Communication method and system, and related device

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a communication method and system, and a related device. The method comprises: a first satellite network device determining SSB distribution periods respectively corresponding to a plurality of beam footprints[CY1.1] of the first satellite network device, wherein the plurality of beam footprints include a first beam footprint and a second beam footprint, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the first beam footprint is less than the SSB distribution period corresponding to the second beam footprint, and a UE density of the first beam footprint is greater than a UE density of the second beam footprint; and then, on the basis of the SSB distribution periods respectively corresponding to the plurality of beam footprints, the first satellite network device sending SSBs to the plurality of beam footprints, wherein the SSBs are used by UEs to access the first satellite network device. A relatively long SSB distribution period is used for a beam footprint having a relatively small UE density, and thus SSBs can be sent, within one SSB distribution period, to other beam footprints having relatively small UE densities, thereby covering more beam footprints, and improving the coverage rate.

Description

Communication method, system and related device

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411397744.1 filed on September 30, 2024, and entitled "Communication method, system and related device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] Currently, satellite network devices (such as satellites, etc.) can periodically activate multiple beams to transmit synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs), so that user equipment (UE) located in the beam footprint can synchronize with the satellite network device and access the satellite network device in the time domain according to the received SSBs.

[0004] Taking a low earth orbit satellite with a height of 600 km from the ground as an example, in actual application, in the case that the minimum elevation angle of the satellite is 30° and the radius of each beam coverage area owned by the satellite is 25 km, the satellite can have 1058 beam coverage areas. However, due to the limitation of the power of the satellite payload, the satellite cannot activate all beams to transmit SSBs at the same time, and at most can only activate 106 beams at the same time.

[0005] In this case, assuming that the SSB distribution period of the satellite is 20 ms and one SSB distribution period includes 4 SSB transmission occasions, the satellite can only cover 424 beam coverage areas in one SSB distribution period, and the coverage rate is low. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, system and related device, which aims to improve the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

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

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a first satellite network device, the method comprising: determining, by the first satellite network device, SSB (synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block) distribution periods corresponding to a plurality of beam coverage areas respectively possessed by the first satellite network device, the SSB distribution period being a period of transmitting SSBs to a beam coverage area, for example, for a first beam coverage area and a second beam coverage area included in the plurality of beam coverage areas, the first satellite network device can determine SSB distribution periods corresponding to the first beam coverage area and the second beam coverage area respectively, such as the SSB distribution period corresponding to the first beam coverage area being less than the SSB distribution period corresponding to the second beam coverage area; in addition, the UE density corresponding to the first beam coverage area is greater than the UE density corresponding to the second beam coverage area, the UE density can represent the number distribution of UEs in the beam coverage area; then, the first satellite network device can transmit SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, the SSBs being used for UEs to access the first satellite network device, for example, the first satellite network device transmits SSBs to the first beam coverage area based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to the first beam coverage area, so that the UEs in the first beam coverage area can access the first satellite network device based on the SSBs, and the first satellite network device can also transmit SSBs to the second beam coverage area based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to the second beam coverage area, so that the UEs in the second beam coverage area can access the first satellite network device based on the SSBs.

[0009] Since the first satellite network device can determine that the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, for example, the first beam coverage area with a larger UE density has a shorter SSB distribution period, and the second beam coverage area with a smaller UE density has a longer SSB distribution period, therefore, in the same time, the first beam coverage area uses a shorter SSB distribution period, and can send multiple SSBs, while the second beam coverage area uses a longer SSB distribution period, and can reduce the number of SSBs sent in the beam coverage area. For example, assuming that the SSB distribution period of the first beam coverage area is 20 ms, and the SSB distribution period of the second beam coverage area is 80 ms, in the same 80 ms, the first satellite network device can send 4 SSBs to the first beam coverage area, and only send 1 SSB to the second beam coverage area. In this way, for the first beam coverage area with a larger UE density, a shorter SSB distribution period is used, which helps to reduce the access delay of the UE in the first beam coverage area, and provides more access opportunities for the UE in the first beam coverage area in the same time, so that the UE in the first beam coverage area can access the first satellite network device as much as possible. For the second beam coverage area with a smaller UE density, a longer SSB distribution period is used, which can send SSBs to other beam coverage areas with a smaller UE density in one SSB distribution period, thereby covering more beam coverage areas and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0010] In a possible implementation, when determining the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, the first satellite network device can first determine the UE density indicators of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, where the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area can represent the UE density of each beam coverage area. Then, the first satellite network device can determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area. In this way, the first satellite network device can independently determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas with different UE densities, and can control the number of times the first satellite network device sends SSBs to the beam coverage areas with different UE densities in the same time, which helps to improve the coverage rate of the beam coverage area while reducing the access delay of the UE in the beam coverage area.

[0011] In a possible implementation, when determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area, the first satellite network device can specifically determine the category to which each beam coverage area belongs based on the UE density represented by the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area, and then determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the category to which each beam coverage area belongs. Since the categories to which the plurality of beam coverage areas belong respectively include a first category and a second category, the UE density of the beam coverage area belonging to the first category is greater than the UE density of the beam coverage area belonging to the second category, and the first SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to the first category is less than the second SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to the second category. Therefore, in the same time, the first satellite network device can send multiple SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to the first category with greater UE density using a shorter SSB distribution period, which helps to reduce the access delay of multiple UEs in this type of beam coverage area and provide more access opportunities for UEs in this type of beam coverage area in the same time, so that the UEs can access the first satellite network device as much as possible. While the first satellite network device uses a longer SSB distribution period, the number of times of sending SSBs to each beam coverage area belonging to the second category with smaller UE density can be reduced, which helps to send SSBs to other beam coverage areas with the same smaller UE density in one SSB distribution period, thereby covering more beam coverage areas and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage areas. In a possible implementation, the UE density represented by the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area can be inversely related to the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area. That is, the greater the UE density of a beam coverage area, the shorter the corresponding SSB distribution period; the smaller the UE density of a beam coverage area, the longer the corresponding SSB distribution period. In this way, in the same time, the first satellite network device can send multiple SSBs to the beam coverage area with greater UE density using a shorter SSB distribution period, which helps to reduce the access delay of multiple UEs in this type of beam coverage area and provide more access opportunities for UEs in this type of beam coverage area in the same time, so that the UEs can access the first satellite network device as much as possible. While the first satellite network device uses a longer SSB distribution period, the number of times of sending SSBs to each beam coverage area with smaller UE density can be reduced, which helps to send SSBs to other beam coverage areas with the same smaller UE density in one SSB distribution period, thereby covering more beam coverage areas and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage areas.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the categories to which all the beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device respectively belong include a plurality of categories, and the plurality of categories include a first category and a second category. The category to which the first beam coverage area belongs is the first category, and the category to which the second beam coverage area belongs is the second category. Accordingly, when the first satellite network device sends SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, the first satellite network device can specifically determine a first quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category, and determine a second quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category, where the sum of the quantity of beams required by all the beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device is less than the upper limit of the quantity of beams provided by the first satellite network device; then, the first satellite network device can send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category based on the first quantity and the first SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category, and send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category based on the second quantity and the second SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category. In this way, the first satellite network device can use as few beams as possible to send SSBs under the premise that all the beam coverage areas owned by the first satellite network device are covered by signals, thereby saving a part of the beams to perform data transmission services and improving the performance of the communication system.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first SSB distribution period includes a third quantity of SSB transmission occasions, and the second SSB distribution period includes a fourth quantity of SSB transmission occasions. Accordingly, when the first satellite network device determines the first quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category, the first satellite network device can specifically first obtain the quantity of beam coverage areas belonging to the first category, and then determine the first quantity according to the quotient of the quantity of beam coverage areas belonging to the first category and the third quantity. Similarly, when the first satellite network device determines the second quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category, the first satellite network device can specifically first obtain the quantity of beam coverage areas belonging to the second category, and then determine the second quantity according to the quotient of the quantity of beam coverage areas belonging to the second category and the fourth quantity. In this way, the first satellite network device can use all the SSB transmission occasions in one SSB distribution period to send SSBs, so as to reduce the total quantity of beams used, thereby saving beam resources as much as possible, enabling the remaining unused beams to perform data transmission services, and improving the performance of the communication system.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the categories to which all the beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device respectively belong include a plurality of categories, the plurality of categories include a target category and other categories, the target category is a category to which a beam coverage area corresponding to a longest SSB distribution period among all the beam coverage areas belongs, and the other categories are categories to which beam coverage areas other than the beam coverage area corresponding to the longest SSB distribution period among all the beam coverage areas belong. Accordingly, when the first satellite network device sends SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, the first satellite network device can first determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories, and further determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category as an upper limit of the number of beams provided by the first satellite network device minus the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories; then, the first satellite network device can send SSBs to the other beam coverage areas based on the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories and SSB distribution periods corresponding to the other beam coverage areas, and send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category based on the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category and the longest SSB distribution period. In this way, the first satellite network device can use all the beams activated at the same time to send SSBs, so as to send SSBs as early as possible by using as many beams as possible, thereby reducing the access delay of the UE. Moreover, the first satellite network device sends SSBs as early as possible, and there can be a remaining SSB transmission opportunity within the SSB distribution period, so that this part of time-frequency resources can be saved to perform data transmission services, thereby improving the performance of the communication system.

[0015] In a possible implementation, when determining the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories and the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category, the first satellite network device can first obtain the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories, and then determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories according to a quotient of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories and the number of SSB transmission opportunities in the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories, and finally determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category according to a difference between the upper limit of the number of beams and the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories. In this way, the first satellite network device can use all the beams it can provide when sending SSBs to beam coverage areas of different categories, so as to send SSBs as early as possible by using as many beams as possible, which helps to reduce the access delay of the UE.

[0016] In a possible implementation, when determining the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) distribution period corresponding to each of the plurality of beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device, the first satellite network device can specifically first acquire a first correspondence relationship between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each of the plurality of beam coverage areas; then, the first satellite network device can query the first correspondence relationship to determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each of the plurality of beam coverage areas. In this way, the satellite network can quickly and accurately obtain the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area by querying the first correspondence relationship, thereby reducing the calculation pressure and reducing the consumption of computing resources.

[0017] In a possible implementation, when determining the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, the first satellite network device can specifically first acquire a second correspondence relationship between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the UE density indicator corresponding to each of the plurality of beam coverage areas; then, the first satellite network device can query the second correspondence relationship to determine the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas. In this way, the first satellite network device can quickly and accurately obtain the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area by querying the second correspondence relationship, without the need for the first satellite network device to additionally perform calculation, thereby helping to reduce the calculation pressure and reduce the consumption of computing resources.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area is a received historical UE density indicator, which is used to indicate the historical UE density of each first beam coverage area. In this way, the first satellite network device can directly use the received historical UE density indicator as the UE density indicator of the corresponding beam coverage area, without the need for the first satellite network device to additionally perform calculation, thereby helping to reduce the calculation pressure and improve the reliability of the communication system.

[0019] In a possible implementation, when determining the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, the first satellite network device can specifically first acquire the number of requests received from the UE in each beam coverage area, and determine the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area based on the number of requests. In this way, the first satellite network device can directly and accurately determine the UE density indicator of the corresponding beam coverage area by referring to the number of requests of the UE.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a user equipment (UE), and includes: determining, by the UE, a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) distribution period corresponding to a beam coverage area in which the UE is located; scanning, by the UE, for an SSB in the beam coverage area in which the UE is located based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located; and accessing, by the UE, a first satellite network device according to the SSB.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located is an SSB scanning period of a satellite network device that the UE has accessed historically. In this way, the UE does not need to determine the SSB distribution period repeatedly, which helps to improve scanning efficiency, so that the UE can access the first satellite network device quickly.

[0022] In a possible implementation, when determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located, the UE can determine, based on a condition that an SSB is not scanned based on a first preset period, that the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located is a second preset period, where the second preset period is greater than the first preset period. Then, when scanning, by the UE, for the SSB in the beam coverage area in which the UE is located based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located, the UE can scan for the SSB based on the second preset period. In this way, when the UE accesses the first satellite network device for the first time, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located can also be determined gradually in a blind scanning manner, so that the UE can access the first satellite network device.

[0023] In a possible implementation, when determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located, the UE can first acquire a third correspondence relationship between a plurality of beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device and a plurality of SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively, and then query the third correspondence relationship to determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located. In this way, the UE can quickly and accurately obtain the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area by querying the third correspondence relationship, so that the UE does not need to determine the SSB distribution period repeatedly, which helps to improve scanning efficiency, so that the UE can access the first satellite network device quickly.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the UE can further send a request to the satellite network device to which the UE has historically accessed, in a historical access process, the request being used to determine a historical UE density indicator of a beam coverage area in which the UE is located, the historical UE density indicator being used to represent a historical UE density of the beam coverage area in which the UE is located; and the UE can send the determined historical UE density indicator to the first satellite network device, the historical UE density indicator being used by the first satellite network device to determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located. In this way, the UE can provide the historical UE density indicator of the beam coverage area in which the UE is located to the first satellite network device, so that the first satellite network device can directly determine the corresponding SSB distribution period based on the historical UE density indicator, and for the first satellite network device, the received historical UE density indicator can be directly used as the UE density indicator of the corresponding beam coverage area, without the need for the first satellite network device to additionally determine the UE density indicator of the beam coverage area, which helps to reduce the calculation pressure and improve the reliability of the communication system.

[0025] In a third aspect, the present application provides a satellite network device, comprising a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method provided in the first aspect or any of the implementation manners of the first aspect; and the processor is configured to perform the other operations in the method provided in the first aspect or any of the implementation manners of the first aspect, except the receiving operation and the sending operation.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a user equipment, comprising a transceiver and a processor; wherein the transceiver is configured to perform the receiving operation and the sending operation in the method provided in the second aspect or any of the implementation manners of the second aspect; and the processor is configured to perform the other operations in the method provided in the second aspect or any of the implementation manners of the second aspect, except the receiving operation and the sending operation.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a satellite network device and a user equipment. The satellite network device is configured to perform the method provided in the first aspect or any of the implementation manners of the first aspect, and the user equipment is configured to perform the method provided in the second aspect or any of the implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0028] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer storage medium, configured to store a computer program, the computer program being executed to implement the communication method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first aspect to the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication system;

[0030] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a satellite network device 1 sending SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas based on a unified SSB distribution period;

[0031] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 4 is a structural diagram illustrating another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG. 5 is a structural diagram illustrating an SSB burst set corresponding to an SSB distribution period according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of sending SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas using multiple beams according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of sending SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas using multiple beams according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 10 is a structural diagram illustrating a satellite network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 11 is a structural diagram illustrating a UE according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include both singular and plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and / or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0041] Reference within the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in some embodiments" in various places within specified

[0042] The plurality of embodiments of the present application refers to greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can it be understood as indicating or implying order.

[0043] The present application provides a communication system, which can be a fifth generation (5G) communication system or a 5G new radio (5G NR) system, and a new communication system in future communication development, etc. The communication system includes a plurality of devices, and different devices can transmit signals to each other to realize data interaction. For example, the plurality of devices included in the communication system can be a satellite network device and a UE, and the satellite network device can be a satellite or an aircraft, etc. Hereinafter, the communication system including the satellite network device and the UE is exemplarily described.

[0044] An example of the communication system is shown in FIG. 1, which includes a satellite network device 1 and n UEs, i.e., UE1 to UEn, and the n UEs can be located in different beam coverage areas. Wherein, n is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0045] In the embodiments provided by the present application, the satellite network device 1 can be any device with wireless transceiving function located on the network side, including but not limited to: a satellite or an aircraft in a non territorial network (NTN), etc., or other possible satellite network devices.

[0046] The UE in the communication system, such as the UE 1, can be various forms. For example, the UE can be a mobile phone, a Pad, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, 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 wearable terminal device, and the like. The UE can also be referred to as a terminal device, an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, an industrial control terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE apparatus, and the like. The terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0047] In actual application, as shown in FIG. 2, the satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas according to a unified SSB distribution period, so that the UEs in the multiple beam coverage areas access the satellite network device 1 based on the SSBs. Taking the UE 1 in the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the process that the satellite network device 1 sends SSBs to the beam coverage area 1 and makes the UE 1 access the satellite network device 1 can include the following steps.

[0048] S201: The satellite network device 1 acquires an SSB distribution period.

[0049] The SSB distribution period refers to a period adopted by the satellite network device 1 when sending SSBs.

[0050] Here, the SSB distribution period acquired by the satellite network device 1 can be predefined in a standard communication protocol, which can be, for example, a new radio-non terrestrial network (NR-NRN) or the like. Thus, the satellite network device 1 can determine the period adopted for subsequent SSB sending based on the standard communication protocol. In actual application scenarios, the SSB distribution period can be predefined as 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms.

[0051] In other embodiments, the satellite network device 1 can also obtain the SSB distribution period in other manners, such as the SSB distribution period can be pre-configured by an operator, etc.

[0052] S202: The satellite network device 1 sends the SSB to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the SSB distribution period.

[0053] As mentioned above, due to the power limit of the payload of the satellite network device 1, the satellite network device 1 cannot actually activate all the beams to send the SSB at the same time, for example, the satellite network device 1 can only activate at most 106 beams to send the SSB at the same time. For the convenience of understanding and description, it is assumed in this embodiment that the satellite network device 1 can activate at most 106 beams to send the SSB at the same time for example.

[0054] As an example, if the SSB distribution period is 20 ms and one SSB distribution period includes 4 SSB transmission occasions, then within every 20 ms, the satellite network device 1 can use the activated 106 beams to send the SSB to 424 (106*4=424) beam coverage areas, i.e., only 424 beam coverage areas are covered, and there are 634 beam coverage areas that are not covered.

[0055] As another example, if the SSB distribution period is 80 ms and one SSB distribution period includes 16 SSB transmission occasions, then within every 80 ms, the satellite network device 1 can use the activated 106 beams to send the SSB to 1696 (106*16=1696) beam coverage areas, and thus, all the beam coverage areas owned by the satellite network device 1 can be covered.

[0056] S203: The UE 1 scans to obtain the SSB.

[0057] After the satellite network device 1 sends the SSB to the beam coverage area 1 based on the SSB distribution period, the UE 1 in the beam coverage area 1 scans according to the SSB distribution period mentioned above, and thus, the SSB can be obtained.

[0058] S204: The UE 1 accesses the satellite network device 1 according to the SSB.

[0059] As can be seen, in an actual application scenario, if the SSB distribution period is 20 ms, then the satellite network device 1 can only cover 424 beam coverage areas within one SSB distribution period, and the coverage rate is only 40% (424 / 1058=40%). If the SSB is sent with an SSB distribution period of 80 ms, the satellite network device 1 can cover 1058 beam coverage areas within one SSB distribution period, and the coverage rate is 100%.

[0060] That is, increasing the SSB distribution period can enable more SSB transmission occasions to be included in one SSB distribution period, so that the satellite network device 1 can cover more beam coverage areas in one SSB distribution period. However, as the SSB distribution period increases, the UEs in the beam coverage area need to wait and scan SSBs for a longer time, so the access delay of the UEs will significantly increase. For example, in the case of increasing the SSB distribution period from 20 ms to 80 ms, the access time of the UEs is delayed by 60 ms.

[0061] In this way, for a shorter SSB distribution period, although the access delay of the UEs can be shortened, the coverage rate of the beam coverage area will be lower, resulting in UEs in the beam coverage area that are not covered being unable to access the satellite network device 1. For a longer SSB distribution period, although the coverage rate of the beam coverage area can be improved, the access delay of the UEs will be higher, affecting the network transmission efficiency and user experience.

[0062] Based on this, the present application can provide a communication method for alleviating the problem of low coverage rate of the beam coverage area when the satellite network device 1 transmits SSBs, and further reducing the access delay of the UEs.

[0063] Specifically, in the communication system shown in FIG. 1, for a plurality of beam coverage areas (including beam coverage area 1 and beam coverage area 2) where n UEs are located, the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area. For example, the beam coverage area 1 can correspond to the SSB distribution period 1, and the beam coverage area 2 can correspond to the SSB distribution period 2. Wherein, the SSB distribution period 1 is longer than the SSB distribution period 2, and the UE density in the beam coverage area 1 is less than the UE density in the beam coverage area 2, that is, the total number of UEs (including UE 1) distributed in the beam coverage area 1 is less than the total number of UEs (including UE 2) distributed in the beam coverage area 2, or the number of UEs per unit area in the beam coverage area 1 is less than the number of UEs per unit area in the beam coverage area 2. Then, the satellite network device 1 can transmit SSBs to the beam coverage area 1 based on the SSB distribution period 1, and transmit SSBs to the beam coverage area 2 based on the SSB distribution period 2. In this way, the UE 1 located in the beam coverage area 1 and the UE 2 located in the beam coverage area 2 can access the satellite network device 1 when scanning the SSBs.

[0064] It can be seen that the satellite network device 1 can independently determine that the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas in which the n UEs are located are respectively as follows: the SSB distribution period 1 of the beam coverage area 1 with a smaller UE density is larger, and the SSB distribution period 2 of the beam coverage area 2 with a larger UE density is shorter. That is, the satellite network device 1 can determine the corresponding SSB distribution period according to the UE density of each beam coverage area. Therefore, in the same time, the satellite network device 1 can send multiple SSBs to the beam coverage area 2 using the shorter SSB distribution period 2, which helps to reduce the access delay of the plurality of UEs with a larger density in the beam coverage area 2, and provides more access opportunities for the UEs in the beam coverage area 2 in the same time, so that the UEs in the beam coverage area 2 can access the satellite network device 1 as much as possible. Using the longer SSB distribution period 1, the satellite network device 1 can reduce the number of times of sending SSBs to the beam coverage area 1, which helps to send SSBs to other beam coverage areas with a smaller UE density in one SSB distribution period, thereby covering more beam coverage areas and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0065] It should be noted that the above is an example of a communication system including one satellite network device, two beam coverage areas, and UEs respectively located in the two beam coverage areas. In other possible embodiments, the number of satellite network devices, the number of beam coverage areas, and the number of UEs can not be limited.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 3, a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. The communication method shown in FIG. 3 can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1, or can be applied to other possible communication systems. For ease of understanding and description, the following is an example of application to the communication system shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps:

[0067] S301: For the n UEs respectively located in the beam coverage area, the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0068] The SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area refers to the period used by the satellite network device 1 to send SSBs to each beam coverage area.

[0069] In this embodiment, the n UEs respectively located in the beam coverage area take the beam coverage area 1 and the beam coverage area 2 as an example. The satellite network device 1 can first determine the UE density index 1 of the beam coverage area 1 and the UE density index 2 of the beam coverage area 2.

[0070] The UE density indicator 1 can represent the UE density of the beam coverage area 1, and the UE density indicator 2 can represent the UE density of the beam coverage area 2. The UE density can represent the distribution of UEs in the beam coverage area, for example, the UE density is the total number of UEs in the beam coverage area, or the number of UEs distributed in each unit area in the beam coverage area.

[0071] In this embodiment, the representation of the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area is not specifically limited, for example, the specific numerical value of the UE density can be used for representation. Alternatively, words such as “high”, “medium” and “low” that can distinguish different densities can be used for representation.

[0072] As an example, the following several non-limiting implementation manners are provided to determine the UE density indicator of the beam coverage area.

[0073] In the first implementation example, the satellite network device 1 can obtain the correspondence between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the plurality of UE density indicators corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas. Then, the satellite network device 1 can determine the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area by querying the correspondence. In the specific implementation, the embodiment does not specifically limit the obtaining manner of the correspondence, for example, the correspondence can be pre-configured in the satellite network device 1 by the operator, or the satellite network device 1 can receive the correspondence sent by the ground device.

[0074] In addition, the correspondence can be identified by the relationship between the identifier of each beam coverage area and the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area, or by the relationship between the longitude and latitude information of each beam coverage area and the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area. The embodiment does not specifically limit the representation of the correspondence.

[0075] Further, the configuration process of the correspondence can first obtain the geographic environment information of each beam coverage area by the ground device or the operator, and then determine the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area based on the geographic environment information of each beam coverage area, so as to configure the correspondence between each beam coverage area and the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area.

[0076] Taking the correspondence between the beam coverage area 1 and the UE density indicator 1 as an example, the ground device or the operator can first obtain the geographic environment information of the beam coverage area 1, for example, the geographic environment information of the beam coverage area 1 can be determined according to the longitude and latitude information of the beam coverage area 1. The geographic environment information of the beam coverage area 1 can represent the geographic features or population density features of the beam coverage area 1, so that the ground device or the operator can determine the UE density indicator 1 based on the geographic features or population density features of the beam coverage area 1.

[0077] For example, the ground device or the operator can determine, according to the latitude and longitude information of the beam coverage area 1, that the geographical environment information of the beam coverage area 1 indicates that the beam coverage area 1 is a desert and has a low population density. Accordingly, since the population density of the desert is extremely low and the number of UEs is small, the ground device or the operator can accordingly determine the UE density indicator 1, such as the UE density indicator 1 indicating that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is “low”.

[0078] For another example, the ground device or the operator can determine, according to the latitude and longitude information of the beam coverage area 1, that the geographical environment information of the beam coverage area 1 indicates that the beam coverage area 1 is a city A and has a high population density. Accordingly, since the population density of the city A is high and the number of UEs is large, the ground device or the operator can accordingly determine the UE density indicator 1, such as the UE density indicator 1 indicating that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is “high”.

[0079] For another example, the ground device or the operator can determine, according to the latitude and longitude information of the beam coverage area 1, that the geographical environment information of the beam coverage area 1 indicates that the beam coverage area 1 is a city A and has a high population density. Accordingly, since the population density of the city A is high and the number of UEs is large, the ground device or the operator can accordingly determine the UE density indicator 1, such as the UE density indicator 1 indicating that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is “high”.

[0080] It should be noted that the above geographical environment information is only some possible implementation examples and is not used to limit. In other implementation examples, the geographical environment information of each beam coverage area can also be other types of geographical environment information.

[0081] In a second implementation example, the satellite network device 1 can obtain the number of requests received from UEs in each beam coverage area, and determine the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area based on the number of requests.

[0082] In a specific implementation, taking the determination of the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the UE in the beam coverage area 1 can first send a request to the satellite network device 1 respectively. The request can be an access request for requesting to access the satellite network device 1, or a service request for requesting to perform a service with the satellite network device 1.

[0083] Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can determine the number of requests received in the beam coverage area 1 in response to the requests of the UEs in the beam coverage area 1, so as to determine the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 according to the number of requests. For example, if each UE in the beam coverage area 1 sends only one request to the satellite network device 1, the satellite network device 1 can directly take the number of received requests as the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1, and determine the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1. For another example, if each UE in the beam coverage area 1 can send at least one request to the satellite network device 1, the satellite network device 1 can obtain the corresponding UE identifier, such as 5G Global Unique Temporary Identifier (5G-GUTI), from the received requests, so as to determine the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 according to the number of different UE identifiers, and further determine the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1.

[0084] Further, the embodiment can not be specifically limited to the process of determining the UE density indicator 1 according to the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1, which will be described below in combination with two examples.

[0085] As an example, the satellite network device 1 can directly determine the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 as the specific value of the UE density of the beam coverage area 1, and take it as the UE density indicator 1.

[0086] As another example, the satellite network device 1 can obtain the area of the beam coverage area 1, and further determine the number of UEs in the unit area of the beam coverage area 1 according to the quotient of the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 and the area. Then, the satellite network device can take the number of UEs in the unit area of the beam coverage area 1 as the specific value of the UE density of the beam coverage area 1, as the UE density indicator 1.

[0087] As another example, if the thresholds of the number of UEs corresponding to the "high", "medium" and "low" UE density are predefined in the standard communication protocol, the satellite network device 1 can directly determine the UE density indicator 1 according to the predefined thresholds of the number of UEs, in combination with the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 or the number of UEs per unit area of the beam coverage area 1. For example, taking the determination of the UE density indicator 1 in combination with the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 as an example, in the case that the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 is less than the threshold a, the satellite network device 1 can determine that the UE density indicator 1 is used to indicate that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is "low"; in the case that the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 is greater than the threshold a and less than the threshold b, the satellite network device 1 can determine that the UE density indicator 1 is used to indicate that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is "medium"; and in the case that the number of UEs in the beam coverage area 1 is greater than the threshold b, the satellite network device 1 can determine that the UE density indicator 1 is used to indicate that the UE density of the beam coverage area 1 is "high".

[0088] In a third implementation example, the UE density indicator of a beam coverage area can be a historical UE density indicator received by the satellite network device 1, and the historical UE density indicator can represent a historical UE density of the beam coverage area.

[0089] As an example implementation, taking the determination of the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1 as an example, in combination with FIG. 4, the communication system can include the satellite network device 1 and the satellite network device 2. Based on this, in actual application scenarios, the satellite network devices in the communication system can move relative to the earth, and therefore, if the coverage range of the satellite network device 2 originally includes the beam coverage area 1 and the beam coverage area 2, there can be a case that the satellite network device 2 no longer includes the beam coverage area 1 in its coverage range due to its own movement during the movement of the satellite network device 2. For this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the satellite network device 2 can send a historical UE density indicator of the beam coverage area 1 to the satellite network device 1 whose coverage range includes the beam coverage area 1. Accordingly, the satellite network device 1 can receive the historical UE density indicator of the beam coverage area 1 sent by the satellite network device 2, and the historical UE density indicator can represent a UE density of the beam coverage area 1 determined by the satellite network device 2 at a historical time, i.e., a historical UE density. Based on this, the satellite network device 1 can take the historical UE density indicator as the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1.

[0090] As another example implementation, taking the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the satellite network device 1 can receive the historical UE density indicator of the beam coverage area 1 sent by the UE 1. Still in combination with FIG. 4, the UE 1 can send a request to the satellite network device 2 when accessing the satellite network device 2 historically, and the request can be a request of the UE 1 to the satellite network device 2 to send the historical UE density indicator history of the beam coverage area 1 where the UE 1 is located, which represents the historical UE density of the beam coverage area 1. Accordingly, after the satellite network device 1 receives the historical UE density indicator, the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the historical UE density indicator.

[0091] In actual application, the satellite network device 1 can determine the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1 by using the above three implementation examples. In this way, for the satellite network device 1, obtaining the UE density indicator 1 from the satellite network device 2 can be regarded as a redundant implementation scheme, so that the satellite network device 1 can determine the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1 according to the information provided by other satellite network devices, thereby improving the reliability and fault tolerance of the communication system.

[0092] Similarly, based on at least one of the above three implementation examples of the UE density indicator, the satellite network device 1 can determine the UE density indicators of the beam coverage areas where the n UEs are located respectively.

[0093] Further, after determining the UE density indicator 1 and the UE density indicator 2, the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the UE density indicated by the UE density indicator 1, and determine the SSB distribution period 2 corresponding to the beam coverage area 2 based on the UE density indicated by the UE density indicator 2. In this way, in the case that the UE density indicator 1 and the UE density indicator 2 are different, the satellite network device 1 can determine the respective SSB distribution periods corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 and the beam coverage area 2 with different UE densities, so that the satellite network device 1 can control the number of times of sending SSBs to the beam coverage areas with different UE densities in the same time, which helps to improve the coverage of the beam coverage area while reducing the access delay of the UE in the beam coverage area.

[0094] In a possible implementation, taking the satellite network device 1 determining the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the satellite network device 1 can first determine the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs based on the UE density indicated by the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1.

[0095] For example, the satellite network device 1 can define a category corresponding to each UE density indicator according to the UE density indicator. For example, if three categories are defined according to the UE density indicator, the UE density indicator representing a high UE density can correspond to category 3, the UE density indicator representing a medium UE density can correspond to category 2, and the UE density indicator representing a low UE density can correspond to category 1. In this way, the satellite network device 1 can determine the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs based on the UE density indicator 1 and the above-defined categories.

[0096] It should be noted that, in addition to the three categories provided in the above example, other numbers of categories can be used to classify the beam coverage area, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0097] Alternatively, the satellite network device 1 can first determine the level of the beam coverage area 1, and then determine the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs based on the level of the beam coverage area 1. When the level of the beam coverage area 1 is represented by a numerical value, the UE density of the beam coverage area can be positively correlated with the level of the beam coverage area, that is, the greater the UE density, the greater the numerical value representing the level of the beam coverage area; the smaller the UE density, the smaller the numerical value representing the level of the beam coverage area. As an example, the satellite network device 1 can define multiple levels according to the UE density indicator, for example, if three levels are defined according to the UE density indicator, the beam coverage area corresponding to a high UE density has a level of 3, the beam coverage area corresponding to a medium UE density has a level of 2, and the beam coverage area corresponding to a low UE density has a level of 1. Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can determine the level of the beam coverage area 1 based on the UE density indicator 1 and the above-defined multiple levels.

[0098] It should be noted that, in addition to the three levels provided in the above example, other numbers of levels can be used to classify the UE density indicator of the beam coverage area, which is not limited in the present embodiment.

[0099] It can be understood that by determining the level of the beam coverage area, the multiple beam coverage areas can be classified into different levels, which is equivalent to classifying the multiple beam coverage areas. Therefore, the level of the beam coverage area can correspond to the category to which the beam coverage area belongs. For example, still taking the above-defined three levels as an example, the category corresponding to level 3 is category 3, the category corresponding to level 2 is category 2, and the category corresponding to level 1 is category 1. In this way, taking the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the satellite network device 1 can directly determine the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs based on the level of the beam coverage area 1.

[0100] In this way, after the satellite network device 1 determines the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs, the satellite network device 1 can further determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the determined category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs.

[0101] For example, the satellite network device 1 can pre-configure a corresponding SSB distribution period for each category. For example, the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1, and the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs and the pre-configured SSB distribution period.

[0102] For example, taking two categories as an example, the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 2 is 20 ms, and the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 1 is 80 ms. Since the UE density of the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 is higher, a relatively shorter SSB distribution period, such as 20 ms, is used, and multiple SSBs can be sent in the same time, thereby helping to reduce the UE access delay in the beam coverage area with higher UE density and providing more access opportunities in the same time, so that the UEs in the beam coverage area can access the satellite network device 1 as much as possible. The UE density of the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 is lower, and a relatively longer SSB distribution period, such as 80 ms, is used, so that the number of SSBs sent in the same time is reduced, thereby helping to send SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 in one SSB distribution period to cover more beam coverage areas and improve the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0103] For example, assuming that the categories of the beam coverage area include three categories, category 1, category 2, and category 3. Among them, the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 3 is 20 ms, the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 2 is 40 ms, and the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 1 is 80 ms. The satellite network device 1 can configure a shorter SSB distribution period, such as 20 ms, for the beam coverage area belonging to category 3, so as to send multiple SSBs in the same time, thereby helping to reduce the UE access delay in the beam coverage area with higher UE density and providing more access opportunities for the UEs in the beam coverage area belonging to category 3 in the same time, so that the UEs in the beam coverage area can access the satellite network device 1 as much as possible. The satellite network device 1 can configure a SSB distribution period higher than category 3, such as 40 ms, for the beam coverage area belonging to category 2. And the satellite network device 1 can configure a longer SSB distribution period, such as 80 ms, for the beam coverage area belonging to category 1, so as to reduce the number of SSBs sent in the same time, thereby helping to send SSBs to multiple beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 in one SSB distribution period to cover more beam coverage areas and improve the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0104] It should be noted that in addition to the two time lengths of SSB distribution periods provided by the above examples, other time lengths of SSB distribution periods allowed by standard communication protocols can also be used, and the present embodiment does not limit this.

[0105] Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can also determine the SSB distribution period 2 corresponding to the beam coverage area 2 based on the above manner. For other beam coverage areas where UEs are located, the satellite network device 1 can also determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in a similar manner, so as to realize that the satellite network device 1 transmits SSBs to beam coverage areas with different UE densities based on different SSB distribution periods, thereby improving the coverage of the beam coverage area while reducing the access delay of the UEs in the beam coverage area.

[0106] In another possible implementation, taking that the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 as an example, the satellite network device 1 can directly determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the UE density indicator 1 of the beam coverage area 1. In specific implementation, the satellite network device 1 can pre-configure the SSB distribution period corresponding to each UE density indicator according to the UE density indicator, so that the UE density indicated by the UE density indicator of each beam coverage area is inversely related to the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area. In this way, the higher the UE density indicated by the UE density indicator, the shorter the SSB distribution period; the lower the UE density indicated by the UE density, the longer the SSB distribution period. Based on this, the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 based on the category to which the beam coverage area 1 belongs and the pre-configured SSB distribution period.

[0107] For example, assuming that there are three UE density indicators, when the UE density indicator indicates a high UE density, the SSB distribution period corresponding thereto is 20 ms, when the UE density indicator indicates a medium UE density, the SSB distribution period corresponding thereto is 40 ms, and when the UE density indicator indicates a low UE density, the SSB distribution period corresponding thereto is 80 ms.

[0108] Correspondingly, for other beam coverage areas where UEs are located, the satellite network device 1 can also determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the other beam coverage areas in a similar manner.

[0109] In yet another possible implementation, the satellite network device 1 can acquire a correspondence between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the plurality of SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively; then, the satellite network device 1 can determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area by querying the correspondence. In a specific implementation, the present embodiment does not specifically limit the acquisition manner of the correspondence, for example, the correspondence can be preconfigured in the satellite network device 1 by an operator, or the satellite network device 1 can receive the correspondence sent by the ground device.

[0110] In addition, the correspondence can identify the relationship between the identifier of each beam coverage area and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area, or identify the relationship between the latitude and longitude information of each beam coverage area and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area, etc. The present embodiment does not specifically limit the representation form of the correspondence.

[0111] It should be noted that the configuration process of the correspondence can first acquire the UE density index of each beam coverage area by the ground device or the operator, and then determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area, so as to configure the correspondence between each beam coverage area and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area. For the process of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area by the ground device or the operator, reference can be made to the related content of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area by the satellite network device 1, which will not be described herein.

[0112] Similarly, based on at least one of the above three determination manners of the UE density index, the satellite network device 1 can determine the UE density index of the beam coverage area where the n UEs are located respectively.

[0113] S302: The satellite network device 1 sends an SSB to each beam coverage area based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0114] In actual application, at least one synchronization signal (SS) burst set can be included in one SSB distribution period, and one SS burst set can include multiple SSB transmission occasions. In combination with FIG. 5, a length of each radio frame is defined in a standard communication protocol as 10 ms, each radio frame includes 10 slots, one SS burst set is included in every two radio frames, and one SS burst set includes 4 SSB transmission occasions (SSB0-SSB4). Therefore, in the case of an SSB distribution period of 20 ms, one SSB distribution period can include one SS burst set and 4 SSB transmission occasions; and in the case of an SSB distribution period of 80 ms, one SSB distribution period can include 4 SS burst sets and 16 SSB transmission occasions. Specifically, in combination with FIG. 5, taking SSB transmission occasions in radio frames SFN0 and SFN1 as an example, SSB transmission occasions SSB0 and SSB1 in the two radio frames can be defined in the first two slots slot0 and slot1.

[0115] Based on this, the satellite network device 1 can transmit SSBs to the beam coverage areas corresponding to the determined SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period, to realize signal coverage.

[0116] For example, it is assumed that the satellite network device 1 has 1058 beam coverage areas defined in the standard communication protocol, and then, after classification of the multiple beam coverage areas, the sum of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category needs to be equal to 1058. On this basis, it is assumed that the UE density indicators of beam coverage areas 0 to 99 (100 beam coverage areas in total) represent a high UE density, and the beam coverage areas 0 to 99 belong to category 3, then the satellite network device 1 can determine that the SSB distribution period corresponding to these beam coverage areas is 20 ms; it is assumed that the UE density indicators of beam coverage areas 100 to 299 (200 beam coverage areas in total) represent a medium UE density, and the beam coverage areas 100 to 299 belong to category 2, then the satellite network device 1 can determine that the SSB distribution period corresponding to these beam coverage areas is 40 ms; it is assumed that the UE density indicators of beam coverage areas 300 to 1057 (758 beam coverage areas in total) represent a low UE density, and the beam coverage areas 300 to 1057 belong to category 1, then the satellite network device 1 can determine that the SSB distribution period corresponding to these beam coverage areas is 80 ms.

[0117] Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 3 based on 4 SSB transmission occasions provided every 20 ms, wherein the satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to different beam coverage areas at each SSB transmission occasion, and the beam coverage areas corresponding to the 4 different SSB transmission occasions are all different, thereby completing signal coverage of the 100 beam coverage areas belonging to category 3. The satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 based on 8 SSB transmission occasions provided every 40 ms, wherein the satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to different beam coverage areas at each SSB transmission occasion, and the beam coverage areas corresponding to the 8 different SSB transmission occasions are all different, thereby completing signal coverage of the 200 beam coverage areas belonging to category 2. The satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 based on 16 SSB transmission occasions provided every 80 ms, wherein the satellite network device 1 can send SSBs to different beam coverage areas at each SSB transmission occasion, and the beam coverage areas corresponding to the 16 different SSB transmission occasions are all different, thereby completing signal coverage of the 758 beam coverage areas belonging to category 1.

[0118] It should be noted that, in addition to the three categories and the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category provided in the above examples, the number of categories and the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category can also be other numbers, and the present embodiment does not limit this, as long as the sum of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category is equal to the total number of beam coverage areas possessed by the satellite network device.

[0119] S303: The n UEs scan the beam coverage areas in which the UEs are located respectively to obtain SSBs.

[0120] In actual application scenarios, the UEs in each beam coverage area can successfully scan the SSBs in the beam coverage area according to the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area or according to a period greater than the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area.

[0121] Based on this, in the flow, taking the SSB scanned by UE1 as an example, UE1 can first determine the SSB distribution period 1 of the beam coverage area 1 in which UE1 is located, and then scan based on the SSB distribution period 1 to obtain the SSBs in the beam coverage area 1.

[0122] In a possible implementation, if the UE 1 accesses the satellite network device 1 for the first time, the UE 1 can gradually determine the SSB distribution period 1 in a blind scan manner. Specifically, the UE 1 can first take a first preset period as the SSB distribution period 1, for example, the first preset period can be a default scan period predefined in a standard communication protocol, such as 20 ms. Accordingly, the UE 1 can perform scanning according to the first preset period. If the UE 1 obtains an SSB based on the first preset period scanning, the UE 1 can end the scanning and access the satellite network device 1 based on the obtained SSB; if the UE 1 does not scan to an SSB based on the first preset period, it indicates that the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 is not the first preset period, therefore, the UE 1 can further select a second preset period longer than the first preset period as the SSB distribution period 1 and perform scanning, for example, the second preset period is 40 ms. Based on this, if the UE 1 scans to an SSB based on the second preset period, the UE 1 can end the scanning and access the satellite network device 1 based on the obtained SSB; if the UE 1 does not scan to an SSB based on the second preset period, it indicates that the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1 is not the second preset period, the UE 1 needs to further select a longer preset period for scanning, for example, to perform scanning with 80 ms, to improve the probability of successful access of the UE 1 to the satellite network device 1.

[0123] Further, in this embodiment, the UE 1 can perform multiple scans according to each determined SSB distribution period 1, and in the case that no SSB is obtained in multiple scans, the SSB distribution period 1 is determined again. For example, the UE 1 can perform scanning according to the first preset period, and in the case that no SSB is obtained in two consecutive scans, the UE 1 can perform scanning according to the second preset period. The number of scans corresponding to each determined SSB distribution period 1 in this embodiment can not be specifically limited.

[0124] In another possible implementation, if the UE 1 has successfully accessed a satellite network device, the successfully accessed satellite network device can be the satellite network device 1 or other satellite network device in the communication system, the UE 1 can directly take the SSB scanning period when successfully accessing the satellite network device in a past time period as the SSB distribution period 1 of the beam coverage area 1, to perform scanning based on the SSB distribution period 1 and obtain the SSB in the beam coverage area 1. In this way, the UE 1 does not need to repeatedly determine the SSB distribution period 1, which helps to improve the scanning efficiency of the UE 1, so that the UE 1 can quickly access the satellite network device 1.

[0125] In another possible implementation, if the UE 1 has successfully accessed a satellite network device, the successfully accessed satellite network device can be the satellite network device 1 or other satellite network devices in the communication system, the UE 1 can send a request to the accessed satellite network device in the historical access process to request the accessed satellite network device to send a historical UE density index of the beam coverage area 1 where the UE 1 is located, and the historical UE density index can represent the historical UE density of the beam coverage area 1. Accordingly, the UE 1 can send the historical UE density index to the satellite network device 1 after determining the historical UE density index based on the request, and the historical UE density index can be used by the satellite network device 1 to determine the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area 1.

[0126] In another possible implementation, the UE 1 can obtain a correspondence between a plurality of beam coverage areas and a plurality of SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas, and then determine the SSB distribution period 1 of the beam coverage area 1 where the UE 1 is located by querying the correspondence. In a specific implementation, the correspondence can be pre-configured in the UE 1 by an operator, or the UE 1 can receive the correspondence sent by a ground device.

[0127] In addition, the correspondence can be identified by a relationship between an identifier of each beam coverage area and an SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area, or identified by a relationship between latitude and longitude information of each beam coverage area and an SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area, and the present embodiment does not specifically limit the representation form of the correspondence.

[0128] It should be noted that, in the configuration process of the correspondence, the ground device or the operator can first obtain a UE density index of each beam coverage area, and then determine an SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area, so as to configure the correspondence between each beam coverage area and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area. For the process of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area by the ground device or the operator, reference can be made to the related content of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area based on the UE density index of each beam coverage area by the satellite network device 1, which will not be described herein.

[0129] Accordingly, other UEs can scan the SSBs in the beam coverage area where the UEs are located based on at least one of the above-described manners, so as to access the satellite network device 1.

[0130] S304: The n UEs access the satellite network device 1 according to the SSBs scanned.

[0131] It is mentioned above in the related content of step S302 shown in FIG. 3 that the satellite network device 1 can specifically transmit SSBs to the beam coverage areas corresponding to the determined SSB distribution periods based on the determined SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution periods. Based on this, in actual application, under the premise that the satellite network device 1 can perform signal coverage on all the beam coverage areas it possesses, the satellite network device 1 can transmit SSBs by using as few beams as possible, thereby saving a part of beams to perform data transmission services and improving the performance of the communication system. Next, this is described in detail in combination with FIG. 6.

[0132] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of another communication method is shown. The communication method shown in FIG. 6 can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1 or can be applied to other possible communication systems. For the convenience of understanding and description, the following is described by taking the application to the communication system shown in FIG. 1 as an example. As shown in FIG. 6, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0133] S601: For the beam coverage areas in which the n UEs respectively reside, the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0134] The manner in which the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area can be referred to the description of the related content of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area in the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 3, which is not described herein.

[0135] S602: The satellite network device 1 determines the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each category, and the sum of the number of beams required by all the beam coverage areas is less than the upper limit of the number of beams provided by the satellite network device 1.

[0136] The upper limit X of the number of beams provided by the satellite network device 1 means the number of beams that the satellite network device 1 can activate at most at the same time. Assuming that the standard communication protocol defines that the satellite network device 1 can activate at most 106 beams at the same time, X is 106, that is, the sum of the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each category needs to be less than 106.

[0137] In addition, the sum of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category is equal to the total number of beam coverage areas possessed by the satellite network device. For example, assuming that the standard communication protocol defines that the satellite network device 1 possesses 1058 beam coverage areas, the sum of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each category needs to be equal to 1058.

[0138] In a specific implementation, taking the number X1 of beams required by the satellite network device 1 to determine the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 as an example, the satellite network device 1 can first obtain the number Y1 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 1. Here, since the satellite network device 1 can first determine the category to which each beam coverage area belongs in the process of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area, the satellite network device 1 can determine Y1 when the classification of each beam coverage area is completed.

[0139] Further, if the SSB distribution period 1 corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 includes A SSB transmission occasions, A is an integer greater than or equal to 1, then after obtaining Y1, the satellite network device 1 can determine X1 according to Y1 and A, that is, X1=Y1 / A. Since the satellite network device 1 determines X1 by using all the number (A) of SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period 1 for calculation, the satellite network device 1 can use as few beams as possible to send SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 for the beam coverage area belonging to category 1.

[0140] Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can also determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to other categories based on the above-mentioned manner, which will not be described here again, and only needs to make the sum of the number of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to each category less than the upper limit of the number of beams. In this way, the satellite network device 1 can finally save a part of activated beams to perform other services, thereby helping to improve the performance of the communication system.

[0141] S603: The satellite network device 1 sends SSBs to each beam coverage area based on the number of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to each category and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0142] In this flow, taking the satellite network device 1 sending SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 as an example, since the standard communication protocol defines A SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period, after determining the number X1 of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 and the SSB distribution period 1, the satellite network device 1 can use X1 activated beams to send SSBs to Y1 beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 by using A SSB transmission occasions.

[0143] Correspondingly, the satellite network device 1 can also send SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to other categories based on the above-mentioned manner, which will not be described here again.

[0144] For ease of understanding, the process of sending SSBs to n beam coverage areas where n UEs are located will be described below with reference to FIG. 7.

[0145] With reference to FIG. 7, taking the 1058 beam coverage areas possessed by the satellite network device 1 and the maximum 106 beams that can be activated by the satellite network device 1 at the same time as an example, it is assumed that the 100 beam coverage areas from the beam coverage area 0 to the beam coverage area 99 belong to category 3, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 20 ms; the 200 beam coverage areas from the beam coverage area 100 to the beam coverage area 299 belong to category 2, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 40 ms; and the 758 beam coverage areas from the beam coverage area 300 to the beam coverage area 1057 belong to category 1, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 80 ms.

[0146] Correspondingly, if the satellite network device 1 can provide 4 SSB transmission opportunities within 20 ms, then for the beam coverage areas belonging to category 3 (the beam coverage areas 0 to 99, a total of 100 beam coverage areas), the satellite network device 1 can use 25 beams (beams 0 to 24) to send SSBs to the 100 beam coverage areas within the corresponding SSB distribution period 20 ms, that is, to complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 3, 1 SSB can be sent every 20 ms.

[0147] And for the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 (the beam coverage areas 100 to 299, a total of 200 beam coverage areas), the satellite network device 1 can use 25 beams (beams 25 to 49) to send SSBs to the 200 beam coverage areas within the corresponding SSB distribution period 40 ms, that is, to complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 2, 1 SSB can be sent every 40 ms.

[0148] For the beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 (the beam coverage areas 300 to 1057, a total of 758 beam coverage areas), the satellite network device 1 can use 48 beams (beams 50 to 97) to send SSBs to the 758 beam coverage areas within the corresponding SSB distribution period 80 ms, that is, to complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 1, 1 SSB can be sent every 80 ms.

[0149] In this way, under the condition that the satellite network 1 can activate a maximum of 106 beams at the same time, there are still 8 (106-25-25-48=8) beams that are not used, and therefore the 8 beams can be used to perform data transmission services, thereby improving the performance of the communication system.

[0150] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, within the same 80 ms, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 3, the satellite network device 1 uses 25 beams to jointly transmit 4 SSBs; for each beam coverage area belonging to category 2, the satellite network device 1 uses 25 beams to jointly transmit 2 SSBs; and for each beam coverage area belonging to category 1, the satellite network device 1 uses 48 beams to jointly transmit 1 SSB. That is, within the same time, a shorter SSB distribution period can transmit multiple SSBs, and a longer SSB distribution period can reduce the number of SSB transmissions. Based on this, a beam coverage area with a larger UE density adopts a shorter SSB distribution period, which can reduce the access delay of the UE and provide more access opportunities within the same time, so that the UE in the beam coverage area can access the satellite network device 1 as much as possible; and a beam coverage area with a smaller UE density adopts a longer SSB distribution period, which helps to transmit SSBs to more beam coverage areas within the same time, thereby covering more beam coverage areas with smaller UE density and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0151] In addition, the proportion of the beam coverage area belonging to category 3 is 9.5% (100 / 1058=9.5%), the proportion of the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 is 19% (200 / 1058=19%), and the proportion of the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 is 71.5% (758 / 1058=71.5%). Therefore, the average SSB distribution period of the above 1058 beam coverage areas is 66.7 ms (9.5%*20 ms+19%*40 ms+71.5%*80 ms=66.7 ms), which is reduced by 13.3 ms compared with the SSB distribution period of 80 ms. It can be seen that, compared with the satellite network device 1 adopting a longer and unified SSB distribution period to increase the coverage rate, the satellite network device 1 determining different SSB distribution periods for beam coverage areas with different UE densities can further reduce the UE access delay, thereby helping to improve the user experience.

[0152] It should be noted that FIG. 7 only takes three categories of beam coverage areas as an example for description, and does not specifically limit the number of categories to which each beam coverage area belongs. In other implementation examples, the categories to which the beam coverage areas belong can also be other numbers.

[0153] S604: n UEs scan the beam coverage area in which each UE is located to obtain an SSB.

[0154] In this embodiment, the specific implementation of step S604 can be referred to the description of the related part of the foregoing embodiment, which is not described here.

[0155] S605: n UEs access the satellite network device 1 according to the SSB obtained by scanning.

[0156] In the embodiments shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the satellite network device 1 can transmit the SSB by using as few beams as possible. In other embodiments, the satellite network device 1 can transmit the SSB by using all beams that are activated at the same time, so as to transmit the SSB as early as possible by using as many beams as possible, and reduce the access delay of the UE. In addition, the satellite network device 1 transmits the SSB as early as possible, so that there can be a remaining SSB transmission opportunity in the SSB distribution period, thereby saving this part of time-frequency resources to perform data transmission service, and improving the performance of the communication system. Next, in combination with FIG. 8, the above will be described in detail.

[0157] Referring to FIG. 8, a flowchart of another communication method is shown. The communication method shown in FIG. 8 can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1, or can be applied to other possible communication systems. For the convenience of understanding and description, the following will be described by taking the application to the communication system shown in FIG. 1 as an example. As shown in FIG. 8, the flow of the communication method includes the following steps.

[0158] S801: For each beam coverage area in which the n UEs are located, the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0159] Wherein, the way in which the satellite network device 1 determines the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area can refer to the description of determining the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area in the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0160] S802: The satellite network device 1 determines the number of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to each category in all beam coverage areas, and the sum of the number of beams required by all beam coverage areas is equal to the upper limit of the number of beams provided by the satellite network device 1.

[0161] Wherein, the upper limit X of the number of beams provided by the satellite network device 1 refers to the maximum number of beams that can be activated by the satellite network device 1 at the same time. Assuming that the standard communication protocol defines that the satellite network device 1 can only activate 106 beams at the same time at most, then X is 106, that is, the sum of the number of beams required by all beam coverage areas needs to be equal to 106.

[0162] And assuming that the standard communication protocol defines that the satellite network device 1 has 1058 beam coverage areas, then the sum of the number of all beam coverage areas needs to be equal to 1058.

[0163] In a specific implementation, the satellite network device 1 can first determine the target category and the other categories from the categories to which all the beam coverage areas respectively belong. The target category refers to the category corresponding to the beam coverage area of the longest SSB distribution period. For example, taking the categories to which all the beam coverage areas respectively belong as category 1 and category 2, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 is 80 ms, and the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 is 20 ms. Then, the satellite network device 1 can determine that category 1 is the target category, and category 2 is the other category. For another example, taking the categories to which all the beam coverage areas respectively belong as category 1, category 2, and category 3, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 is 80 ms, the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 is 40 ms, and the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 3 is 20 ms. Then, the satellite network device 1 can determine that category 1 is the target category, and category 2 and category 3 are the other categories.

[0164] After determining the target category and the other categories, the satellite network device 1 can determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories, and further determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category. The number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category is the upper limit of the number of beams provided by the satellite network device 1 minus the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories.

[0165] As an example, in determining the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each category, the satellite network device can first obtain the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each other category. Taking the categories to which all the beam coverage areas respectively belong as only category 1 and category 2, the satellite network device 1 can first obtain the number Y2 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 2. Taking the categories to which all the beam coverage areas respectively belong as category 1, category 2, and category 3, the satellite network device 1 can obtain the number Y2 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 and the number Y3 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 3, respectively. The manner of obtaining the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each other category (such as Y2 and Y3) can be referred to the description of the related part of the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0166] Then, the satellite network device can first determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each other category according to the quotient of the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each other category and the number of SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to each other category, and then determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category according to the difference between the upper limit of the number of beams and the number of beam coverage areas belonging to each other category.

[0167] For example, taking the case that all the categories to which the beam coverage areas belong respectively include only category 1 and category 2, where category 1 is the target category and category 2 is the other category, if the SSB distribution period 2 corresponding to the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 includes B SSB transmission occasions, B is an integer greater than or equal to 1, then after Y2 is obtained, the satellite network device 1 can determine X2 according to Y2 and B, and then determine X1 according to X and X2, that is, X2=Y2 / B, X1=X-X2. In this way, the satellite network device 1 can use all the beams that can be activated at most to send SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 and the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2, which helps to advance the time of sending SSBs and reduce the access delay of the UE.

[0168] For example, taking the case that all the categories to which the beam coverage areas belong respectively include category 1, category 2 and category 3, where category 1 is the target category and category 2 and category 3 are both other categories. Correspondingly, for category 2, the satellite network device 1 can determine the number X2 of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 according to the quotient value of Y2 and the number B of SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2, that is, X2=Y2 / B. And for category 3, the satellite network device 1 can determine the number X of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to category 3 according to the quotient value of Y3 and the number C of SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 3, that is, X3=Y3 / C. Then, the satellite network device 1 can further determine the number X1 of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category (i.e., category 1) according to the difference between X, X2 and X3, that is, X1=X-X2-X3.

[0169] It should be noted that the above-mentioned determination method of the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each other category and the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category by means of 2 categories or 3 categories is only an example implementation and does not limit the number of categories to which all the beam coverage areas belong respectively.

[0170] Similarly, in the case where the number of other categories is greater than 2, the satellite network device 1 can refer to the above-mentioned determination method of X2 or X3 to determine the number of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each other category, which will not be described here again, and finally the sum of the number of beams required by all the beam coverage areas is equal to the upper limit of the number of beams.

[0171] In this way, since the satellite network device 1 uses all the remaining beams in the upper limit X of the number of beams to send SSBs to the beam coverage area in the longest SSB distribution period of the category, it helps to send SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to this category as early as possible in the SSB distribution period, thereby reducing the access delay of the UE in the beam coverage area. And, using all the remaining beams to send SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to this category also makes it possible for there to be remaining SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period, so that this part of time-frequency resources can be saved to perform data transmission services, improving the performance of the communication system.

[0172] S803: The satellite network device 1 sends SSBs to each beam coverage area based on the number of beams required by the beam coverage area belonging to each category and the SSB distribution period corresponding to each beam coverage area.

[0173] In this flow, taking the satellite network device 1 sending SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 and the beam coverage area belonging to category 2 as an example, and category 1 is the target category described above, and category 2 is the other category described above. Since the standard communication protocol defines that the SSB distribution period 1 includes S1 SSB transmission occasions, and the SSB distribution period 2 corresponds to T SS burst sets, and the T SS burst sets together include S2 SSB transmission occasions, therefore, after determining the number of beams X1 required by the beam coverage area of category 1, the SSB distribution period 1, the number of beams X2 required by the beam coverage area of category 2, and the SSB distribution period 2, the satellite network device 1 can use X2 activated beams to send SSBs to Y2 beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 using S2 SSB transmission occasions. And, the satellite network device 1 can use X1 activated beams to send SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 using S1 SSB transmission occasions.

[0174] Further, in this embodiment, for the process of the satellite network 1 sending SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1, in the specific implementation, the satellite network device 1 can first obtain the number Y1 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 1. For the determination method of Y1, please refer to the description of the related part of the foregoing embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] Then, in the case that the product of X1 and S1 is greater than Y1, it can be represented that the sum of the SSBs transmitted by the satellite network device 1 using X1 beams at S1 SSB transmission occasions is greater than the number Y1 of beam coverage areas belonging to category 1, then the satellite network device 1 can use X1 activated beams to transmit SSBs to Y1 beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 based on part of the S1 SSB transmission occasions. And this part of the SSB transmission occasions needs to be earlier than the remaining SSB transmission occasions except this part of the SSB transmission occasions in the S1 SSB transmission occasions. In this way, since the SSB transmission occasion used to transmit SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 is earlier than the remaining SSB transmission occasion, it is possible to realize transmitting SSBs to the beam coverage area belonging to category 1 as soon as possible, thereby reducing the access delay of the UE and saving a part of time-frequency resources by leaving the remaining SSB transmission occasions.

[0176] For ease of understanding, the process of transmitting SSBs to n UE located beam coverage areas respectively will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 9.

[0177] In conjunction with FIG. 9, taking 1058 beam coverage areas owned by the satellite network device 1 and the maximum number of beams that can be activated by the satellite network device 1 at the same time as an example, it is assumed below that 100 beam coverage areas from beam coverage area 0 to beam coverage area 99 belong to category 3, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 20 ms; 200 beam coverage areas from beam coverage area 100 to beam coverage area 299 belong to category 2, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 40 ms; and 758 beam coverage areas from beam coverage area 300 to beam coverage area 1057 belong to category 1, and the corresponding SSB distribution period is 80 ms.

[0178] Correspondingly, if the satellite network device 1 can provide 4 SSB transmission occasions within 20 ms, then for the beam coverage areas belonging to category 3 (beam coverage areas 0 to 99, a total of 100 beam coverage areas), the satellite network device 1 can use 25 beams (beams 0 to 24) to transmit SSBs to the 100 beam coverage areas within the corresponding SSB distribution period 20 ms, that is, to complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 3, SSBs can be transmitted every 20 ms.

[0179] And for the beam coverage areas belonging to category 2 (beam coverage areas 100 to 299, a total of 200 beam coverage areas), the satellite network device 1 can use 25 beams (beams 25 to 49) to transmit SSBs to the 200 beam coverage areas within the corresponding SSB distribution period 40 ms, that is, to complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 2, SSBs can be transmitted every 40 ms.

[0180] For the beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 (beam coverage area 300 to beam coverage area 1057, a total of 758 beam coverage areas), within the corresponding SSB distribution period 80 ms, in order to send SSB to the beam coverage areas of category 1 as soon as possible and make the SSB transmission occasion remain, the satellite network device 1 can use the remaining 56 beams (beam 50 to beam 105) of the 106 beams to send SSB to the 758 beam coverage areas, that is, complete 1 coverage. That is, for each beam coverage area belonging to category 1, SSB can be sent once every 80 ms.

[0181] And, taking that the satellite network device 1 sends SSB to the beam coverage area 314 as an example, in combination with FIG. 7, within 60 ms-80 ms in the SSB distribution period, the satellite network device 1 can use beam 50 to send SSB to the beam coverage area 314 to realize coverage. But in FIG. 9, within 0-20 ms in the SSB distribution period, the satellite network device 1 can use beam 51 to send SSB to the beam coverage area 314 to realize coverage. It can be seen that, compared with the scheme shown in FIG. 7, in the scheme shown in FIG. 9, the satellite network device 1 can send SSB to the beam coverage area 314 in advance. That is, for the beam coverage areas belonging to the category 1 under the beam coverage area 314, since all the remaining beams are used to send SSB, SSB can be sent to the beam coverage areas belonging to category 1 as soon as possible, thereby helping to reduce the access delay of the UE. And, in combination with FIG. 9, within the SSB distribution period corresponding to category 1, not all SSB transmission occasions are used to send SSB, and there are remaining SSB transmission occasions within 60 ms-80 ms, so a part of time-frequency resources can be saved.

[0182] In this way, as shown in FIG. 9, in the same 80 ms, 4 SSBs are sent for each beam coverage area belonging to category 3, 2 SSBs are sent for each beam coverage area belonging to category 2, 4 SSBs are sent for each beam coverage area belonging to category 3, and 1 SSB is sent for each beam coverage area belonging to category 1. That is, in the same time, a shorter SSB distribution period can send multiple SSBs, and a longer SSB distribution period can reduce the number of SSBs sent. Based on this, a beam coverage area with a larger UE density uses a shorter SSB distribution period, which can provide more access opportunities to the beam coverage area with a larger UE density in the same time, reduce the access delay of the UE, and enable the UE in the beam coverage area to access the satellite network device 1 as much as possible. A beam coverage area with a smaller UE density uses a longer SSB distribution period, which helps to send SSBs to other beam coverage areas with a smaller UE density in the same time, thereby covering more beam coverage areas and improving the coverage rate of the beam coverage area.

[0183] It should be noted that FIG. 9 only takes three categories of beam coverage areas as an example for description, and does not specifically limit the number of categories to which each beam coverage area belongs. In other implementation examples, the categories to which the beam coverage areas belong can also be other numbers.

[0184] S804: The n UEs scan the beam coverage area in which each UE is located to obtain an SSB.

[0185] In this embodiment, the specific implementation of step S804 can be described with reference to the related description of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0186] S805: The n UEs access the satellite network device 1 according to the SSB obtained by scanning.

[0187] Next, the hardware implementation of the satellite network device and the UE will be further introduced with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

[0188] Referring to FIG. 10, a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a satellite network device is shown, which can be used to execute the method performed by the satellite network device 1 in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6 and FIG. 8. The satellite network device shown in FIG. 10 includes at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112, at least one transceiver 113, at least one network interface 114 and one or more antennas 115. The processor 111, the memory 112, the transceiver 113 and the network interface 114 are connected, for example, through a bus, and in the embodiments of the present application, the connection can include various interfaces, transmission lines or buses, etc., which are not limited in the embodiments. The antenna 115 is connected to the transceiver 113. The network interface 114 is used to enable the satellite network device to be connected to other communication devices through a communication link, for example, the network interface 114 can include a network interface between the satellite network device and a satellite network device in a core network, for example, an S1 interface, and the network interface can include a network interface between the satellite network device and other satellite network devices, for example, an X2 or Xn interface.

[0189] In the above method, the processor 111 shown in FIG. 10 can specifically complete the actions processed by the satellite network device, the memory 112 can complete the actions stored in the above method, the transceiver 113 and the antenna 115 can execute the transceiving actions on the air interface in the above method, and the network interface 114 can complete the actions of interacting with the satellite network device or other satellite network devices / network elements in the above method.

[0190] The processor in the embodiments of the present application, for example, the processor 111, can include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, and various computing devices running software, each of which can include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing. The processor can be a separate semiconductor chip, or can be integrated with other circuits as a semiconductor chip, for example, it can be integrated with other circuits (such as coding and decoding circuits, hardware acceleration circuits or various bus and interface circuits) to form a SoC (system on chip), or it can be integrated as a built-in processor in an ASIC. In addition to including cores for executing software instructions to perform calculations or processing, the processor can further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits implementing special logic operations.

[0191] The memory in the embodiments of the present application can include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, and can also be electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory can also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by a computer, but not limited to this.

[0192] The memory 112 can exist independently and be connected to the processor 111. Alternatively, the memory 112 can be integrated with the processor 111, for example, integrated in a chip. The memory 112 can store program codes for executing the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and be controlled to execute by the processor 111. The executed computer program codes can also be regarded as a driver of the processor 111. For example, the processor 111 is configured to execute the computer program codes stored in the memory 112, so as to implement the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

[0193] The transceiver 113 can be configured to support the receiving or transmitting of radio frequency signals between the satellite network device and other devices. The transceiver 113 can be connected with the antenna 115. The transceiver 113 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, the one or more antennas 115 can receive radio frequency signals, the receiver Rx of the transceiver 113 is configured to receive the radio frequency signals from the antenna and convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 111 for further processing, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing, by the processor 111. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 113 is also configured to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 111, and convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and transmit the radio frequency signals through the one or more antennas 115. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more levels of down-mixing processing and analog-digital conversion processing to obtain the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and the order of the down-mixing processing and the analog-digital conversion processing can be adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more levels of up-mixing processing and digital-analog conversion processing to obtain the radio frequency signals, and the order of the up-mixing processing and the digital-analog conversion processing can be adjustable. The digital baseband signals and the digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0194] FIG. 11 is an example of a UE, such as a mobile phone, a smart wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), etc., according to embodiments of the present application. The UE can include a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0195] It can be understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiments does not constitute a specific limitation on the UE. In other embodiments, the UE can include more or fewer components than those illustrated, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or different arrangement of components. The illustrated components can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0196] The processor 310 can include one or more processing units, for example: the processor 310 can include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a time-frequency codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU), etc. Among them, different processing units can be independent devices, or can be integrated in one or more processors.

[0197] It can be understood that the interface connection relationship between the modules shown in the embodiments is only illustrative and does not constitute a structural limitation of the UE. In other embodiments of the present application, the UE can also use different interface connection modes or combinations of multiple interface connection modes in the above embodiments.

[0198] The external memory interface 320 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the UE. The external memory card communicates with the processor 310 through the external memory interface 320 to realize the data storage function. For example, music, time-frequency, and other files are saved in the external memory card.

[0199] The internal memory 321 can be used to store computer executable program codes, and the executable program codes include instructions. The processor 310 executes various functional applications and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321. The internal memory 321 can include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area can store an operating system, at least one application program required by a function (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.), etc. The data storage area can store data created during the use of the UE (such as time-frequency stream data), etc. In addition, the internal memory 321 can include a high-speed random access memory, and can also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, a universal flash memory (UFS), etc. The processor 310 executes various functions and data processing of the UE by running the instructions stored in the internal memory 321 and / or the instructions stored in the memory arranged in the processor.

[0200] The wireless communication function of the UE can be realized through the antenna 1, the antenna 2, the mobile communication module 350, the wireless communication module 360, the modem processor, and the baseband processor, etc.

[0201] Antennas 1 and 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the UE can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be multiplexed to improve the utilization of the antennas. For example, antenna 1 can be multiplexed as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in combination with a tuning switch.

[0202] The mobile communication module 350 can provide a solution including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G wireless communication applied to the UE. The mobile communication module 350 can include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), and the like. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, and the like on the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit the processed electromagnetic waves to the modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify signals modulated by the modem processor, and radiate the amplified signals as electromagnetic waves through the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least part of the functions of the mobile communication module 350 can be provided in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least part of the functions of the mobile communication module 350 can be provided in the same device as at least part of the modules of the processor 310.

[0203] In some embodiments, the UE initiates or receives a call request through the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1.

[0204] In addition, on top of the above components, an operating system is running. For example, an iOS operating system, an Android operating system, a Windows operating system, and the like. Applications can be installed and run on the operating system. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the above explanations and benefits of any of the UEs provided can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be described here.

[0205] In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are run on one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute the communication method described in the above embodiments.

[0206] In addition, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, when the computer program product is executed by one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute any of the preceding communication methods. The computer program product can be a software installation package, and when any of the preceding communication methods needs to be used, the computer program product can be downloaded and executed on the computer.

[0207] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary universal hardware, and of course can also be implemented by means of dedicated hardware including special-purpose integrated circuits, special-purpose CPUs, special-purpose memories, special-purpose components, etc. Generally, any function completed by a computer program can be easily implemented by corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structure for implementing the same function can also be various, such as analog circuits, digital circuits, or special-purpose circuits, etc. However, for the present application, software program implementation is a better embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc., and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a training device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments of the present application.

[0208] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product.

[0209] The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are 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 transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, training device or data center to another website, computer, training device or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be stored by a computer or a data storage device such as a training device, a data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media 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 (for example, a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0210] The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

Claims

1. A communication method, the method being applied to a first satellite network device, characterized in that, The method comprises: determining synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB, distribution periods corresponding to a plurality of beam coverage areas of a first satellite network device, the plurality of beam coverage areas comprising a first beam coverage area and a second beam coverage area, a SSB distribution period corresponding to the first beam coverage area being less than a SSB distribution period corresponding to the second beam coverage area, a user equipment, UE, density of the first beam coverage area being greater than a UE density of the second beam coverage area; based on the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas, transmitting SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas, the SSBs being used by UEs to access the first satellite network device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determination of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB, distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device comprises: determining a UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas being used to represent a UE density of the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas; based on the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, determining a SSB distribution period corresponding to the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The determination of the SSB distribution period corresponding to the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the UE density indicator of the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas comprises: based on the UE density represented by the UE density indicator of the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, determining a category to which the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas belongs, the categories to which the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively belong comprising a first category and a second category, a UE density of a beam coverage area belonging to the first category being greater than a UE density of a beam coverage area belonging to the second category; based on the category to which the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas belongs, determining a SSB distribution period corresponding to the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas, a first SSB distribution period corresponding to a beam coverage area belonging to the first category being less than a second SSB distribution period corresponding to a beam coverage area belonging to the second category.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The UE density represented by the UE density indicator of the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas is inversely related to the SSB distribution period corresponding to the each of the plurality of beam coverage areas.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, all of the categories to which the plurality of beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device respectively belong comprise a plurality of categories, the plurality of categories comprising a first category and a second category, the category to which the first beam coverage area belongs being the first category, the category to which the second beam coverage area belongs being the second category; The transmitting of the SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas comprises: determining a first number of beams required by a beam coverage area belonging to the first category and determining a second number of beams required by a beam coverage area belonging to the second category, a sum of the number of beams required by all of the beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device being less than an upper limit of the number of beams provided by the first satellite network device; transmit the SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category based on the first quantity and a first SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category, and transmit the SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category based on the second quantity and a second SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The first SSB distribution period includes a third quantity of SSB transmission occasions, and the second SSB distribution period includes a fourth quantity of SSB transmission occasions. The determining the first quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category includes: obtaining a quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category; determining the first quantity according to a quotient value of the quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to the first category and the third quantity; The determining the second quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category includes: obtaining a quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category; determining the second quantity according to a quotient value of the quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to the second category and the fourth quantity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, The categories to which all the beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device respectively belong include a plurality of categories, the plurality of categories include a target category and other categories, the target category is a category to which a longest SSB distribution period among the all the beam coverage areas belongs, and the other categories are categories to which beam coverage areas other than the beam coverage area corresponding to the longest SSB distribution period among the all the beam coverage areas belong. The transmitting the SSBs to the plurality of beam coverage areas based on the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas includes: determining a quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories, and further determining a quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category as a beam quantity upper limit provided by the first satellite network device minus the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories; transmitting the SSBs to the other beam coverage areas based on the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories and the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the other beam coverage areas, and transmitting the SSBs to the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category based on the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category and the longest SSB distribution period.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The determining the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the other categories, and further determining the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category includes: obtaining a quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories; determining the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories according to a quotient value of the quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories and a quantity of SSB transmission occasions in the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories; determining the quantity of beams required by the beam coverage areas belonging to the target category according to a difference value between the beam quantity upper limit and the quantity of the beam coverage areas belonging to each of the other categories.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining a first correspondence relationship between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively; querying the first correspondence relationship to determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to each of the plurality of beam coverage areas.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining a second correspondence relationship between the plurality of beam coverage areas and the UE density indicators corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively; querying the second correspondence relationship to determine the UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein, The UE density indicator of each of the plurality of beam coverage areas is a historical UE density indicator received, and the historical UE density indicator is used to represent a historical UE density of each of the first beam coverage areas.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining a number of requests from UEs received in each of the beam coverage areas; determining a UE density indicator of each of the beam coverage areas based on the number of requests.

13. A communication method, said method being applied to a user equipment (UE), characterized in that, The method comprises: determining a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) distribution period corresponding to a beam coverage area in which the UE is located; scanning for an SSB in the beam coverage area in which the UE is located based on the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located; and accessing a first satellite network device according to the SSB.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located is an SSB scanning period in which the UE historically accesses a satellite network device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method comprises: in a case where the SSB is not scanned based on a first preset period, determining that the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located is a second preset period, the second preset period being greater than the first preset period; The method comprises: scanning for the SSB based on the second preset period.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method comprises: obtaining a third correspondence relationship between the plurality of beam coverage areas of the first satellite network device and the SSB distribution periods corresponding to the plurality of beam coverage areas respectively; querying the third correspondence relationship to determine the SSB distribution period corresponding to the beam coverage area in which the UE is located.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a request to a historically accessed satellite network device in a historical access process, the request being used to determine a historical UE density indicator of the beam coverage area in which the UE is located, the historical UE density indicator being used to represent a historical UE density of the beam coverage area in which the UE is located; and transmitting the determined historical UE density indicator to the first satellite network device, the historical UE density indicator being used by the first satellite network device to determine a SSB distribution period corresponding to a beam coverage area in which the UE is located.

18. A satellite network device, comprising: comprising: a transceiver configured to perform the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method of any one of claims 1-12; a processor configured to perform operations other than the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method of any one of claims 1-12.

19. A user equipment (UE), comprising: comprising: a transceiver configured to perform the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method of any one of claims 13-17; a processor configured to perform operations other than the receiving operation and the transmitting operation in the method of any one of claims 13-17.

20. A communication system, characterized by comprising a satellite network device configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-12 and a user equipment (UE) configured to perform the method of any one of claims 13-17.

21. A computer storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program being executed to implement the communication method of any one of claims 1-17.

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