 800 includes:

[0184] Step 1: The BH-RAN-NODE-CU or the BH-RAN-NODE-DU reports the cell information in its control range to the RIC having an E2 interface with it through the E2 interface. The cell information at least includes the content in the current CGI-InfoNR information element, and optionally further includes indication information that the cell is a mobile cell.

[0185] Step 2: The WAB-gNB determines that the first cell is a missing neighboring cell.

[0186] The specific implementation of this step can refer to the description in S410 in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and will not be described here.

[0187] Step 3: After the WAB-gNB determines that the measured first cell is a missing neighboring cell, the WAB-gNB-CU or the WAB-gNB-DU requests the information of the first cell from the RIC through an E2 message, carrying the PCI and / or frequency information of the first cell.

[0188] The description of the information of the first cell can refer to the description in the foregoing description, and will not be described here.

[0189] Step 4: The RIC sends the information of the first cell to the WAB-gNB-CU or WAB-gNB-DU through an E2 message.

[0190] For example, the information of the first cell includes the information in the existing CGI-InfoNR information element.

[0191] Optionally, the TNL address of the access network device to which the first cell belongs is also carried. This part of the detailed description can refer to the description in the foregoing, and will not be described here.

[0192] Optionally, if the first cell is a mobile cell, the RIC also indicates to the WAB-gNB-CU or WAB-gNB-DU through the E2 message that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0193] The transmission method of the embodiments of the application is described in detail above, and the transmission apparatus provided by the embodiments of the application will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

[0194] FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the application. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus 900 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902.

[0195] For example, in an embodiment, the apparatus 900 is applied to a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node, and includes:

[0196] The processing module 901 is configured to: if a physical cell identifier (PCI) of a first cell is not contained in a neighbor cell list of the WAB node, generate a first request, the first request being used to request information of the first cell, the information of the first cell including a cell global identifier (CGI) of the first cell.

[0197] The transceiver module 902 is configured to: send the first request to an access network device of a serving WAB node.

[0198] Optionally, the first request includes the PCI of the first cell and / or a frequency of the first cell.

[0199] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is further configured to: receive second information sent by the access network device in response to the first request, the second information including the information of the first cell and / or information used to indicate that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0200] Optionally, the second information further includes transport network layer (TNL) address information of the access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0201] Optionally, the processing module 901 is further configured to: a mobile terminal (MT) in the WAB node starts a CGI measurement on the first cell, and the CGI measurement is used to obtain the information of the first cell.

[0202] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is further configured to receive third information, the third information being used to instruct a mobile terminal (MT) in the WAB node to start a CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0203] The processing module 901 is further configured to instruct the MT in the WAB node to start the CGI measurement on the first cell according to the third information.

[0204] The processing module 901 is further configured to instruct the MT in the WAB node to start the CGI measurement on the first cell if no information is received from the access network device in response to the first request.

[0205] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is further configured to send fourth information to the access network device, the fourth information being used to instruct the MT in the WAB node to determine to start the CGI measurement on the first cell.

[0206] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is further configured to indicate one or more of the following to the access network device: information of the first cell, the first cell being a moving cell.

[0207] In a second embodiment, the apparatus 900 can be applied to an access network device serving a WAB node, in particular:

[0208] The transceiver 902 is configured to receive a first request, the first request being used to request information of a first cell, the information of the first cell including a cell global identity (CGI) of the first cell.

[0209] The access network device serving the WAB node can also be interpreted as an access network device accessed by the WAB node, or an access network device connected by the WAB node. That is, a BH-RAN-NODE of the WAB node.

[0210] As can be understood, since the WAB node is located under the BH-RAN-NODE, the neighboring cells of the WAB node are likely to be the neighboring cells of the BH-RAN-NODE, and therefore, the WAB can first attempt to request the information of the first cell from the BH-RAN-NODE, and if the first cell happens to be a neighboring cell of the BH-RAN-NODE, the BH-RAN-NODE can directly send the information of the first cell to the WAB node, that is, the WAB-gNB in the WAB node can obtain the neighboring cells of the first cell through the BH-RAN-NODE without relying on the terminal device. Therefore, through the technical solution provided in this embodiment, the probability of the WAB-gNB in the WAB node discovering the neighboring cells can be improved.

[0211] Optionally, the first request includes a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell and / or a frequency of the first cell.

[0212] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is configured to send, to the WAB node, second information in response to the first request, the second information comprising information of the first cell and / or information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0213] Optionally, the second information further comprises transport network layer (TNL) address information of an access network device to which the first cell belongs.

[0214] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is configured to send, to the WAB node, third information in response to the first request, the third information indicating that the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0215] Optionally, the third information comprises information indicating that the MT does not need to send the result of the CGI measurement to the BH-RAN-NODE (i.e., the access network device serving the WAB node).

[0216] In a third embodiment, the apparatus 900 can be applied to an MT in a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node, comprising:

[0217] The processing module 901 is configured to initiate a CGI measurement of the first cell when a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell is not contained in a neighbor cell list of an access network device in the WAB node, the CGI measurement being used to obtain information of the first cell.

[0218] The transceiver 902 is configured to send, to the access network device in the WAB node, the information of the first cell obtained based on the CGI measurement.

[0219] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is configured to indicate to the access network device in the WAB node one or more of the following: the information of the first cell, and that the first cell is a mobile cell.

[0220] The transceiver 902 is configured to receive third information, the third information indicating that the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0221] The processing module 901 is further configured to initiate the CGI measurement of the first cell according to the third information.

[0222] Optionally, the processing module 901 is further configured to initiate the CGI measurement of the first cell if no information is received from the access network device serving the WAB node in response to the first request.

[0223] Optionally, the transceiver 902 is configured to send, to the access network device serving the WAB node, fourth information, the fourth information indicating that it is determined to initiate the CGI measurement of the first cell.

[0224] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is configured to indicate one or more of the following to the access network device serving the WAB node: information of the first cell, the first cell being a moving cell.

[0225] Optionally, the transceiver module 902 is configured to send, by the MT in the WAB node, the PCI of the first cell to the access network device in the WAB node.

[0226] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus shown in FIG. 10 can be used to execute the method described in any one of the preceding embodiments.

[0227] As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment includes a memory 1001 and a processor 1002. In an implementation, the apparatus 1000 further includes a communication interface 1003 and a bus 1004. The memory 1001, the processor 1002 and the communication interface 1003 are communicatively connected with each other through the bus 1004.

[0228] The memory 1001 can be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1001 can store a program, and when the program stored in the memory 1001 is executed by the processor 1002, the processor 1002 is configured to execute each step of the method shown in FIGS. 5-7.

[0229] The processor 1002 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or one or more integrated circuits, configured to execute related programs to implement the method shown in FIGS. 5-7.

[0230] The processor 1002 can also be an integrated circuit chip with a processing capability of signals. In the implementation process, each step of the method shown in FIG. 5 can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware or the instruction in the form of software in the processor 1002.

[0231] The processor 1002 can also be 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 device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be a conventional processor.

[0232] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware code processing executed by a code processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processor. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 1001, and the processor 1002 reads the information in the memory 1001, and combines the hardware to complete the functions required by the units included in the device of the present application, for example, each step / function of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-7 can be executed.

[0233] The communication interface 1003 can use, but is not limited to, a transceiver such as a transceiver to realize the communication between the device 1000 and other devices or communication networks.

[0234] The bus 1004 can include a path for transmitting information between various components (for example, the memory 1001, the processor 1002, the communication interface 1003) of the device 1000.

[0235] It should be understood that the device 1000 shown in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, or can also be a chip configured in an electronic device. The device 1000 can be deployed in a terminal device, or can also be deployed in a network device.

[0236] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be a computer-accessible medium or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes one or more available medium collections. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state disk.

[0237] It should be understood that the term "and / or" herein merely describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it, but it can also represent an "and / or" relationship. The specific meaning can be understood according to the context before and after it.

[0238] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0239] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of the above-described processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to their functions and inherent logic, and should not constitute a limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0240] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0241] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0242] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0243] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0244] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0245] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The application is applied to a wireless access backhaul (WAB) node, comprising: if a physical cell identifier (PCI) of a first cell is not contained in a neighbor cell list of the WAB node, generating a first request for requesting information of the first cell, wherein the information of the first cell comprises a cell global identifier (CGI) of the first cell; sending the first request to an access network device serving the WAB node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first request comprises a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first cell and / or a frequency of the first cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: receiving second information sent by the access network device in response to the first request, wherein the second information comprises the information of the first cell and / or information indicating that the first cell is a mobile cell.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The second information further comprises transport network layer (TNL) address information of an access network device to which the first cell belongs.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further comprises: a mobile terminal (MT) in the WAB node initiates a CGI measurement of the first cell, wherein the CGI measurement is used to obtain the information of the first cell.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving third information for indicating that the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell; the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell, comprising: According to the third information, the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein, The MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell, comprising: if no information fed back by the access network device in response to the first request is received, the MT in the WAB node initiates the CGI measurement of the first cell.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: sending fourth information to the access network device, wherein the fourth information is used to indicate that the MT in the WAB node determines to initiate the CGI measurement of the first cell.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that, The method further comprises: indicating one or more of the following to the access network device: the information of the first cell, and that the first cell is a mobile cell.

10. A communications device, characterized by comprising a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A communications device, characterized by comprising: a processor, the processor is configured to enable the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 by executing a computer program and / or by a logic circuit.

12. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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